The Internet has proven to be a great innovation for shoppers. The assortments of merchandise available to us have grown dramatically, not to mention the convenience of shopping in the comfort of your home and having your purchase delivered to your door. But, making purchases online can become a source of great frustration when you are denied the opportunity to make a desired purchase.
That’s the feeling thousands of people have experienced in recent weeks. First, it was parents of children desperately wanting tickets to Hannah Montana concerts. Then, it was excited fans of the Colorado Rockies seeking World Series tickets. In both cases, intense demand for tickets left thousands empty-handed and crying foul about the online buying process. The culprit appears to be ticket brokers and sophisticated technology some employ to scoop up tickets ahead of individuals.
The result is that many tickets are made available for sale on the aftermarket for event tickets. Brokers profit handsomely as they command prices that are substantially higher than face value. A check of prices on the web site of ticket reseller Stub Hub found tickets for Game 3 of the World Series in Denver are going for between $325-$4900. Some people who are angry about the unfair advantage held by ticket brokers suggest that ticket sales for high demand events should not be conducted online. Such a move might punish brokers, but it probably has more of an impact on the average consumer who values the convenience of shopping online. It beats having to camp out for tickets!
It seems a better way to punish brokers would be for consumers to pass on buying tickets at inflated prices. But, as long as people are willing to pay above market prices for event tickets, brokers will be angling to beat consumers to get highly coveted tickets. While I am bashing ticket brokers, I give kudos to ticket reseller sites like Stub Hub. They provide a valuable service to people wanting to unload event tickets. Ticket reseller sites are a great marketplace for bringing buyers and sellers together.
I find it outrageous that some people are willing to pay so much for tickets, but I guess if you are that passionate about something there is no price limit. That being said, I think that something should be done about brokers buying up all the tickts before anyone else has a chance. Buying tickets online is such a convenience for people; they don’t have to camp out for tickets, and everyone has a fair chance at getting tickets. Brokers are taking that away from people when they buy up all the tickets and then jack up the price. I think that ticket suppliers should limit the amount of tickets purchased at a time, this could help with the broker problem. The people have the power here, if they would just refuse to buy overpriced tickets, something would have to change.