# is buying tickets to resell them wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135 "2014-05-23T23:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/1 "2014-05-23T23:29:54Z")
If you know a concert or sporting event is gonna sell out and you snag a bunch of cheap tickets to sell later at a marked up price. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/2 "2014-05-23T23:36:41Z")
Nope. There’s business who exist to do just that. There’s nothing wrong with you wanting to try and make a little extra scratch by picking up 3 or 4 of them and marking them up a few dollars and putting them on Ebay. Thing is, make sure you check your local laws. They’re very strict and tell you exactly what you can mark them up for. In some states (or interstate) it’s something silly like $3.00 over face value if you’re not a reseller. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/3 "2014-05-23T23:42:56Z")
Looks like, as a scalper (which is what you’d be), you’d get to add $3.00. > **[North Carolina General Statutes § 14-344 Sale of admission tickets in excess...](https://law.onecle.com/north-carolina/14-criminal-law/14-344.html)** > > North Carolina General Statutes includes North Carolina state laws on civil procedure, common law, evidence, criminal law, criminal procedure, offenses against public morals, motor vehicles, wills, landlord and tenant, divorce, and marriage. Now, in Wisconsin, as soon as a concert goes on sale, the resellers go out on buy all the good seats and sell them for a HUGE markup. So a ticket with a face value of $100, might go for $300-$400. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/4 "2014-05-24T00:08:17Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > If you know a concert or sporting event is gonna sell out and you snag a bunch of cheap tickets to sell later at a marked up price. Artists [regularly scalp their own tickets to their own concerts](https://www.google.com/search?q=artists+reselling+their+own+concert+tickets) just to increase their own profit margins. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/5 "2014-05-24T00:32:14Z")
Nothing wrong with that at all. Might be illegal, but I don’t believe it is wrong. It’s just the free market working out a fair price for a limited resource. If you \*can \*resell them for a significant amount more than the original price, that just means they were under-priced in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/6 "2014-05-24T01:42:36Z")
In DC it’s illegal to sell a ticket outside the stadium for less than you paid for it. I’ve benefitted from that. My older son and I went to hang out around the stadium during a playoff game. We got there after the game has started, and a guy offered to sell us tickets for half face value. I was skeptical that they were legit, so he agreed to let my son go through before I paid. After he went through cops converged on us and asked how much I paid. I truthfully replied that no money exchanged hands. The guys gave me the thumbs up and walked away. The game ended on a walkoff home run by Jayson Werth. If I had seen the guy after the game I would have gladly paid him what we agreed on. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/7 "2014-05-24T02:43:06Z")
There are a few concerts here every year with $5 tickets and they sell out right away. I usually buy the limit of 8 and sell the extras (most people offer at least $50/pair). Since I usually go myself, I don’t really end up with anything leftover after the gas, parking, pizza, drinks. So I basically use it as a way to go to a concert for free. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/8 "2014-05-24T06:38:24Z")
Sometimes you have no choice. You bought tickets to an event but then cant go and need to sell them. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/9 "2014-05-24T07:23:28Z")
I personally think scalping is morally reprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/10 "2014-05-24T08:14:32Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > I personally think scalping is morally reprehensible. I agree. Taking advantage of the market in order to turn a profit on a product you didn’t create and aren’t responsible for is exploitation. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/11 "2014-05-24T09:16:22Z")
Speaking as an American Indian … nah, I can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/12 "2014-05-24T09:57:10Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I agree. Taking advantage of the market in order to turn a profit on a product you didn’t create and aren’t responsible for is exploitation. Isnt that what that the stock market does? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/13 "2014-05-24T10:32:12Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Isnt that what that the stock market does? Yes, and I don’t care for the stock market either. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buying-tickets-to-resell-them-wrong/689135/14 "2014-05-24T11:34:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I agree. Taking advantage of the market in order to turn a profit on a product you didn’t create and aren’t responsible for is exploitation. How do you think people make money? What do you do for a living? Do you realize that every time you go shopping you’re creating a bigger ‘market’ for whatever your buying. I feel like I must be misunderstanding something.