When it's done competetively with people who want to go to an event, when people like him swoop in and deny them tickets, that's what gets me.
Oh? Wanted to go see that band you like did you? Waiting online when the tickets went on sale were we? Too bad, I got them first. I don't even want to go but now you're going to have to pay me twice the face value or you're SOL.
That's what's antisocial and wrong about it. And that's why there are now so many situations where event promoters are actively fighting against it.
If they are charging more for the tickets than you think the band is worth - just don't buy them. By definition, the people who will be going to that concert think that they are worth that much.
What's pissing you off, is that prior to ticket brokers, you were able to buy tickets at a lower price than you thought the concert was worth - and now the brokers are making at market at the accurate price, depriving you of the discount.
Event Promoters are pissed off, because they aren't getting their cut of the $$$. You are pissed off because you are paying more $$$ than you would have.
I understand why both of you are pissed off - but don't making global statements like, "Ticket brokers are making the world a worse place" without recognizing that they are also making it a better place at the same time.
If they weren't wanted, then people wouldn't be purchasing tickets.
Ticket Brokers exist because the tickets are being sold for less than what people believe they are worth. That's an economic activity, not a social one. We aren't talking about food, water, or gas in a disaster here - we're talking about luxury items.
If the tickets were sold at the clearing price, then ticket brokers would not exist.
I'm honestly curious - do you find Broadway's latest trend towards "variable pricing" anti-social? From the perspective of the customer, they are doing exactly what the broker's are doing - marking up the tickets to the highest possible price they can get on a per-seat basis - sometimes marking tickets up 2x to 3x what they used to be.
Obviously the producer's are happy with this - because they are now collecting the $$$ themselves. But, from the perspective of a customer - prices are now jacked up to what the market will bear.
I'm interested in your perspective - is the broker "anti-social" because they are depriving the producer of money, or because they are jacking up the prices of tickets to a level that the lower-income fan can't afford?
Oh? Wanted to go see that band you like did you? Waiting online when the tickets went on sale were we? Too bad, I got them first. I don't even want to go but now you're going to have to pay me twice the face value or you're SOL.
That's what's antisocial and wrong about it. And that's why there are now so many situations where event promoters are actively fighting against it.