tweezer2001 Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Phish tickets on ebayBe wary of 'Phishy' auctions on eBayBY MATTHEW STURDEVANT | 757-247-7874 October 3, 2008 The top story for several hours Wednesday on Google News under the "Entertainment" section was that Vermont-based jam-band Phish is planning three reunion concerts March 6, 7 and 8, at the Hampton Coliseum. The buzz started slow, just seven articles on Google News at 10 a.m. Wednesday, but it mushroomed to 417 articles by 7:20 p.m. Many were written not by a wire service like The Associated Press, but by bloggers or staff writers for Web sites, newspapers and magazines, including those at MTV.com, Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times' blogs and E! Online. Lots of writers felt the need to give the story a personal touch, which says something about the draw of this band.From the 1990s to the time the band split in 2004, Phish attracted an estimated 60,000 to 85,000 people to a handful of multiple-day concerts in upstate New York, Vermont, northern Maine and the Florida Everglades.Hampton Coliseum's capacity is less than 14,000.It didn't take long for two economic realities to settle in: the demand for Phish tickets will outdo the supply, and the city of Hampton is in the money. On Wednesday, the day the reunion concert was announced, 25 separate sets of tickets were being auctioned on eBay for as much as $799 a pair and none for less than $285 per ticket. Here's the catch: nobody actually has any tickets. The real sale price is $49.50 per ticket, and an undisclosed number of them are available through a lottery on the band's Web site. The lottery ends Oct. 8, and remaining tickets go on sale Oct. 18 through Ticketmaster.And while there may be something fishy about those scalped tickets, the money that will come to Hampton will be flowing green. Hotels in the city are completely booked for that weekend, and the concerts will be a definite bump in local tax revenue — lodging, sales and meals taxes, said Commissioner of the Revenue Ross Mugler."I don't think there's anything else that drives the revenue like this," Mugler said of Phish concerts at the Coliseum. "For some reason, they (the fans) have lots of expendable income." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mugler said of Phish concerts at the Coliseum. "For some reason, they (the fans) have lots of expendable income."because they all work in IT and live in their parents' basements ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questcequecest? Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewRider Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 and sell molly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa. Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 ...and sell extras on ebay for 8x the ticket price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 How is it possible that there are already tickets on TicketsNow.com ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mike, nobody has tickets. These are ticket "speculators", that are selling tickets they expect to secure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Wouldn't that make them "expectulators"?Aloha,ToddS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mike Mr Harper, nobody has tickets stocks. These are ticket stock "speculators", that are selling tickets stocks they expect to secure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mike, nobody has tickets. These are ticket "speculators", that are selling tickets they expect to secure.Doesn't it make you wonder about the owners of the site's connection to being the exclusive seller's of Phish tickets on Oct. 18th ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakis Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mike' date=' nobody has tickets. These are ticket "speculators", that are selling tickets they expect to secure.[/quote']Doesn't it make you wonder about the owners of the site's connection to being the exclusive seller's of Phish tickets on Oct. 18th ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wooly Mammoth Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mike' date=' nobody has tickets. These are ticket "speculators", that are selling tickets they expect to secure.[/quote']Doesn't it make you wonder about the owners of the site's connection to being the exclusive seller's of Phish tickets on Oct. 18th ?Anybody can sell tickets on the site. The site basically acts as the agent, getting the buyers and sellers together. There's nothing stopping any of us from putting (non-existant) tickets on sale right now. I've sold tickets on a similar site - Stubhub. YOU set the price. They take a commission and make it very easy to sell the tix. (Stubhub even sends you a Fedex shipping label.) There are Phish Hampton tickets on Stubhub right now - $1500 for the first night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Mike' date=' nobody has tickets. These are ticket "speculators", that are selling tickets they expect to secure.[/quote']Doesn't it make you wonder about the owners of the site's connection to being the exclusive seller's of Phish tickets on Oct. 18th ?No, not at all. TicketsNow is a site for brokers and fans to sell tickets - not for TicketMaster to sell tickets.Remove your tin foil cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSTLE Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 i wonder what the actual chances of scoring tickets is? i don't have high hopes, but it would sure be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 so you think that there is zero chance that there are any ticketmaster employees promising toget tickets to friends or loved ones to sell on ticketsnow.com? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 bouche, that is a different question. A corrupted TicketMaster employee may very well sell seats at a profit - but what does that have to do with ticketsnow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 One other thing to keep in mind folks - the FANS of a band dictate the resale market prices.That's right - YOU!If ALL Phish fans would refuse to pay more than face value for a ticket (like ME), scalpers would take a bath and move on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 or, if sites that allowed scalping weren't owned by ticketmaster and all tickets weren't sold by ticketmaster, then maybe concert tickets and fees wouldn't be so expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForbinHood Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 touche' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wooly Mammoth Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 or, if sites that allowed scalping weren't owned by ticketmaster and all tickets weren't sold by ticketmaster, then maybe concert tickets and fees wouldn't be so expensive.TicketsNow is just one of MANY such sites. Major League Baseball promotes Stubhub (on their website, and during ball games on the radio) which is also a place for people to scalp tickets for ball games. And trust me, I hate Ticketmaster as much as you do. I find the current system abhorrent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 I am just blown away that Ticketmaster has purchased a ticket scalping online business and it didn't cause a stink. Remember how long it took for the DoJ and FCC to approve Sirius's merger with XM Radio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 I only now get that it's Tickets-Now. I keep seeing it as Ticket-Snow. And as for the ticketbastard employee selling tickets thing - I find it hard to believe I've never made friends with a ticketbastard employee. I think they hire non-social people on purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingbear Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 (edited) fight on booche!agree with ya..there are other ticket 'brokers' out there but they are not the ones selling the 'orignal' tix. CONFLICT OF INTEREST.personally, have never bought a ticket for more than face...ie. if 32 paid 35 or whatever. also have never sold for more than face/ including nYE 96/97,97/98 which were tough tix at the time...however, have made what both parties consider fair trades. Edited October 7, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phorbesie Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 didn't TB start doing "auctions" on the site awhile back? if i remember correctly. that's really no different than scalping, and they were doing it right on the TB site.FUCK TB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartamophone Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 I understand that ticketing for a large-scale arena show is a big undertaking, logistically. I also understand that if fans wouldn't pay scalpers for tickets, there would be no more scalpers.That said, I am disappointed that Phish doesn't seem to care as much as they should about scalping. They do the lottery, which is a nice gesture and levels the playing field to an extent, but I have a hard time believing that the band does everything in its power to curb the secondary market. This is part of why I was hoping the first show(s) back would be at a bigger venue. Not a stadium, but at least a decent sized arena, thus increasing supply by a few thousand and easing the squeeze a little bit.As a bit of an aside: ticket scalping, especially regulated scalping like seen on StubHub and TicketsNow makes me angry. Having said that, I would rather our governments spend their time frying bigger fish. Exorbitant ticket prices to Hampton are a pain in the ass, but I would rather those in our legislative houses fix health care before making sure I can get my heady extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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