This is meant to inspire a conversation, so please reply with opinions. Dismantle my theory, change my mind, provide extra evidence, do whatever you'd like. I'm not posting this to gain support in a "yeah, fuck those guys!" way, but if that's the way you feel and it's all you have to say, then I encourage you to at least say it.
I quote the following individuals only to provide context for my post, and not to challenge anyone's opinion or call anyone out specifically.
Originally posted by dylbagz:[..]
Yes I guess people who buy and sell cars at a profit or homes or stocks without actually physically creating value are such bad people too
Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]
The reason for expensive tickets is not [augmented reality]. It has a name, Greed, and a surname, Livenation.
Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
I think there’s more to it than an everything is great mentality. The problem with the ticket pricing issue us we could go round in circles with the same arguments and ultimately it becomes pointless after a while. There’s not many people that disagree with the view that the tickets are expensive, particularly when there’s so many of them at top price. The thing is that it will bother some people and not bother others, and whilst people have a right to say it’s ridiculous others also have the right to say I’m not bothered. Most u2.com members probably wouldn’t have to resort to the top price tickets anyway and honestly if I thought u2 alone could do something about expensive tickets I’d get behind the cause but I really think putting laws in place is the only way we’ll stop these high prices because it’s the only way of getting rid of scalpers. I don’t think that will happen though so under current laws I’d rather u2 were getting the money than scalpers, even if it does make them look bad and people aren’t happy about it.
------------
Let me begin with a general disclaimer that will be addressed in a full-circle matter at the end of this (long) post - I do not believe that Ticketmaster (etc) are working behind the scenes to dump tickets directly to StubHub in a secret profit-sharing scam. It is a conspiracy believed by many, but having worked in live concert contracting / ticketing / etc. for years now, I simply don't believe it. It's an educated opinion, but still just an opinion.
I've had many debates about secondary markets for tickets, whether the tickets are being scalped or not. The opposing argument is that secondary markets are a "free market" mentality, where the owner of a ticket is allowed to sell it for whatever they want. If you don't want the tickets, don't buy them.
I equate the whole thing this way:
I'm in no way wrapped up in the world of specialty sneakers (shoes / whatever your region calls them), but it's a similar mentality in terms of on-sales. At least in certain markets in the USA, people of all ages will literally line up outside shopping malls overnight so that they can bust down the doors to buy a newly released pair of sneakers. It's similar to the old days of lining up to buy tickets in person, and similar to sitting at the computer at 9:59 AM, testing the limits of your refresh button, to be the first in line and get the tickets.
If there are 500 pairs of sneakers priced at $100, and you are #501 in line, you're shit-out-of-luck. That's the game, and you lose. Sometimes that happens. If the 400th person in line bought them solely to make a profit, and he is walking out of the mall with a sign that says "NEW SNEAKERS: $300," you have every right to buy them. You have every right to ignore him. But he owns those sneakers now, so he gets to dictate his price to sell them. Again - that's the game. Sometimes you lose.
But consider this:
There are 500 pairs of sneakers priced at $100, and you're #450 in line. Things are looking...pretty good. You may not be guaranteed to get those sneakers, but you've got a good shot. The mall opens at 10:00AM.
At 9:30AM, the truck with the sneakers arrives to deliver them at the mall. As they're being unloaded, quite a few people who aren't in line stand at the back of the truck and hand the delivery drivers $100 per pair they take. They end up buying 250 pairs of sneakers, and they pay for all of them. The sneaker company makes money either way. The people who bought the sneakers off the truck are participating in a free market environment. They stand at the doors to the mall, and as hundreds of people hang their heads in disappointment on their way out the doors, they wave the sneakers in their face at $300 a pop.
People are queuing for sneakers that they never had a chance to buy in the first place due to the business practices of the sneaker company.
The secondary market is treated and defended as a "free marketplace," but the practices that the market takes advantage of SHOULD BE downright illegal, and are absolutely designed to cheat the lay-person while making sure the original sellers of the product are still paid out.
Is the market really a "free market" unless all aspects of these transactions are presumed to be fair? How "fair" is "fair trade?"
My dad tried to argue with me all the time that StubHub, etc. aren't doing anything wrong, and stood strong with the "free marketplace" reasoning. It wasn't until I compared the act of ticket scalping and how it occurs to this physical example that he got it. StubHub isn't inherently doing anything wrong by providing a free marketplace, but turning a blind eye to these insane practices is so, so toxic. These companies should have a vested interest in protecting customers, ensuring that these practices aren't taken advantage of, and battling the corruption of the very marketplace they tout.
But, since StubHub takes a commission on every dollar vended through their marketplace, and these insanely overpriced tickets earn them even more money on their markup, they're not going to advocate for lessening their profits. Ticketmaster may not be secretly profit-sharing with StubHub, but in raising "service fees" and other extraneous charges on tickets, everyone benefits but the consumer. A higher bottom line means a higher commission on a marked-up ticket in the StubHub marketplace.
If there is one thing I wish to accomplish in life / this industry before I die, it is to revolutionize the way the worldwide public is getting royally fucked by the ticketing marketplace.
Food for thought.