Face Value Superbowl Tickets ---Lawsuit Alleges Ungettable

[pc100porsche]

Average fan can't get affordable Super Bowl tickets, lawsuit alleges | NJ.com

[cashflyer]

Average fan can't get affordable Super Bowl tickets

Really? How about this for a headline:

Average driver can't get affordable Ferrari

Same thing.
So what? Until this is a socialist country in a few more years, you get what you can afford. Can't afford tickets? Well buy some beer and chips and sit in your living room in front of the TV.

As long as there are people who will spend $4000 for a ticket, there will be tickets that cost $4000. Supply, meet demand.

[WolfeMacleod]

I hope they win, really. The "secondary market" is nothing but scalping.
Have you tried to buy any concert tickets lately? I read all the time about concerts sold out in seconds to scalping sites.

Good luck...

[legion]

We also don't know the teams' markup before they sell their tickets to brokers. The brokers might not be taking as large of a cut as we think. I wonder if reselling superbowl tickets is a major source of revenue for teams?

I predict if this lawsuit succeeds, the face value of a superbowl ticket suddenly goes to $4,000.

[ossiblue]

Doesn't appear that everyone read the link, and the thread title is very misleading. The suit is based on an alleged violation of New Jersey state law. It's very specific as to the part of the law that was broken--in short, it is illegal to hold back from sale to the general public, greater than 5% of the tickets available (meaning the public should get 95%). The suit alleges the NFL released only ~1% of tickets instead of the 95%. That 95% went to brokers and resellers who set the high prices.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

Average fan can't get affordable Super Bowl tickets

Really? How about this for a headline:

Average driver can't get affordable Ferrari

Same thing.
So what? Until this is a socialist country in a few more years, you get what you can afford. Can't afford tickets? Well buy some beer and chips and sit in your living room in front of the TV.

As long as there are people who will spend $4000 for a ticket, there will be tickets that cost $4000. Supply, meet demand.

Exactly!

Each weekend generates about $300 Million for the NFL. Why do they set the Superbowl ticket prices below market value? So they can give them as corporate gifts without painful tax implications? Afraid of public outrage at the demand for their product? Who knows....

[Rick Lee]

My real problem is with the concert tix that no one except ticket brokers can get. You can go online the second they go on sale and not be able to get anything other than nosebleed seats because the ticket brokers bought them all up. How are they allowed to advertise "tickets go on sale at 10am tomorrow" when they really don't? What they have left after the ticket brokers get theirs are all that really go on sale. Back in the day when we used to camp out for tix, scalping was illegal. Now it's the way business is conducted.

[legion]

I personally have no intention of ever going to a superbowl. It just seems like a huge hassle to me.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

My real problem is with the concert tix that no one except ticket brokers can get. You can go online the second they go on sale and not be able to get anything other than nosebleed seats because the ticket brokers bought them all up. How are they allowed to advertise "tickets go on sale at 10am tomorrow" when they really don't? What they have left after the ticket brokers get theirs are all that really go on sale. Back in the day when we used to camp out for tix, scalping was illegal. Now it's the way business is conducted.

Why should tickets be sold to you or anyone else for less than market value?
Ticket brokers add market efficiency.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Moses

Why should tickets be sold to you or anyone else for less than market value?
Ticket brokers add market efficiency.

I have no problem paying market value. But the brokers don't pay any more than face value for the tix. Why should they get them before anyone else, especially when TM advertises that you can go online at X o'clock and get your tix?

If, just before and after a hurricane, Home Depot and Lowe's did not raise the price of generators, but rather sold them all to scalpers, there'd be a near civil war. I'm perfectly willing to pay market value. But don't call yourself a retail business open to the public if you're really a wholesaler who won't sell or will barely sell to the general public.

As it is, I'm perfectly happy to buy my tix in the parking lot as the first song is starting and the brokers' monkeys are sweating. I have almost never bought tix before the day of the show, almost never been more than seven rows back from the stage and have never paid over face value.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I have no problem paying market value. But the brokers don't pay any more than face value for the tix. Why should they get them before anyone else, especially when TM advertises that you can go online at X o'clock and get your tix?

If, just before and after a hurricane, Home Depot and Lowe's did not raise the price of generators, but rather sold them all to scalpers, there'd be a near civil war. I'm perfectly willing to pay market value. But don't call yourself a retail business open to the public if you're really a wholesaler who won't sell or will barely sell to the general public.

As it is, I'm perfectly happy to buy my tix in the parking lot as the first song is starting and the brokers' monkeys are sweating. I have almost never bought tix before the day of the show, almost never been more than seven rows back from the stage and have never paid over face value.

The brokers get good prices because they have contractual agreements to buy big blocks of tickets.

Let's say the broker buys 1000 tickets @ $100 each. They offer them at $300 and sell half of them. They have already made $100,000 profit and they are holding 500 tickets the day before the show. They sell them for $10 each to the "monkey" that isn't really sweating when he sells you the ticket for half the face value as the show starts.

Broker sells 500@ $300 plus 500 @ $10. Profit = $105,000
Broker monkeys profit $20,000

A rich guy who wanted guaranteed good seats is happy with his $300 seats. You are happy with your $50 seats right next to him. The venue is sold out. You're happy. Rich dude is happy. The broker and all his monkeys are happy. Market efficiency!

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Moses

rich guy who wanted guaranteed good seats is happy with his $300 seats. You are happy with your $50 seats right next to him. The venue is sold out. You're happy. Rich dude is happy. The broker and all his monkeys are happy. Market efficiency!

To hell with all of them - I'll just torrent the songs I want

[Taz's Master]

Originally Posted by Moses

The brokers get good prices because they have contractual agreements to buy big blocks of tickets.

Let's say the broker buys 1000 tickets @ $100 each. They offer them at $300 and sell half of them. They have already made $100,000 profit and they are holding 500 tickets the day before the show. They sell them for $10 each to the "monkey" that isn't really sweating when he sells you the ticket for half the face value as the show starts.

Broker sells 500@ $300 plus 500 @ $10. Profit = $105,000
Broker monkeys profit $20,000

A rich guy who wanted guaranteed good seats is happy with his $300 seats. You are happy with your $50 seats right next to him. The venue is sold out. You're happy. Rich dude is happy. The broker and all his monkeys are happy. Market efficiency!

This is still a valid point: don't call yourself a retail business open to the public if you're really a wholesaler who won't sell or will barely sell to the general public.

They should advertise that some tickets will be made available to the public at wholesale pricing, but don't suggest face value of the tickets is what the show costs if you are not offering the tickets for sale to the public.

[berettafan]

There is a guy in the early S world that makes a living buying tickets in bulk and reselling at higher prices. It's an ugly business model IMO and not something I'd want for karma.

[widgeon13]

You couldn't get me to take tickets for free to go to the Superbowl, especially in NY.

[Rick Lee]

you couldn't get me to take tickets for free to go to the superbowl, especially in ny.

+1000

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Taz's Master

This is still a valid point: don't call yourself a retail business open to the public if you're really a wholesaler who won't sell or will barely sell to the general public.

Indeed. The whole problem would be solved if the NFL and music venues sold ALL their seats to brokers and let brokers set the prices. Letting the brokers print the tickets with their own prices on them would eliminate the nonsense of assigning a "face value" to a ticket. Venues would be shed of the hassle of trying to be retailers and could set the prices to brokers high enough to ensure they got a bigger piece of the sales.

[BReif61]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

You couldn't get me to take tickets for free to go to the Superbowl, especially in NY.

What about one in Jersey?

[NYPorsche]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

You couldn't get me to take tickets for free to go to the Superbowl, especially in NY.

Fortunately then, the game is in New Jersey.

[widgeon13]

May as well be in NY.