Ticket brokers purchase and sell event tickets faster than individuals, often at a significant markup. Some states have laws against ticket brokerage, but brokers can operate in states that allow it. Brokers argue they are providing a service, while opponents believe they are taking over the market unfairly.
If you’ve ever tried to buy tickets to a concert, only to find them sold out three minutes after they went on sale, look no further than a ticket broker. With legions of employees both offline and online, ticket brokers have the resources to purchase more tickets and purchase them faster than an individual. If you can’t find tickets to an event, chances are a broker has them.
Many states have laws prohibiting the sale of tickets worth more than face value. Some states have laws specifically prohibiting ticket brokerage companies from doing business. With worldwide internet access, ticket brokers can operate in a state that allows them to do business and sell tickets to concerts, shows and events from around the world.
A ticket broker makes money based on supply and demand. There is an artificially small amount of event tickets, because a show only has so many dates and there are only so many seats in one venue. This allows the broker to control a significant portion of the ticket supply and charge ten times the ticket price or more.
Ticket brokerage employs a group of buyers to purchase tickets for a particular event. Shoppers queue at outlets or use the Internet to shop online. Employees deliver tickets to the broker, who then resells them, usually through a website, at a huge markup. When people can’t find tickets for the event, they turn to the ticket broker.
Of course, there are more sides to the discussion. Ticket brokers claim to be providing a service. They say that by buying large numbers of tickets and selling them at an extreme markup, they are only providing a true market economy. Their claim is that if people want to see a show enough to pay ten times the face value of the ticket, the ticket broker is justified in selling the ticket at that price.
Opponents of ticket brokers argue that because there are very limited numbers of tickets, the brokers are providing unfair competition. They say the brokerage is taking over the market. These naysayers do not believe that it is ethical for brokers to act as intermediaries, hoarding tickets and charging an artificially high price without providing any meaningful services.
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