Anyone with knowledge of modern scalping operations, please contribute to this thread.
There's been some talk on this forum that U2.com memberships are being used by scalpers. I've certainly suspected that myself, and it would piss me off if this were true. I mean to pay $50 bucks just to get a bit closer to leveling the playing field with the scalpers is just unfair.
However, a U2.com membership may or may not be the way scalpers operate. Here are the pros and cons of getting tickets this way, if you run a scalper cartel:
Pros:
Easily justifiable business expense. $50 for 4 tickets means only $12.50 markup per ticket, which is pocket change when you stand to sell it at $200+ markup.
Cons:
It's a hassle. When you're managing a network of tickets for hundreds of concerts and sporting events, and are used to placing orders of 12 tickets or more at once, doing all that extra work for just 4 tickets seems annoying. You have to bother with finding different addresses, different credit cards, etc.
So I'm not sure whether it's worth it or not for the scalpers. They are (I'm guessing) equipped with software tools that easily put them ahead of the average person during the general sale, so why bother setting up 3 memberships and making 3 purchases when you can just lay back an pick up 12 tickets in one scoop during the general sale.
On the other hand it's not like these people have higher quality use for their time than signing up for memberships and using pre-sales. I mean what do they do all day other than being rude on the phone, socializing with other shady assholes in their underworld, and buying/selling tickets online? In other words, it's part of their job.
What do people think - worth it or not for the scalpers? What fraction of memberships falls into the wrong hands?
There's been some talk on this forum that U2.com memberships are being used by scalpers. I've certainly suspected that myself, and it would piss me off if this were true. I mean to pay $50 bucks just to get a bit closer to leveling the playing field with the scalpers is just unfair.
However, a U2.com membership may or may not be the way scalpers operate. Here are the pros and cons of getting tickets this way, if you run a scalper cartel:
Pros:
Easily justifiable business expense. $50 for 4 tickets means only $12.50 markup per ticket, which is pocket change when you stand to sell it at $200+ markup.
Cons:
It's a hassle. When you're managing a network of tickets for hundreds of concerts and sporting events, and are used to placing orders of 12 tickets or more at once, doing all that extra work for just 4 tickets seems annoying. You have to bother with finding different addresses, different credit cards, etc.
So I'm not sure whether it's worth it or not for the scalpers. They are (I'm guessing) equipped with software tools that easily put them ahead of the average person during the general sale, so why bother setting up 3 memberships and making 3 purchases when you can just lay back an pick up 12 tickets in one scoop during the general sale.
On the other hand it's not like these people have higher quality use for their time than signing up for memberships and using pre-sales. I mean what do they do all day other than being rude on the phone, socializing with other shady assholes in their underworld, and buying/selling tickets online? In other words, it's part of their job.
What do people think - worth it or not for the scalpers? What fraction of memberships falls into the wrong hands?