Scalper to be scalped

[Interceptor]

Hopefully anyway.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19824624-2,00.html

The rationale of the average scalper is something like it's a free market, I'm not breaking any laws, so what's the problem?

Anyone agree with this or think that they should be strung up by their balls for cheating the average supporter out of a fair price?

[Dissident]

I think it's wrong - scalping.

On the same note though - if I buy tickets for something and go to the effort of getting them and THEN can't go, I should be able to sell them. And, if the "value" of them is more than I bought them for, surely I should be able to sell them for a higher figure?

[Ecky]

Generally in these issues I tend to be on the scalpers side - if there are people out there willing to pay those crazy prices, then good luck to them.

I liken it to antique dealers buying some old furniture for $5 at a garage sale and then selling it in a shop for $500 - nobody has a problem with that...

However, what makes me more anti-scalpers in this case is that not everyone had a fair chance to buy a ticket before they sold out. But I think the blame there rests with Cricket Australia for not providing a fairer system of ticket distribution.

[blink]

Exactly right there Ecky - Cricket Australia did a lousy job of distributing the tickets. Hopefully come the next Ashes series they have worked out a more fairer system. Good luck to them because I have no idea how they can stop scalpers buying up all the tickets - whatever they do these blokes will find a way to abuse it.

In your case Diss, I totally agree with you but usually a person who has the problem of having tickets then finding out that they can't attend usually end up selling them via word-of-mouth to family, friends, collegues or friends of these people - and they are selling usually no more than 3 or 4 tickets, not 50!

[Dissident]

Exactly right there Ecky - Cricket Australia did a lousy job of distributing the tickets. Hopefully come the next Ashes series they have worked out a more fairer system. Good luck to them because I have no idea how they can stop scalpers buying up all the tickets - whatever they do these blokes will find a way to abuse it.

In your case Diss, I totally agree with you but usually a person who has the problem of having tickets then finding out that they can't attend usually end up selling them via word-of-mouth to family, friends, collegues or friends of these people - and they are selling usually no more than 3 or 4 tickets, not 50!

I know! Hence - what is scalping ? Is there an amount that means you ar a scalper?

I guess it also comes down to how hard tickets are to get. If there's 100,000 people trying to get 5000 tickets, obviously it's unfair for people to buy tickets for the SOLE purpose to sell them for profit.