Secondary Ticket Market, will it last?

This is a question that anyone with half a brain has been asking themselves since the secondary ticket market became legitimized from scalpers standing in front of events.

While ticket brokers still stand in front of events, some legally and some not, the secondary ticket market has grown into a huge market of totally legitimate and legal business establishments.

Organizations like the NATB have worked for years to not only get legislation that is easier on brokers and works for brokers, but to guarantee the survival of the secondary ticket market.

The secondary ticket market has always had to contend against morons that selfishly seek to profit at any means at their disposal and in doing so, damaging the good will and name of secondary ticket brokers everywhere.
Hardly a month goes by without some type of story regarding a fraudulent ticket broker or ticket broker company doing something to bring horrible attention to every ticket broker out there. Even entire states get angry at some ticket brokers like one recently in Nevada that went belly-up and then tried to re-enter the market with a “free” ticket exchange and ticket broker website design company. Then there are the “magic carts” that on the website the customer finds tickets for a very low price but by the time you get to the checkout page $100-$200 have been magically added to the total and can’t easily be explained without a math professor. This, of course, appears to be fraud. An entire exchange actually support this activity. Fortunately, there has always been good ticket brokers to help keep the good name of ticket brokers everywhere above profiteers like this.

Then comes the single worst event in the secondary ticket broker history to date that at first appears to be a godsend. Ticketmaster purchases TicketsNow. At first every ticket broker had t be excited. Big promises were made with tons of fresh revenue hitting the market making more sales for everyone. I am sure Ticketmaster had no ill-will towards the secondary ticket market. But stupid decisions lead not only to entire countries turning against the secondary ticket market and Ticketmaster, but lead to many of the ticket brokers customers and US states have turned against the market as well.

On top of all this bad news, Ticketmaster’s lead executive verbally turned against the secondary ticket market as well in an attempt to save his own company. A few soothsayers from the beginning said this would happen but most ticket brokers were so giddy at the possible implications that they made no contingency plans and now are making an attempt to leave the EventInventory exchange and are fearful about what is going to happen to all the information stored at that company.

This is one of the key reasons why a ticket broker needs to be on all 3 exchanges.

So in short, would the US Government destroy a multimillion dollar market? I would say Yes. There are much more valuable markets that the US government shuns for many reasons. Trade with countries, legallized “soft drugs” and so forth. I think the key point would be that the secondary ticket market needs to be regulated internally because you’re always going to have big and little shitheads out there ruining it for everyone.

It would be so simple to internally regulate the market. The 3 exchanges setup an origination with specific rules and if you’re not a part of the origination you’re not allowed to sell tickets or be a member on these exchanges. But this will never happen. Simply put, greed stands in the way. The second point being everyone is always scared or doesn’t like the idea of “big brother” or being controlled. For example, why people are worried about the government listening in on their phone calls. Why? If you’re not doing anything wrong, why do you care? You think the government cares if you’re using phone sex lines or cheating on your spouse? If you’re not doing anything wrong in the ticket market, why do you care if there’s internal regulation? If someone doesn’t do something one day soon, there’s a very large possibility that the US Government will. From outlawing it to regulating it, you can’t keep pissing off the voters and expecting nothing to happen.

Of course there are many more awesome brokers that do everything legitimately any day of the week, but it only takes a few bad ones to ruin a good thing.

To put a simple theory on how easy it would be to shut down the secondary ticket broker market if Federal authority or Ticketmaster would like to do so, all they’d have to do is make it so when tickets are purchased you have to enter your driver’s license number and only a certain amount of tickets can be purchased per license per year. When arriving at the venue, you must present that license. They match the picture to the face and scan the license at the door of the venues and print out a piece of paper with your seats on them and say “welcome”. No more ticket brokers. And that’s just one of a hundred ways I can list to end the ticket broker market. So yes, it can happen.

Let’s not allow it. Think before helping to further the bad attributes of the secondary ticket market and if you know anyone that unscrupulous actions, stop dealing with them.