Is it allowed?

dmck2886

Is it allowed that people on ebay can sell tickets for the Ireland v France game for mad prices? Is their any way that they can be stopped as they preventing the not so well off fans the chance to go the match?

Has the FAI any power to recall these tickets and maybe re-issue them to people who won't try and profit from them?

Zapho

AFAIK there's nothing stopping them. Its your own fault if you pay those mad prices for the tickets.

stevenmu

As it stands, no. Tickets are considered property, and of course you're free to offer your own property for sale at whatever price you feel like.

What I'd like to see happen is that instead of buying an open ticket that anyone can use, you pay for the right for yourself (or others) to gain entry. The ticket then just acts as a reciept, you'd need to show ID to actually get in.

I think there was even a trial of a system at some stage where ticketmaster or someone like that would issue free ID's to customers, the ID would then be scanned going into the event to let you in.

IceHawk

Supply and demand. As long as people are willing to pay exorbetant prices for something, there'll be someone who takes advantage of the situation to turn a profit. It's unavoidable.

Rhyme

Its the same system with touts selling tickets outside events... they can charge any price they want, then again if the price is too high no-one buys

Blisterman

If noone sold tickets on ebay, noone who didn't get a ticket before they first sold out, would be able to go. They're doing a service.

Of course, what shouldn't be allowed, is people who set up automated systems to buy hundreds of tickets.

Eoin

Blisterman wrote:

If noone sold tickets on ebay, noone who didn't get a ticket before they first sold out, would be able to go. They're doing a service.

A service? hardly. Maybe the reason the tickets sell out so quickly is because people buy them to make a profit from them.

Lump

Hence him saying what shouldn't be allowed is people buying hundreds of tickets.... or 12 or whatever....

I think each person shold only be allowed but one ticket, two at most. And when you buy them, you have to give your passport. POLICE STATE I SAY!!!!

John

grumpytrousers

Lump wrote:

Hence him saying what shouldn't be allowed is people buying hundreds of tickets.... or 12 or whatever....

I think each person shold only be allowed but one ticket, two at most. And when you buy them, you have to give your passport. POLICE STATE I SAY!!!!

John

Something with PPS numbers would be easier...not the end of the world if you lost the card, cos you still have the number...but hard enough to forge...

StickyMcGinty

jesus they're mad prices!! glad i've mine in the bag, i see one of the listings is for the "visiting assosiation" tickets, now thats illegal!

MorningStar

Make it illegal to sell a ticket abovethe face value. Elimiante the supply demand curve straight away. Trading among friends is still possible but try to do it commercially and you get caught. Some US states did it and it works.

grumpytrousers

MorningStar wrote:

Make it illegal to sell a ticket abovethe face value. Elimiante the supply demand curve straight away. Trading among friends is still possible but try to do it commercially and you get caught. Some US states did it and it works.

Aye - you're allowed sell a ticket in the states at a max 10% profit...

Fact is, Morning Star, the perception is that touting is a victimless crime. Usual suspects 'round these here parts blame squarely people who pay over the odds for tickets from touts; of course the real problem is that well organised touts have a stranglehold on the source of the tickets and thus honest-to-god punters are forced (if they really want to see the event) to go with wallet in hand.

stevenmu

MorningStar wrote:

Make it illegal to sell a ticket abovethe face value. Elimiante the supply demand curve straight away. Trading among friends is still possible but try to do it commercially and you get caught. Some US states did it and it works.

You really think it's a good idea to rely on the government to fix it ? Look at the state of the healthcare system, the state of the schools. Look what happens whenever the government gets involved in building anything.

If the government gets to regulate it tickets will cost twice what the touts sell them for and the matches will kick off 3 weeks later than advertised

The only way to fix it is to put the onus on ticket retailers to fix it. At the moment they don't really care because they get their money either way.

grumpytrousers

stevenmu wrote:

You really think it's a good idea to rely on the government to fix it ? Look at the state of the healthcare system, the state of the schools. Look what happens whenever the government gets involved in building anything.

If the government gets to regulate it tickets will cost twice what the touts sell them for and the matches will kick off 3 weeks later than advertised

The only way to fix it is to put the onus on ticket retailers to fix it. At the moment they don't really care because they get their money either way.

In fairness, I don't think anybody suggested that the government become the new ticketmaster; the old one are doing a damn fine job pi$$ing me off thankyouverymuch!

Making touting a criminal (and therefore enforceable by the rozzers!) offence as opposed to a merely civil offence would be a start. As things stand, the enforcement by gardai of a civil wrong can only be carried out on foot of a complaint by one or other side of the transaction - in this case either the ticket seller or the 'tout'.

As the tout has no problem with overpriced selling, and the vendor has already gotten his face value, nothing can be done as long as it remains merely a civil offence.

It would seem that ticketmaster are at least making an attempt to sort things out, but I'll get back to you after the backlash around the time of the next enormo-gig. Now that one has to enter a random word on the ticket purchase screen, it would seem that automated scripts may, for the moment, be passé...

Hobbes

stevenmu wrote:

What I'd like to see happen is that instead of buying an open ticket that anyone can use, you pay for the right for yourself (or others) to gain entry. The ticket then just acts as a reciept, you'd need to show ID to actually get in.

The FAI actually had that system in the works over 10 years ago. It would have the club that distributed the ticket and ticket owner. It was killed off for certain reasons (mostly political)

Eoin

Hobbes wrote:

The FAI actually had that system in the works over 10 years ago. It would have the club that distributed the ticket and ticket owner. It was killed off for certain reasons (mostly political)

The IRFU also have something similar in place. If someone presents a ticket for a rugby game that was touted, they can trace it back to the club it was allocated to and cut off that club's supply.

grumpytrousers

eoin_s wrote:

The IRFU also have something similar in place. If someone presents a ticket for a rugby game that was touted, they can trace it back to the club it was allocated to and cut off that club's supply.

Indeed. Closest I ever came to touting was when living in London and a pal came over with 2 tickets for Ireland v England at Twickenham. Face value of £30 each.

Upon arrival at the stadium we were offered ONE THOUSAND of your Eeeenglish pounds for the pair. Meself and Marcus looked at each other - you can by a lot of cigarettes and gin with a grand, y'know...:D

Eventually decided 'nah - we'd go to the game'..and when we landed in to our seats, we were surrounded by lads from his club. If we HAD sold the tickets, the sheepskin coated gents who took our tickets certainly wouldn't have sounded like they were from the same club and we'd have been rightly rumbled...and he'd have never gotten a ticket for a game ever again...

Mind you..a fookin' grand...

28064212

grumpytrousers wrote:

Upon arrival at the stadium we were offered ONE THOUSAND of your Eeeenglish pounds for the pair. Meself and Marcus looked at each other - you can by a lot of cigarettes and gin with a grand, y'know...:D

Eventually decided 'nah - we'd go to the game'..

Fair focks to you. This is the kind of attitude that's needed. That and making it illegal to sell tickets above face value

StickyMcGinty

i cant get over the fact that people would want to part with their irl v france tickets! sometimes some possesions are just priceless!! this is our biggest game in 10 years easily!

stevenmu

grumpytrousers wrote:

In fairness, I don't think anybody suggested that the government become the new ticketmaster; the old one are doing a damn fine job pi$$ing me off thankyouverymuch!

Yeh, I got a bit caught up in my own rant

I still don't think though that that the government, or anyone else, should be allowed tell me how much I can sell something I own for. I think it's better to just makes tickets non-resellable, like in the systems mentioned above that the FAI and IRFU tried. The GAA has something kind of similar and touting generally isn't too bad.

grumpytrousers

stevenmu wrote:

Yeh, I got a bit caught up in my own rant

I still don't think though that that the government, or anyone else, should be allowed tell me how much I can sell something I own for. I think it's better to just makes tickets non-resellable, like in the systems mentioned above that the FAI and IRFU tried. The GAA has something kind of similar and touting generally isn't too bad.

Point taken stevenmu. See - and stop me if i'm going OT cos this is more a gig rather than a match issue - the thing is that, as a rule, the supply of tickets for high demand soccer/football/hurling/rugby matches is controlled by the agency that runs the event.

You can't get a ticket, AFAIK, for any six nations match by walking into your local ticketmaster. Ditto for the All Ireland hurling final (you have to walk into Quinns of Drumcondra!!! ). And it's probably a similar situation for any half decent Ireland soccer international (that isn't a friendly and that MATTERS!). The idea tends to be rather undemocratic in a way - there certainly isn't equal access for all - but it tends to mean that those who get a ticket are glad of it, and don't flog it on to some iffy geezer on the street. And if they DO flog it on, the whole karma vibe thing means that they'll tend to sell it on for face value - maybe slapping on the price of a pint as a finders fee!

Any other kind of event, it's open season. People who have no desire to EVER to to a (for instance) U2 concert have as much of a chance of getting a ticket as those who would sell a kidney to do same. As long as that's the case, and there's no checks/balances to stop them block buying (and there aren't) then *ahem* there's nothing to stop a person selling something they own. Maybe for an extortionate price...

MorningStar

stevenmu wrote:

Yeh, I got a bit caught up in my own rant

I still don't think though that that the government, or anyone else, should be allowed tell me how much I can sell something I own for. I think it's better to just makes tickets non-resellable, like in the systems mentioned above that the FAI and IRFU tried. The GAA has something kind of similar and touting generally isn't too bad.

Why should you have the right to sell anything at any price who does it benifit other than you the individual? It does appear to be damaging the events both sport and music. The actual ticket touts are also involved in other activities that some say is illegal. Resellable for face value hurts no one and allows for general movement so nobody loses out.
Price regulation is everywhere already for a reason if you don't know why you should look up some basic economics.