My position on scalping...

My point of starting this topic was because it seemed to be assumed that, as a promoter, I participated in this sot of thing

not claiming sainthood, just wanted to set the record straight

Seth wrote:
This would be like someone entering the club, buying all the Guiness we had, and setting up shop selling them at twice the price

As long as they have the appropriate licensing from the District of Columbia's alcohol beverage control department, how could someone have a problem with that?

say what you will about that overpriced shite in a can, when you should be drinking abitha or 930 ale from the basement bar . . . . but this goes out to seth for posting this thread in the first place.



go tarheels.

walkonby wrote:
go tarheels.

ABC: Anyone But Carolina.

Its the big time companies and ebay power sellers who appear to make a living off of scalping that frustrate me.  Its a low way to make a living.  I don't mind as much buying a ticket for a little guy on ebay or craigslist selling a couple of tickets.

and yeah any info about vfest? please? hints?

I'll avoid the beer topic because I don't drink, so therefore it doesn't affect me.

I'm glad Seth is clarifying his position in this thread, though I had never doubted him in the first place. As noted in the Reznor post above, a lot of promoters and club owners DO actively participate in the scalping. By not condoning scalping, Seth is at least making some of the process transparent for 9:30 Club shows. Though it'll still occur no matter what safeguards are put into place, it's good to know that one part of the equation is clear.

I've always felt like I've had more than a fair shot at 9:30 Club tickets for any show. The soft-sale almost never sells out instantly, so if I miss a show, it's my fault for not reading Just Announced or paying attention. The shows I do miss (Bloc Party, for example) often fall victim to the Craigslist scalpers, so if I want to go to a show, I know what I have to do.

I'm interested in seeing what bands have facilitated jacking up prices since Reznor claims they are a big part of it.

Couldn't 9:30 Club also require something like the name and last four digits of a credit card on all tickets (to big shows, at least) to prevent scalping? I realize this makes the staff's job a bit tougher, but it can also decrease scalping.

walkonby wrote:
say what you will about that overpriced shite in a can



go tarheels.

Yeah, Guiness is a whole additional level of ripoff… take mass-produced crap, add to it a lot of bogus "Irish" imagery, and distribute it for 10 times what it's actually worth.

I haven't been to Ireland for a long time, but I'm guessing Irish people with taste don't walk into a pub and order Guiness any more than self-respecting Australians order Foster's.

Doctor wrote:
I haven't been to Ireland for a long time, but I'm guessing Irish people with taste don't walk into a pub and order Guiness any more than self-respecting Australians order Foster's.

I spent a year over there in 94/95 and from my memory most people drank either Budweiser or Guinness. I was pretty surprised about the Budweiser.

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/08-08/best-selling-beers-around-the-world.html


Ireland


Some people don?t really consider stout a beer at all, but we do, and otherwise we couldn?t even mention the way Guinness dominates the market in Ireland. Domestic sales have actually been dropping a bit for the past few years, though they still account for nearly half of the total in the country. Fans of the stuff insist the lines have to be clean and the beer has to be fresh, so it always tastes better in Ireland than it does elsewhere. It's now brewed in almost 50 different countries worldwide, and even though the company insists it's all the same, this could help explain why it seems better in some places than in others. The best selling lager is Harp, which happens to be owned by Diageo, which is the same London-based company that owns Guinness.

Doctor wrote:

walkonby wrote:
say what you will about that overpriced shite in a can



go tarheels.

Yeah, Guiness is a whole additional level of ripoff… take mass-produced crap, add to it a lot of bogus "Irish" imagery, and distribute it for 10 times what it's actually worth.

I haven't been to Ireland for a long time, but I'm guessing Irish people with taste don't walk into a pub and order Guiness any more than self-respecting Australians order Foster's.

serpent wrote:
I'm interested in seeing what bands have facilitated jacking up prices since Reznor claims they are a big part of it.

Aerosmith does.  They scalp tickets to their own fan club members.  They try very hard to disguise it as a promotional package, but what you get at face value costs several hundred dollars less than what they charge you.

Anyway, to get back to the economics of scalping… what scalpers do is take advantage of the difference between the price a club is willing to charge without alienating its customers, and the maximum price the market will bear.

Seth could put an end to scalping by raising his prices so high that only the most monied would be able or willing to pay for shows.  Tickets would not sell out as quickly, but by effectively charging scalpers' rates, he would then collect the profit that scalpers currently gain.

Unfortunately, this would alienate a huge portion of the 930 Club's base, and shut out many ardent music fans.   Those people would eventually turn to other things than seeing bands at the club.  Seth might grow wealthy in the short run, but the Club would become something other than what it is now, and would eventually fail.

It's actually a pretty good demonstration of the fact that free market capitalism will only get you so far.

Julian, wrote:

walkonby wrote:
go tarheels.

ABC: Anyone But Carolina.

tarheels =  abc: a basketball classic

If the final is UNC v. Michigan State, I might pray for Ford Field to collapse in on itself. Heck, the Lions don't need it.

Julian, wrote:
If the final is UNC v. Michigan State

That ain't happenin. Mark my words, I have just 2: Big East

Julian, wrote:
If the final is UNC v. Michigan State, I might pray for Ford Field to collapse in on itself. Heck, the Lions don't need it.

actually i would love to see that . . . just to put those silly "we know everything about sports" michigan fans in their place after unc is snipping down the net in victory frenzy.

replace guiness with hofbrau.  on draft and in bottle.  the new maibock for spring is as awesome as u2's "unforgetable fire."  word.

SPARX wrote:

Julian, wrote:
If the final is UNC v. Michigan State

That ain't happenin. Mark my words, I have just 2: Big East

Here's hoping.

thinking about using the split topic function at this moment..

walkonby wrote:

Julian, wrote:

walkonby wrote:
go tarheels.

ABC: Anyone But Carolina.

tarheels =  abc: a basketball classic

the games are on CBS anyway.

cbs: carolina brings satisfaction

CBS: Carolina's Bull Shit

Tyler Hansborough: Eric Montross v2.0