Can electronic ticketers help keep the scalpers at bay?

See, in the real world you aren't able to hide behind your firewall and lob verbal grenades.  When you call someone "worthless" where I come from you often need to be able to handle your own security.  Really, I'm serious.  Let's get together.  I think I would really enjoy that.  Pretty obvious by your mouth that you really don't have much to offer the world in the way of measurable benefit.  Stand up and stand behind your attitude.  I've got some time off this week so I am available pretty much all day long.  C'mon, you can take a little pride in your smartness can't you?  Come out of the basement and be counted.  I like the feel of breaking a rib with a well timed punch.  

So you're admitting your a pussy then?  Am I understanding that right?

Herb,

Your last comment started with so much promise--why end on such a negative tone?  When a guy tells me I've gotten under his skin, it's usually a result of a pleasurable experience.  Then we switch.

Unfortunately, I must decline your invitation to compare mouth sizes.  On the Internet, nobody knows that you're a dog, after all.  My mouth is approximately 2" wide and 3 1/4" tall when I open it as wide as I can, though, if that helps.

I should also confess: I have almost no dentistry skills.  And a non-existent dental plan.  Double whammy.  Very not smart, to answer your question.

It's now pretty clear that I'm a lacking a few skills, so l have a better resolution to consider instead of your Who's Mouth Is Bigger? idea.  I will teach you how to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation in exchange for lessons in patience (that you've learned from standing long lines to buy tickets to scalp).  Only, that doesn't seem like a very fair exchange, so you have to hook me up with something else, too.  Like Katy Perry tickets, or dentistry skills (preferably emergency dentistry).  I'm open to other ideas, too.

maybe you're so smart you can handle your own dental emergency... why pay a dentist? anybody can put a tooth back in right smartass?  let's find out.

wow, picking on a typo?  your comments have now gotten under my skin.  you name the place and time and we'll see who has the big mouth then.  Shall we?

So how am I keeping you from making your own "oppertunity" (sic)?  I bet I know--you've finally realized that you're a worthless scalper and now your conscience is getting the better of you (yes, scalpers are indeed worthless; they have precisely zero worth). 

I won't dispute that I'm an asshole.

It's 'anybodies (sic) god damn business what you charged for it' because you're screwing over the two parties that really matter in the equation--the fans and the artists.  Most (but not all) artists actually appreciate their fans and don't want to be perceived as greedy assholes.  Lower ticket prices also encourage fans to buy merchandise that supports artists at shows, which I think is okay (those things actually have value).  Fans are also more likely to become long-term "customers" of artists if they feel they're treated fairly by the artist.

I think we're in agreement that we don't really care if Ticketmaster gets screwed out of additional revenue, but I'm still more willing to cough up the extra dough to them than to worthless scalpers like you.  Why?  Set prices, for one.  The authenticity of tickets is guaranteed.  Events are also time-sensitive services, and scalpers make buying tickets inconvenient.  Most scalper prices start above what most of the market is willing to pay as a way to test the "true ceiling."  As the event date nears and scalper tickets remain, prices are adjusted downward.  Say your Adele ticket costs $50 and you initially try to sell it for $200.  As the event date nears and it remains unsold, maybe you'll lower your asking price to $150, and then maybe $100 a few days before the show.  You're now leaving someone who actually WANTS TO SEE THE SHOW less lead-time to make a purchase, which is inconvenient.  Additionally, many scalpers are unwilling to ever lower prices to at or near face value, meaning the ticket goes unused instead of going to someone who would be willing to pay face value for it and actually WANTS TO SEE THE SHOW.

With that said, Mr. Worthless Scalper, why should I "just get in line and cough up those fees" to YOU?  Because you're good at standing in line?  Because you can buy many tickets at once that you don't actually want to use?  Because the ticket I can buy from you might be counterfeit?  Because you're inconveniencing event goers?  You've indeed proven yourself an "oppertunist" -- one that provides no incremental value (and is in fact detrimental) to the process of buying and distributing event tickets.  And while I'll give you credit for being passionate, you should try applying it to something that's, you know, actually productive.

just doubled my money on Katy Perry tickets.  I made a hundred bucks the easy way.  unfortunately Chris, you are still a dick in the mud.

You're applying some pretty backwards logic here. More tickets would be available (at face values) to see the shows you want to see if secondary brokers weren't buying large quantities the second they go on sale.  "Magic software" for buying (I didn't say "stealing") large quantities of tickets does in fact exist.  RMG Technology was the biggest, but Ticketmaster won an injunction against them that required RMG to stop supplying its software (http://www.ticketnews.com/news....  Since then, however, several other companies have popped up offering similar software.

The "value added" that you're referring to is time- and convenience-related. My claim that "no value is added" may not have been entirely accurate in that sense.  However, the added value is grossly disproportionate to the increase in cost.  Paying 2-10x the face value of a ticket for the "convenience" of not having to buy tickets the second (i.e. time) they go on sale?  Seems a little out of whack.

Then again, I've been told I don't know much about "how business works."  If I had to guess, though, I'd say beer distributors add value by buying larger quantities of inventory at lower per-unit costs, which gives retail outlets (bars, liquor stores) the opportunity to buy in smaller quantities (and at more favorable prices) from the distributor than they could buy from the bottler/manufacturer.

Amoco - now that's convenience.  I used to have my own oil rig and refinery, but jesus christ was it expensive to operate and maintain!  Thank god for Amoco.  Now I can just buy my gas a gallon at a time.

There are many, many reseller markets that justifiably mark up prices because of the value they add.  Secondary market ticket brokers are not one of them, I'm afraid.