Who has sold a ticket on ebay and made a profit?

[matt76]

I put something in the Zoo confessionals bit about the fact I sold 2 tickets on ebay for the Dublin concert and made a profit. I could not go the Dublin concert and the only other ticket I could get was in Paris. So with the money I have made from these tickets I can pay for train and lodgings for Paris.

I don't think I have done a bad thing, I don't think selling a ticket here and there is bad. I think ebay is a good thing too.

Anyway what do you think, yes or no to selling on ebay..

Clearly scalpers selling hundreds of tickets is a bad thing..

 

[cmb737]

Wow...brave soul. But that's goal right, soul?



Nothing wrong, a bit rationalized some might say , but nothing wrong.

 

[gav6519]

i done this too. a mix up meant i had 2 tickets for saturday night instead of friday night at croker. i sold them on ebay for alot of money, but i then bought friday night tickets for the same amount i sold the saturday nights for. i didnt make any money out of it.

 

[bostonmike4444]

I am selling my GA tickets at a tremendous profit, this will allow me to buy a flight and hotel room to see the concert in the cheap seats I was able to get in the general sale. I don't care at all. There is nothing wrong or illegal (in my state) at all with it.

I am in college and cannot afford to go to concerts, spend $9 on cups of warm beer, $5 for a leathery hot dog, and buy a $35 t-shirt. I forgive U2 for what they did on the first leg ticket sales because they apologized and admitted their errors, but I have given up on actually 'caring' about them or any other big corporate band. I put thousands of dollars on my credit cards during the Elevation and POPMart tours, I can't do it this time around, nor do I care to. But as a long-time Propoganda member, I wisely took part in the pre-sale and got my hands on what I could get.

I have two GA tickets on a Saturday night in NYC and selling them is going to finance my entire trip - tickets, hotel, flight to NYC. I have no choice, I am broke and will be even more broke when I graduate in January and have to start paying student loans. Should I feel bad about this? I certainly don't.

Maybe, just maybe, I am only playing Devil's Advocate with this post... but my point is that I have no problem with people scalping their tickets, it's the ticket agencies and brokers that suck up hundreds of tickets to each show that are the real problem - not individuals who are selling their tickets for any number of personal reasons.

 

[matt76]

I am selling my GA tickets at a tremendous profit, this will allow me to buy a flight and hotel room to see the concert in the cheap seats I was able to get in the general sale. I don't care at all. There is nothing wrong or illegal (in my state) at all with it.

I am in college and cannot afford to go to concerts, spend $9 on cups of warm beer, $5 for a leathery hot dog, and buy a $35 t-shirt. I forgive U2 for what they did on the first leg ticket sales because they apologized and admitted their errors, but I have given up on actually 'caring' about them or any other big corporate band. I put thousands of dollars on my credit cards during the Elevation and POPMart tours, I can't do it this time around, nor do I care to. But as a long-time Propoganda member, I wisely took part in the pre-sale and got my hands on what I could get.

I have two GA tickets on a Saturday night in NYC and selling them is going to finance my entire trip - tickets, hotel, flight to NYC. I have no choice, I am broke and will be even more broke when I graduate in January and have to start paying student loans. Should I feel bad about this? I certainly don't.

Maybe, just maybe, I am only playing Devil's Advocate with this post... but my point is that I have no problem with people scalping their tickets, it's the ticket agencies and brokers that suck up hundreds of tickets to each show that are the real problem - not individuals who are selling their tickets for any number of personal reasons.

Right on, got to agree with you there

 

[mitcher16]

I don't have a problem with ebay at all, but what makes you any different than a ticket broker selling tickets for more than face value? Are they trying to make money? yes. Did you try and make money? yes.
The only difference is the number of tickets they sell to the limited number that you sold. Period.
Making money off tickets is crap in my opinion.

 

[matt76]

I don't have a problem with ebay at all, but what makes you any different than a ticket broker selling tickets for more than face value? Are they trying to make money? yes. Did you try and make money? yes.
The only difference is the number of tickets they sell to the limited number that you sold. Period.
Making money off tickets is crap in my opinion.

Chill mate!

So even if it helps life long U2 fans go and get the chance to watch U2 play at the only place they have a chance of going, it's wrong is it?
ok....

 

[mitcher16]

Sorry, don't mean to be disrespectfull. Just that I guess I am so sick of seeing these scaplers out there. If you needed the extra money for another show then yes I guess I understand your point.
anyways we are all going to some shows and really that is what matters in the end!!

 

[cmb737]

Except that scalping in Massachussetts is illegal.

Mass Gen. Laws c.140, sec. 185

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/140-185a.htm

Not that I personally disagree with what you are doing, just thought you should have all the facts.

 

[matt76]

Except that scalping in Massachussetts is illegal.

Mass Gen. Laws c.140, sec. 185

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/140-185a.htm

Not that I personally disagree with what you are doing, just thought you should have all the facts.

Oh no I will never be able to go to Massachussetts again!!
Never mind I'll get over it..

 

[Liesje]

I don't have a problem with doing it. I personally wouldn't, but I'm not going to judge those who do as long as they're willing to accept that they are a "scalper" and no more excused than someone who's a broker.

 

[Judah]

I suppose one can take a position, and it may have merit, that "look, i'm only scapling this one time; it's not like this is my profession like the ticket brokers...it's for the love of the band, i'm doing this." You may even believe that the principle of scalping is wrong, but the harm done in doing it once probably isn't that great compared to what's going on out there by the brokers.

Personally, i couldn't do it because i'd be profitting from another u2 fan (and i know the band doesn't like the practice)...but that's easy for me to say since i got GA tickets to both Vancouver shows and the concert's just a few blocks away from my house (i.e. i don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to fly to another city to see the band...though i've done that in the past).

 

[cmb737]

Oh no I will never be able to go to Massachussetts again!!
Never mind I'll get over it..

Smart response.

This was in reference to the fact the BostonMike4444 said there is nothing illegal about scalping where he lives. He is wrong about that, that's all I am saying...not that it will be enforced, should be enforced or anything else.

 

[cmb737]

oops

 

[melsbud]

While I can understand that the fans who keep scalpers in business by paying these prices are just as guilty as scalpers themselves for perpetuating this trade, I also think it's sucky that by buying tickets for the sole purpose of selling, you're depriving another possible true U2 fan from getting those seats at face value. Survival of the fittest, sure, and maybe the guy in line right behind you on TM was a scalper, but still.

Having said that, I think the only time I'd put my tickets up for sale on eBay is if I can't go to the show and then I'd start my bidding at face value. If people bid above that, it's their own prerogative, and I just make a bit of change. (And for the record, I have a pair of Vancouver seats that I posted on here at face value, and that's all I was looking to get in return. Fan helping out fans. It's great.

 

[njelevation06]

You all know what I think ... I've posted many times on here in my disgust for scalpers and scalping. I've acquired shows to seven shows without scalping. Four of them GA's (11 GA tix in all). So you def. can get good tickets without scalping.

Secondly, for every pair of tickets you buy and sell on ebay to some fly-by-night yuppie fan, a true u2 fan lost the chance to buy tix during the sale for face value. When you're at the show and some investment banker shows up to the arena during the third song, think of all the interfercers that didn't have the chance to go. Why are you on this board and part of this community if you buy tix and sell them away to non-fans? Its blatantly disrepectful for those who did not luck out in the general sale. I am very lucky that I was able to do so well with tickets and I have an appreciation for it. And I also have sympathy for those who weren't so lucky and can't afford scalped tickets.

 

[esselte]

Karma is real. The following situation is hypothetical.

Suppose someone really were to finance their trip, tickets and hotel by scalping their GA's (that they probably got through the fan club). It is going to come back to bite that hypothetical person. Something bad is going to happen. I hope it all goes swell for that person. But Karma's gonna get ‘em, if I don't get ‘em first

That hypothetical person is an amateur, a child among men. And my advice to him would be not to brag about it in a public forum. That’s like inviting trouble.

End hypothetical situation.

My first ever U2 concert was 1987 in Lexington Kentucky, Rupp Arena. At one point, Bono went on a rant that went something like this: “If there are any scalpers here tonight, you are NOT welcome. WE decide how much a U2 concert costs, not you”.

That’s what your favorite band thinks about it.

 

[ouizy]

You all know what I think ... I've posted many times on here in my disgust for scalpers and scalping. I've acquired shows to seven shows without scalping. Four of them GA's (11 GA tix in all). So you def. can get good tickets without scalping.

Secondly, for every pair of tickets you buy and sell on ebay to some fly-by-night yuppie fan, a true u2 fan lost the chance to buy tix during the sale for face value. When you're at the show and some investment banker shows up to the arena during the third song, think of all the interfercers that didn't have the chance to go. Why are you on this board and part of this community if you buy tix and sell them away to non-fans? Its blatantly disrepectful for those who did not luck out in the general sale. I am very lucky that I was able to do so well with tickets and I have an appreciation for it. And I also have sympathy for those who weren't so lucky and can't afford scalped tickets.

I was about to write a lengthy reply to this thread but I have to say that the quote above truly summarizes my thoughts on this.

As much as I find it entrepenurial to buy and sell tickets to finance a trip or some other story, why not just go see the band in the town you are in and let others have the chance at tickets (especially in their hometown). I only say this as I look at the other forums here "What do you have" and "what do you want" and all I see are lengthy lists of ticketsfrom people who bought in cities they are obviously not going to see the band in.

Yes, I understand and acknowledge that everyone has the same chances of getting tickets as everyone else, but something just does not sit right with me when I hear that someone bought a bunch of tickets in different cities just to sell them for a profit.

It actually kind of disgusts me that the concert industry has turned into a kind of black market bazaar for those who want to make a quick buck off of those who basically want to go see some good live music.

It is fucking sick.

 

[melsbud]

Esselte, Mister (Miss?) Scored All Five MSG Shows At Face Value, I take it karma's been good for you?

 

[schnazdoodle]

I have only purchased one ticket for one show and I fully intend on attending - so, no, I haven't sold any... I'm not sure if I would though... (I haven't been faced with such a situation)

I suppose I don't have a problem with scalping a ticket, as long as it's not your main goal... Meaning, you don't buy up tickets just to sell for profit later...

A lot of these tickets were "accidents" - and I suppose it's all right to sell them. For profit though? I'm not so sure -- It's a tough call - in one sense a lot of you are using it to pay for other concert-related expenses (even though I think going to a concert near you is a smarter idea), but in another sense, you're basically doing what the brokers do - taking "advantage" of fans' need (and desire) for hard-to-get tickets by selling them at higher prices... Which is a cruel thing...

I almost didn't get any tickets to this tour - which would have meant my first chance to see U2 would depend on brokers and eBay... I've wanted to see them for many years now, and the prospect infuriated me... I know I would much rather NOT see U2 (despite my deep, deep love of them) than pay more than face value for any ticket.

Like I said, I'm torn! It's not as if you all just went out and bought tickets with the intent of re-selling them for more than face value - but you bought tickets to far-off venues and are faced with travel expenses... That's your problem and I don't think it is fair to pass that off to a fan who really wants to see U2 and might not be able to because of the price of your tickets...

Edit: I agree with njelevation06 and ouizy on this one

 

[njelevation06]

 

[mofo23]

Originally posted by njelevation06
"You all know what I think ... I've posted many times on here in my disgust for scalpers and scalping. I've acquired shows to seven shows without scalping. Four of them GA's (11 GA tix in all). So you def. can get good tickets without scalping.

Secondly, for every pair of tickets you buy and sell on ebay to some fly-by-night yuppie fan, a true u2 fan lost the chance to buy tix during the sale for face value. When you're at the show and some Why are you on this board and part of this community if you buy tix and sell them away to non-fans? Its blatantly disrepectful for those who did not luck out in the general sale. I am very lucky that I was able to do so well with tickets and I have an appreciation for it. And I also have sympathy for those who weren't so lucky and can't afford scalped tickets."

Two parts:
Part 1:

The real problem I have with scalpers and professional brokers is their incestious relationship with ticketmaster. Those two entities combined are a huge problem, when Boston GAs for 12/4 and 12/5 go onsale on Ebay and on brokers ticket sites BEFORE the shows are even announced (That's how I knew there would be 2 shows in December added even before ticketmaster announced them), there is a real problem.

I would have absolutely no qualms what-so-ever with people selling tickets for whatever price they wanted as long as you and I and everyone had an equal chance to get these tickets when they come out. But this is clearly not the case. There are many great articles online that detail how brokers make deals with TM agents to cut them tickets before general sales (and this doesn't include the brokers who bought u2.com memberships for presales). This is what bothers me most.

As for the individual person who buys tickets just like everyone else, be it online or at the box office, what they do with it is their business. If they put it on Ebay and people bid the price up to what some may consider high, well, that's the market and that's what people are willing to pay.

Part 2:

The comment that NJElevation made about "investment banker shows up to the arena during the third song, think of all the interfercers that didn't have the chance to go", well that's just unfair. Because the guy/girl has a good job and may have had to stay late at the office or whatever he/she was doing, they shouldn't be allowed to go. Some U2 fans, believe it or not, can't ditch their normal lives at the drop of the hat to get online at 10am sharp on Saturday to buy tickets and some may even have to continue working when U2 goes on tour. Should this person be forced to hand over their tickets if they can't recite all of the lyrics to Unforgettable Fire at the door? Of course not.

And not to go on and on about this (I know... too late), but the fact that some people get tickets to multiple shows, and travel out of their own area, what about the tickets they "take away" from other fans. No one on this board crucifies them, but that guy in the business suit or the sorority girls screaming at the top of their lungs, they are the ones who make the interference people lose out?

 

[Noopie]

Huh....I thought I was a true U2 fan (buying everything released, listening to the music obsessively, going to multiple concerts, making interference my start page, etc...), however I didn't get the GA like I wanted and was willing to shell out up to a personal limit over face value (by choice)..... apparently this means I'm just a fly-by-night yuppy fan.

 

[njelevation06]

Originally posted by njelevation06
"You all know what I think ... I've posted many times on here in my disgust for scalpers and scalping. I've acquired shows to seven shows without scalping. Four of them GA's (11 GA tix in all). So you def. can get good tickets without scalping.

Secondly, for every pair of tickets you buy and sell on ebay to some fly-by-night yuppie fan, a true u2 fan lost the chance to buy tix during the sale for face value. When you're at the show and some Why are you on this board and part of this community if you buy tix and sell them away to non-fans? Its blatantly disrepectful for those who did not luck out in th e general sale. I am very lucky that I was able to do so well with tickets and I have an appreciation for it. And I also have sympathy for those who weren't so lucky and can't afford scalped tickets."

Two parts:
Part 1:

The real problem I have with scalpers and professional brokers is their incestious relationship with ticketmaster. Those two entities combined are a huge problem, when Boston GAs for 12/4 and 12/5 go onsale on Ebay and on brokers ticket sites BEFORE the shows are even announced (That's how I knew there would be 2 shows in December added even before ticketmaster announced them), there is a real problem.

I would have absolutely no qualms what-so-ever with people selling tickets for whatever price they wanted as long as you and I and everyone had an equal chance to get these tickets when they come out. But this is clearly not the case. There are many great articles online that detail how brokers make deals with TM agents to cut them tickets before general sales (and this doesn't include the brokers who bought u2.com memberships for presales). This is what bothers me most.

As for the individual person who buys tickets just like everyone else, be it online or at the box office, what they do with it is their business. If they put it on Ebay and people bid the price up to what some may consider high, well, that's the market and that's what people are willing to pay.

Part 2:

The comment that NJElevation made about "investment banker shows up to the arena during the third song, think of all the interfercers that didn't have the chance to go", well that's just unfair. Because the guy/girl has a good job and may have had to stay late at the office or whatever he/she was doing, they shouldn't be allowed to go. Some U2 fans, believe it or not, can't ditch their normal lives at the drop of the hat to get online at 10am sharp on Saturday to buy tickets and some may even have to continue working when U2 goes on tour. Should this person be forced to hand over their tickets if they can't recite all of the lyrics to Unforgettable Fire at the door? Of course not.

And not to go on and on about this (I know... too late), but the fact that some people get tickets to multiple shows, and travel out of their own area, what about the tickets they "take away" from other fans. No one on this board crucifies them, but that guy in the business suit or the sorority girls screaming at the top of their lungs, they are the ones who make the interference people lose out?

Everyone does have the right to do what they want with tickets (sell them on ebay etc.) But why then would you come to interference if you are more concerned with making profits off the band than appreciating them and seeing other fans appreciate them. This is a community of fans...duh

Investment bankers have every right to go to a concert. I'm not some free lovin' hippie. I'm a Republican at an Ivy League school. Fine, buy tickets off scalpers if you have the cash. But my point is that people here on interference shouldn't be the suppliers. We are supposed to be fans that care more about seeing fellow interfercer score tickets than making a quick buck. If you see U2 as a means for profit, find another forum to hang out in.

If you are a U2 fan who can't make the general sale due to work, you should be able to come on to Zootopia or Interference to buy extra tix off fans. Fans should sell them on this forum not post them on ebay.

Interference = fans who love u2 and fans who help other fans.

There have been a lot of people who have supported me on my various posts about tickets. I want to see your support again showing that the interference community stands for true fans and true lovers of U2. It all started with my "Pact to Help Each other Out" before tickets even went on sale. Many of you agreed to that pact and I appreciate that.

 

[unosdostres14]

Yeah....i had some extra tickets and I sold them on ebay. I wasn't making a profit. I sold them for 2,000 dollars each. Yeah, with my airplane costs, my hotel costs, the two t-shirts i'm going to buy, the food i'm going to eat, the new tickets I bought, the new shoes I'm going to wear there, oh can't forget the money for beer at the bar i'm going to afterwards. Honest, I was just breaking even, for the other u2 concerts i was going to. I wasn't scalping.

 

[BlueStar]

I did. I sold a pair of GA tickets on eBay. But, I didn't really make a profit, since I turned around and used the money to by a pair of GA tickets for another show I actually could go to. I tried to trade. I tried to find a pair of tix for the show I wanted at face value (and if I had, I would have sold the tix I didn't want at face value).

 

[cardosino]

At least scalping/buying off scalpers keeps the money in the U.S.

Now, how many of you who have disdain for scalpers shop at Wal-Mart ?

That's a whole new level of immorality and inhumanity.

 

[BWU2Buffs]

Great thread, and interesting posts.

For me, we can not bitch about brokers & scalpers (is there a difference?) in one breath, then jump on eBay to sell tickets at profit to finance our various adventures -- whether you do it on eBay, or a broker does it for a living, it's the same thing to me, only a matter of scale.

Someone posted about the TM / broker relationships -- that is the core of the problem. It kills me that the general sale for Omaha is still days away, yet broker sites show over 100 tickets in inventory at miserable prices. That needs to stop, and it's up to TM to stop it.

In this arena, I'm guilty on the buying side -- I purchased from brokers to see Elevation in Oakland and on eBay for Denver in April... didn't mind it a bit.

I would not sell for a profit -- trade or at cost here first; and I seriously doubt that that I'll ever be in a position of having too many tickets --- it'd be nice to just get tickets to the shows I want to see at cost, for once.

 

[brejc]

I am selling my GA tickets at a tremendous profit, this will allow me to buy a flight and hotel room to see the concert in the cheap seats I was able to get in the general sale. I don't care at all. There is nothing wrong or illegal (in my state) at all with it.

I am in college and cannot afford to go to concerts, spend $9 on cups of warm beer, $5 for a leathery hot dog, and buy a $35 t-shirt. I forgive U2 for what they did on the first leg ticket sales because they apologized and admitted their errors, but I have given up on actually 'caring' about them or any other big corporate band. I put thousands of dollars on my credit cards during the Elevation and POPMart tours, I can't do it this time around, nor do I care to. But as a long-time Propoganda member, I wisely took part in the pre-sale and got my hands on what I could get.

I have two GA tickets on a Saturday night in NYC and selling them is going to finance my entire trip - tickets, hotel, flight to NYC. I have no choice, I am broke and will be even more broke when I graduate in January and have to start paying student loans. Should I feel bad about this? I certainly don't.

Maybe, just maybe, I am only playing Devil's Advocate with this post... but my point is that I have no problem with people scalping their tickets, it's the ticket agencies and brokers that suck up hundreds of tickets to each show that are the real problem - not individuals who are selling their tickets for any number of personal reasons.

Hehe, did the exact same thing. Had 2 GA pairs and sold them for a big profit. However, that money went to paying my flight, hotel and 2 GAs in San Diego for the opener. I live in Toronto, so i'ts not a cheap trip!

 

[unosdostres14]

Hehe, did the exact same thing. Had 2 GA pairs and sold them for a big profit. However, that money went to paying my flight, hotel and 2 GAs in San Diego for the opener. I live in Toronto, so i'ts not a cheap trip!

How about selling the tickets to pay for all the u2 cds you've ever bought, bc without those you wouldn't have known about them. Oh, and you gotta pay for your internet at home, because you wouldn't have gotten the tickets and information about the tickets without the internet. Pay for your stereo, too, coz you couldn't have heard u2 without that. Oh and pay for your college debts, because without college, you couldn't have gotten a job and been able to get u2 tickets. Oooh...what about the food you are going to eat in San Diego, you gotta compensate that as well. Oh really, you're not doing anything wrong by selling the tickets at a ridiculous price, you're just breaking even, right?



NO!!!!!!