Some people seem to think so. Those convicted of cheating can be imprisoned for up to 3 years and/or fined. Arkansas . From discussions with industry experts, it’s clear that some musicians and sports teams keep their ticket prices low (below-market) as a sign of appreciation for their fans’ loyalty (as well as to avoid media backlash over “taking advantage of consumers” – which is another blog in itself). That’s not going to happen. Over the last year, the Boston Globe has run a series of articles highlighting the sins of ticket scalping...oh those evil ticket brokers. Ultimately, we don’t need to rely on lawmakers to avoid scalpers. You’ve got more pressing issues to focus on...two words: BIG DIG. What B2B Companies Get Wrong About Volume Discounts. Is ticket scalping unethical? Ticket scalping, also known as ticket resales, is the practice of buying tickets for such events and reselling them at a greater price. There are times when you fail to get tickets due to a delay on your part. No in-store sales on launch day. The problem here, then, isn’t just high prices — after all — no one would object if an eBay seller attempted to sell a PlayStation 4 for $20,000. So the right to sell another product does not apply. People being assaulted, scammed and ripped off over “Tickle me Elmo”. (Source: P.A. Are you mad? However, all of those laws have been written specifically for event tickets. Massachusetts Government. Sale of tickets other than at box office : prohibited; exceptions. According to a report from Connecticut’s Office of Legislative (OLR) research, there are 27 states that have laws regarding ticket reselling. These answers don’t have easy questions, and the limits on the free market are not trivial. Enterprising scalpers may be encouraged to buy up large proportions of available tickets in order to maximise their profits. eBay: We have plenty, but it’ll cost you $1,000. While that may be illegal, it is legal to purchase resale tickets online from valid ticket websites such as SeatGeek, StubHub, and Ticketmaster. But scalping and secondary ticket markets are not without their downsides. Me: But you didn’t even — how was I supposed to know? The buying and reselling of a ticket is the epitome of capitalism, much like the buying and reselling of stock. For example, lucky buyers of the best tickets to see Bruce Springsteen can only pick up their tickets on the day of the concert. Why isn’t it the responsibility of organizations that deliberately sell tickets, at prices they know are below-market, to take actions to prevent resale? Tell me this, what other product in the United States does the government feel compelled to get involved with regulating its resale price? Ticket scalping, or the practice of selling an event ticket for more than its face value, has been illegal in Michigan. That’s it. A few states regulate ticket scalping. Google: I don’t know — you’re the lawyer. However, scalping tickets is illegal in a number of states, and what precisely is and isn’t a crime varies among those states. Gone. Ticket scalpers in NSW are no longer able to re-sell a ticket for more than 10 per cent above the original price. 140, § 185A, did not apply to a bankruptcy trustee who wished to sell Red Sox season tickets because he was not "'engaged in the business of reselling tickets' within the meaning of the statute." A few states regulate ticket scalping. That must be illegal. If the producer decides to sell their product well below the highest profit possible, then the consumer should be allowed to profit freely from this mistake (though it may not be a mistake). It's illegal to sell or buy tickets for more than 10% above the original sale value, with fines of $2438 for sellers and $609.50 for buyers. You must want the bundle. © The Escapist 2020. It is also illegal to hawk tickets at any price within 1,000 feet from where the show is taking place. This Act may be cited as the Ticket : Sale and Resale Scalping Act. The best you can do is hope these reselling monsters get a karma comeuppance — like the guy who got stuck with 17,000+ bottles of hand sanitizer that he couldn’t sell. So what is the law to do? I should know whether this is illegal. Notably, this kind of law could provide positive incentives (like tax credits) for companies that implement the consumer-friendly rules, rather than more controversial penalties for those who don’t. GameStop should have PlayStation 5 orders, right? That must be illegal. In Texas, there’s no state law against ticket scalping. Another regulation requires scalpers to register as licensed ticket brokers and pay a fee. Sold out. The problem is you get people that will buy up a bunch of tickets, then jack the prices up so the average person can’t just get the two tickets he ants without paying double the price. 1. So we verified, yes, Georgia does have laws in place to prevent ticket scalping, but you should still be careful when purchasing a ticket from somewhere other than a reputable ticket site. And it’s for the controller, not the console. Oh well, I guess that’s too much trouble…it’s easier to let taxpayers pick up the tab to make sure that tickets to the latest Dancing With the Stars road show aren’t resold for more than $2 above face value…. Now hackers are exploiting retailers to buy mass stock of a product to resell at ludicrous prices. One of the best qualities of the free market system is that each consumer gets to decide if a product is worth the asking price. More details . Selling tickets from a storefront or online days prior to the event, at whatever markup, is usually quite legal. I’m a lawyer. Likewise, if preorders proceeded in a more orderly fashion, with a widely publicized sale date and fair electronic waiting rooms, then one could argue that scalpers fairly “earned” their consoles — and their profit — by participating in the fair preorder process (whether that’s by waiting longer, reacting faster, or whatever other mechanism is used to dole out preorders). By setting prices below what the market will bear, sports teams and musicians create a market environment characterized by sell outs, excess demand, and frenzied customers willing to pay premiums to obtain tickets. Some of the states prohibit the reselling of tickets, while some of them regulate it to an extent by mandating a license to resell the tickets. This kind of law could also provide retailers with an incentive to beef up their infrastructure to avoid server crashes — like what happened last week when Walmart’s website crashed within seconds of PlayStation 5’s release. Last I heard Ebay will not accept bids on tickets from Louisiana bidders b/c Ebay says it is illegal in LA.