By Karen Gavis/editor-in-chief
While it’s not good for fans to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view their idols in person, free enterprise is good. And that is the issue when it comes to outlawing the resale of tickets.
Surely, lawmakers have more pressing issues at hand than determining whether someone other than multi-million dollar big-name stars and their agents or record labels are getting a piece of the pie.
While some may view ticket scalping as distasteful and akin to scooping up in-demand toys during the holiday season and hawking them to parents for astronomical prices, it’s business to others.
Exactly how ticket resellers got under the magnifying glass is puzzling because this sky-is-the-limit-profit-margin game is played every day throughout the state without much controversy.
The main gripe for fans is about individuals who buy huge quantities of tickets therefore limiting the supply for average fans who cannot afford a quadruple price hike, and this is understandable.
But if ticket reselling is banned, what’s next? Will eBay sellers no longer be allowed to sell a Marc Chagall poster purchased at a thrift store for two bucks on eBay for $300? (gasp) Will there be limits placed on the amount homes can be sold for? Just how much profit is made on beer, concessions and memorabilia exactly?
Besides, outlawing the practice does not mean it would be extinguished. Unlicensed brokers would simply move underground and continue to resell tickets for even larger sums.
Maybe these things should be considered as well before calling in the guards on individual ticket brokers.
