U2’s lawyers are chasing ticket touts on eBay

[threwabrick]

U2 ticket touts purged by eBay as fans lose out



TOUTS selling U2 concert tickets on the eBay auction website are being chased off the web this weekend after action by lawyers acting for U2.com.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-1463123,00.html

 

[djparky]

excellent

excellent news, about damn time someone started doing this!

 

[one4u2]

 

[starsgoblue]

I asked earlier...does anyone know what will happen to the tickets of the touts then? Will thier tickets be canceled and then new tickets made available on TM? Or would the touts just need to go elsewhere to peddle thier trade?

 

[RA-D]

"Up to $425 each". Erm?

 

[bw in dc]

I don't see the issue. It's not like anybody has to purchase the ticket. EBay is a conduit between seller and potential buyer. Why not let the free market simply work? If people consider the touters outrageous then simply don't but the ticket. However, if a consumer really wants to pay an added premium - their choice - to attend an event then God bless him. Let him pay.

Are U2 concerned about the fan or more concerned about missing out on more profit they would not have access to in a private transaction?

 

[threwabrick]

I don't see the issue. It's not like anybody has to purchase the ticket. EBay is a conduit between seller and potential buyer. Why not let the free market simply work? If people consider the touters outrageous then simply don't but the ticket. However, if a consumer really wants to pay an added premium - their choice - to attend an event then God bless him. Let him pay.

Are U2 concerned about the fan or more concerned about missing out on more profit they would not have access to in a private transaction?

This is one reason taken from the article:

The auction site does not allow the sale of concert tickets at more than face value in American states where this is illegal.

 

[doctorwho]

"Up to $425 each". Erm?

Actually, I saw much higher prices!!

I don't mind paying ~$200 for GA - after all, the Loge seats are already close to $200 when TM charges are added in. But some people had GA's for $500 and up!

Perhaps now we can get some GA's at a more "normal" price. Heck, I'd settle for some Loge tickets at normal price too!

 

[speedracer]

I don't see the issue. It's not like anybody has to purchase the ticket. EBay is a conduit between seller and potential buyer. Why not let the free market simply work? If people consider the touters outrageous then simply don't but the ticket. However, if a consumer really wants to pay an added premium - their choice - to attend an event then God bless him. Let him pay.

Are U2 concerned about the fan or more concerned about missing out on more profit they would not have access to in a private transaction?

Well, if U2 really wanted the profit, they'd have marked the GA tickets at $200 each, wouldn't they? (For practical reasons, I think this is what they should have done -- they could have pocketed the profits or donated it or whatever.)

But U2 really does want to give fans GA tickets at $50 a pop, and if the laws in the states do not allow them to be scalped, they have every right to expect the laws to be enforced (as much as is practical). No?

 

[innocent_eyes]

so can these ebay people cancel their auctions at any time, if they don't get the tickets?
That would suck for people who are/were willing to buy the tickets and are winning the bids, etc.

but i think this is the right thing to do in this situation!

 

[U2girl]

*gasps sarcastically*
But U2 doesn't want fans to get tickets!

 

[RA-D]

yeah, but what you can do is offer 'a keychain with 2 FREE tickets to see U2 play 09/05/05 Chicago!' so in the keychain gets bought for some ridiculous price (say $40) and the tickets are allowed to be given as a free gift. I got tickets to see Wales play this way once and the b*stard never sent me the wooly hat!

 

[celia]

yeah, but what you can do is offer 'a keychain with 2 FREE tickets to see U2 play 09/05/05 Chicago!' so in the keychain gets bought for some ridiculous price (say $40) and the tickets are allowed to be given as a free gift. I got tickets to see Wales play this way once and the b*stard never sent me the wooly hat!

Oh yeah I saw that was how some people were selling Guns on the site...buy a bag and get an illegal weapon Free!

 

[VertigoGal]

Guys at least they're starting to do something about this, hopefully they'll be able to sort out other problems in the future (they've said they'll be contacting ticketless fan club member with info...give them a chance to follow through). Plus, they're obviously putting money into solving this (lawyers), so it could signal a positive change in their general attitude in handling all of this.

I know it's fucked up, but it's not gonna be easy to fix either and you could at least give them a chance.

 

[nbcrusader]

I asked earlier...does anyone know what will happen to the tickets of the touts then? Will thier tickets be canceled and then new tickets made available on TM? Or would the touts just need to go elsewhere to peddle thier trade?

This is an excellent question - if the tickets are simply taken off of Ebay, they are sold to brokers. If they are actually revoked, we have no way of knowing when such tickets become available.

At this point, it appears more a PR move than an effort to make a change.

 

[ylimeU2]

So why don't they do something about this?

http://www.ticketliquidator.com/ResultsGeneral.aspx?stype=0&kwds=u2%20&utm_source=overture&utm_medium=ppc&utm_content=u2+tickets

 

[Derek]

so can these ebay people cancel their auctions at any time, if they don't get the tickets?
That would suck for people who are/were willing to buy the tickets and are winning the bids, etc.

but i think this is the right thing to do in this situation!

As someone who has had auctions canceled in the past (for selling software I no longer used, but the company aparently thought was pirated), I can tell you that cancelling the auction is purely a hindurance. The seller will just email the high bidder with an explanation as to why the auction was canceled and an offer to sell outside of ebay. Not much of a loss to the seller.

In my case, I told the person they would have 1 week upon receipt to ship the software back if they felt like there was something wrong with it. The transaction went off without a hitch from there and there were no ebay fees!