Scalping of tickets in Missouri is finally legal.

[BigRedChief]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/379955.html

Starting today in Missouri, ticket scalpers can relax


By STEVE ROCK
The Kansas City Star It didn’t take long for Missouri’s statewide legalization of scalping to make an impact.

To wit: Hal Wagner, owner of Ace Sports & Nationwide Tickets at Oak Park Mall, already has opened a location at Independence Center.

“We’ve been waiting for that ridiculous law to be repealed,” said Wagner, whose company buys and resells tickets at prices that exceed face value. “This is a great, great thing for Missourians.”
That depends on whom you ask.

As of today, selling tickets at prices above face value for sporting events and concerts is perfectly legal across Missouri. The development comes courtesy of a new state law that says no county or city regulation can prohibit “the sale or resale of an admission ticket to any legal event at any price.”

According to Wagner, “There are a million reasons why people in Missouri benefit from having legalized ticket brokering.”

For one, he said, it gives consumers a chance to purchase tickets for sold-out events from a reputable business rather than “someone in a parking lot who could be selling counterfeit tickets he printed off on his own.”
Not everyone, however, sees the development as positive.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon recently cracked down on ticket brokers, suing three of them for scalping tickets to an upcoming Hannah Montana concert at the Sprint Center. Nixon later asked for a temporary restraining order against an Illinois broker who was selling tickets to the recent Missouri-Kansas football game at prices well above face value.
“Unfortunately, the elimination of this consumer-protection tool has come at a time when the ability to take unfair advantage of consumers has grown significantly through the Internet,” said Nixon spokesman Scott Holste.

Rep. Ray Salva, a Sugar Creek Democrat, said he planned to file legislation that would again make ticket scalping illegal. He said legislators were “hoodwinked” into the scalping change, packaged inside an economic-development bill.

“Anyone who can interpret to me how ticket scalping has to do with economic development, please call me,” he said. “I’d sure like to know.”

The sponsor of the measure that legalized scalping, Rep. Ron Richard, a Joplin Republican, could not be reached for comment on Salva’s assertion.

Brian Garland, an owner of Midwest Ticket Connection in Shawnee, said he liked the change because there had long been ambiguity about whether being in Kansas — where scalping is legal — and selling tickets for an event in Missouri was running afoul of the law.
“This takes any confusion out of the mix, which is nice,” he said. “That will probably be the biggest impact, not having to worry about getting in trouble.”
Bob Moore, director of public relations for the Kansas City Chiefs, said the team was in favor of the change because counterfeit tickets in the secondary market were a “big problem.”

“We got involved because we thought it was the only way to protect the consumer,” he said.
As a reaction to the change, the Chiefs now have a place on the team Web site where Chiefs ticket-holders can unload tickets at prices exceeding face value.

Don’t expect the change to have much of an impact on game day, however, since enforcement of the city’s anti-scalping ordinance has been minimal at best. Violation was punishable by up to a $500 fine and/or six months in jail, but police spokesman Capt. Rich Lockhart said police only went after “a few” violators over the years.

“For us, the focus on game day is about getting people in and out of the complex in a safe manner,” he said.

[HonestChieffan]

Good to see our political focus is on important issues.

[Al Bundy]

Hal Wagner is kind of a scumbag.. this law benefits him and his ilk. It doesn't benefit the fans.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon recently cracked down on ticket brokers, suing three of them for scalping tickets to an upcoming Hannah Montana concert at the Sprint Center. Nixon later asked for a temporary restraining order against an Illinois broker who was selling tickets to the recent Missouri-Kansas football game at prices well above face value.
“Unfortunately, the elimination of this consumer-protection tool has come at a time when the ability to take unfair advantage of consumers has grown significantly through the Internet,” said Nixon spokesman Scott Holste.






I'm sick and tired of people whining about scalpers.

If people would QUIT PAYING these outrageous prices for tickets, scalpers wouldn't be in control of as many tickets.

And why are scalpers getting all the pad press? STH's are just as guilty. What Chiefs fans hasn't bought and resold MU/KU tickets or Big 12 Championship tickets at a premium?

Hell, the profit I made on last year's B12 game paid for 1/2 of my Chiefs season tickets.

This isn't going away until people quit paying.

Period.

[Hammock Parties]

This might actually be good for attendance at Arrowhead.

[beavis]

Hal Wagner is kind of a scumbag.. this law benefits him and his ilk. It doesn't benefit the fans.
I remember walking into his store when I was a kid, having him try to sell me whatever newest baseball card set that he'd just got in that was going to skyrocket in value, and thinking even then, "man, this guy is crooked".

[BigRedChief]

Hal Wagner is kind of a scumbag.. this law benefits him and his ilk. It doesn't benefit the fans.Huh? It's legal in Kansas and Illinios. There was no protection for the fans.

And with the this thing called an internet you can get over priced tickets mailed to you from anyplace in the world.

Scalping laws are something left over from the jim Crowe era.

[HonestChieffan]

Highways falling apart, corruption, crime, schools in disarray, teachers underpaid, ....naaaa, screw that lets debate ticket scalpers...

[DaKCMan AP]

They legalized ticket scalping in Florida a year or so ago. They still don't let you sell tickets above face value on campus but right across the street from the stadium it's legal.

It's much better, IMO. Now you can negotiate to buy and sell tickets without worry of getting a warning/citation/ticket/arrested. For instance, a student ticket for a UF football game has a face value of $10. You're not going to get a $10 ticket secondhand whether scalping is legal or not. Most people are willing to pay $20-$45 for a normal game and $60-$200 for games against Tennessee, LSU, Fla State, etc. You can usually find a ticket for the price you're willing to spend and it's often a buyer's market.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Highways falling apart, corruption, crime, schools in disarray, teachers underpaid, ....naaaa, screw that lets debate ticket scalpers...

I'm debating those issues over on the transportation, legal and education forums I visit......


:p

[BigRedChief]

Highways falling apart, corruption, crime, schools in disarray, teachers underpaid, ....naaaa, screw that lets debate ticket scalpers...
They are representatives on the people. They are doing what the people want.

Should we have spent the Arrowhead renovation money on giving teachers raises and fixing our roads? Sure but thats not what the people really want or it would happen.

People wanted the Chiefs to stay in town and play in an updated stadium so it happened.

[mylittlepony]

In bilbao they have a long set of stairs outside the stadium. The local firm(hooligans) regularly throw any scalpers down those stairs. I think there has been alot of broken bones at the feet of those stairs. Tourguides will tell you this story with a childlike pride in their eyes.

[Dartgod]

They are representatives on the people. They are doing what the people want.
ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL

[Braincase]

I'v got no problem with it so long as those cocksuckers aren't ahead of me in line. I think there ought to be a law restricting sale to ticket brokers until tickets have been on sale to the general public for 10 days.

[BigRedChief]

ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL
I'm practicing my sarcasm without smilies. Glad to see someone "got it".

[Demonpenz]

i have always done it law be damned.

[Eleazar]

It's always going on unimpeded anyway.

But it sucks that people like Ace Sports can operate in Missouri now. "This is great, now people can get tickets to sold-out events". I COULDN'T GET TICKETS BECAUSE OF YOU &*#&^@&@(ER

[BigRedChief]

It's always going on unimpeded anyway.

But it sucks that people like Ace Sports can operate in Missouri now. "This is great, now people can get tickets to sold-out events". I COULDN'T GET TICKETS BECAUSE OF YOU &*#&^@&@(ER
I disagree because of free market encomics. Basic supply and demand.

Now those companies can't make any more money off a ticket than the average john doe .

[Eleazar]

I disagree because of free market encomics. Basic supply and demand.

Now those companies can't make any more money off a ticket than the average john doe .

I mean that they build profit into the system at no use to the consumer. They say you can get tickets to sold out events because of them, but it's because of them that a lot of people can't get them in the first place. They create a problem and then make you pay them to solve it.

It'd be like if I stole your wallet and then charged you $100 to tell you where I put it.

[BigRedChief]

I mean that they build profit into the system at no use to the consumer. They say you can get tickets to sold out events because of them, but it's because of them that a lot of people can't get them in the first place. They create a problem and then make you pay them to solve it.

It'd be like if I stole your wallet and then charged you $100 to tell you where I put it.
Welllll yes and no. Now entertainers/groups/bands are holding back tickets for their VIP/Fan Clubs/Sponsors in much greater numbers than ever before. So the availability of tickets to the public is also down.

[DenverChief]

this shit cracks me up...people want their entrepreneurial rights to sell event tickets at whatever the market will allow but scream bloody murder when gas station owners spike prices ...they are being gouged and ask the government to step in

[HonestChieffan]

Its all madness you know.

[RP_McMurphy]

This is great news for Carl as he will find a way to get himself more jack.

[BigRedChief]

This is great news for Carl as he will find a way to get himself more jack.
He's already got the website set up.
http://teamexchange.ticketmaster.com/html/eventlist.htmI?l=EN&team=chiefs

[HonestChieffan]

thats not new

[BigRedChief]

thats not newIt went up this year after the legislature passed the first steps of this bil. I'd say thats new.

Whats really new is that before they could only be sold at face value now they can be sold above face value.

[Kylo Ren]

The answer:

1.) People who own tickets, such as season ticket holders, should be able to sell / scalp their tickets for any amount they want. It's the American free market at work.

2.) People who legitimately buy tickets through ticketmaster or the ticket office, one ticket at a time, should be able to sell / scalp their tickets for any amount they want. It's the American free market at work.

3.) Professional ticket brokers who use internet hacking, repeat dial devices and other trickery to get around the system and buy hundreds or thousands of tickets in seconds, then turn around and sell them for 5X or 10X the original face value should be made illegal and put out of business.

4.) Ticket brokers, like ACE sports, who buy tickets one at a time from season ticket holders, then resell them for a profit, should be able to sell / scalp those tickets for any amount they want. It's the American free market at work. (But, if ACE sports falls into the category of #3, then screw them too!)

[Dartgod]

The answer:

1.) People who own tickets, such as season ticket holders, should be able to sell / scalp their tickets for any amount they want. It's the American free market at work.

2.) People who legitimately buy tickets through ticketmaster or the ticket office, one ticket at a time, should be able to sell / scalp their tickets for any amount they want. It's the American free market at work.

3.) Professional ticket brokers who use internet hacking, repeat dial devices and other trickery to get around the system and buy hundreds or thousands of tickets in seconds, then turn around and sell them for 5X or 10X the original face value should be made illegal and put out of business.

4.) Ticket brokers, like ACE sports, who buy tickets one at a time from season ticket holders, then resell them for a profit, should be able to sell / scalp those tickets for any amount they want. It's the American free market at work. (But, if ACE sports falls into the category of #3, then screw them too!)
Good points, especially number three. I have no problem with brokers making a profit on high demand events, but they should have to go through the same channels as the ordinary consumer to get those tickets.

[Eleazar]

Welllll yes and no. Now entertainers/groups/bands are holding back tickets for their VIP/Fan Clubs/Sponsors in much greater numbers than ever before. So the availability of tickets to the public is also down.

The artists and sponsors have always got theirs, and that's fine. They make this whole thing possible. They added value.

Brokers can even add value for very hard to get into events when they acquire tickets secondhand. In that instance they added value by finding an unwanted ticket for someone who wants it.

Brokers that send 10 people to stand in line and buy the maximum of 16 or 20 tickets each just to resell them did not add value. They denied the last 200 people in line a chance to make a transaction at face value, just so that they have to go to them. They're more or less applying a tax on tickets themselves.

There's really no good solution here. What we need is a way to limit the number of tickets they get firsthand, but not secondhand. I don't know how you would do that.

[Kylo Ren]

Good points, especially number three. I have no problem with brokers making a profit on high demand events, but they should have to go through the same channels as the ordinary consumer to get those tickets. Precisely! (did I spell that right?)

[Valiant]

The only thing I do not like about it is that the sporting venues and concert venues like it..

This tells me they will sit aside a greater amount of tickets that they will sell to a 3rd party company that they own to resell and make even more profit, in turn limiting the number of cheaper tickets to the citizens of the area..

Of course this means the Chiefs will just buy up their better seats and auction them off for 2-3x the value a normal person going through the system would pay..

Its win/win for the venues and lose/lose for those wanting to pay face value..

[Eleazar]

It went up this year after the legislature passed the first steps of this bil. I'd say thats new.

Whats really new is that before they could only be sold at face value now they can be sold above face value.

How long until Carl figures out a way to turn this law to his advantage? Maybe for the 'protection' of fans, he'll move all ticket scalping in-house. You can buy season tickets at face, or you can buy the oodles of single-game tickets the Chiefs have held back, for a single-game ticket premium of course.

[StcChief]

Package deals

Buy a ticket for face.... get this pin/hat/tshirt for $100.