Congress aims to crack down on bots that snatch up tickets for scalpers

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Having a hard time getting tickets to the latest Bruce Springsteen concert or college football game?

Congress is moving forward with legislation that could make it easier to score seats.

Ticket sellers and re-sellers testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday and endorsed congressional efforts to crack down on the use of computerized software by ticket brokers to snap up tickets.

These so-called “bots” rapidly purchase as many desirable tickets as possible for resale at significant markups.

rest - http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/congress-aims-crack-ticket-scalpers-bots-article-1.2790879

[Poet]

I like this.

[MasterShake]

It's bad enough Ticketmaster and others screw you on the front end, it's even worse when scalpers and re-sellers do it on the back. A good example is here in Denver when the Book of Mormon finally came here. People snatch those tickets up in MINUTES and then that day they are all over Craigslist and ticket brokers with descriptions like, "LOL. Bought 14 tickets to the Book of Mormon and just realized me and my family will be out of town that weekend. Selling for $400/ea or best offer!"

And of course people buy them because the market supply and demand has been corrupted. I'd gladly wait a bit of extra time if they sold tickets that could only be used by the person who bought them somehow. Tie them into your credit card (like Flash Seats) and make it a pain in the ass to transfer. Put the ticket holders name on it and require an ID or something. Ticket scalpers and brokers make me irrationally angry but I don't know how to counter them. The ticket sellers are more than likely lobbying to make sure laws don't pass to hurt the re sellers because they make money either way.

[Davii]

It's bad enough Ticketmaster and others screw you on the front end, it's even worse when scalpers and re-sellers do it on the back. A good example is here in Denver when the Book of Mormon finally came here. People snatch those tickets up in MINUTES and then that day they are all over Craigslist and ticket brokers with descriptions like, "LOL. Bought 14 tickets to the Book of Mormon and just realized me and my family will be out of town that weekend. Selling for $400/ea or best offer!"

And of course people buy them because the market supply and demand has been corrupted. I'd gladly wait a bit of extra time if they sold tickets that could only be used by the person who bought them somehow. Tie them into your credit card (like Flash Seats) and make it a pain in the ass to transfer. Put the ticket holders name on it and require an ID or something. Ticket scalpers and brokers make me irrationally angry but I don't know how to counter them. The ticket sellers are more than likely lobbying to make sure laws don't pass to hurt the re sellers because they make money either way.

I would 100% be on board with some way to crack down on re-selling tickets by companies, etc. The markups are absolutely ridiculous and are what make it so hard to get to a game. I would say individual ticket holders should be allowed to sell their tickets through the stadium, and maybe even enjoy a small profit, but they should limit the number of seats that can be resold or something to ensure these companies using this type of software to game the supply/demand are put out of business.

[weazel]

The Garth Brooks show here sold out before the 10:00 AM ticket sales opening... no shit! There were already scalpers with ad's on kijiji and stubhub 3 days before the show. This happens alot but this one was so bad that Brooks cancelled the show.

[Dapper Dan]

What about the bots that trick you into giving them your card info for a cam show? Asking for a friend. It might be Mo.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The office of the attorney general of New York announced on Tuesday that it has reached settlements worth $2.76 million with six ticket brokers as part of its continuing investigation into the online ticket scalping market.

The investigation by the attorney general’s office was announced in January with a 41-page report that detailed the many ways — both legal and illegal — that ordinary fans of concerts, Broadway shows and sporting events are prevented from finding tickets online. Among them are brokers’ use of “bots,” or automated software, to quickly seize the best seats, which are then frequently resold to consumers at inflated prices.

“New Yorkers deserve a fairer ticket marketplace,” the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, said in a statement. “Our office will continue to enforce New York’s ticket laws by investigating ticket brokers who are breaking our laws, and making them pay for their illegal acts.”

Six ticket brokers in five states were found to be selling tickets in New York since 2011 without a proper license, as required by state law: TicketToad.com of New Jersey; Flying Falco Entertainment of California, which operates under the name Avery Tickets; Charm City Entertainment of Florida; All Events Utah; and Just in Time Tickets and A2Z Tix, both of New York.

The attorney general found that all of those companies except Charm City Entertainment also used bots to buy tickets, which is prohibited by New York State law. Flying Falco Entertainment paid the largest settlement, at $1,125,000, and Charm City paid the least, at $100,000. Counting two other settlements that were announced in January, the attorney general’s office has collected just over $2.9 million in settlements related to the investigation.

The inquiry found that TicketToad had illegally bought 520 tickets to a Beyoncé concert at Barclays Center in August 2013 within three minutes, and that Avery Tickets bought 522 tickets to a One Direction show at Jones Beach in June 2013 within five minutes.

The settlements require that the companies obtain proper licenses as ticket resellers, and stop using bots.

The attorney general’s report in January also laid out ambitious plans for pressuring the bigger powers of the music industry, saying that it had suggested reforms to the major ticketing vendors for dealing with the “bot epidemic,” and asking concert promoters and other industry players to be more transparent about how tickets are released. But the announcement on Tuesday included no information about those plans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/business/media/ticket-brokersin-settlement-with-new-york-over-scalping-laws.html?_r=0