Letter to the Editor: At the mercy of scalpers (August, 2006)
I know this isn’t the most important issue in our area, but it’s something that has bothered me for a long time. Whenever my husband and I want to go to a concert, show, or sporting event, the good seats are sold out in minutes. An hour later they’re on sale on Ebay and other internet ticket broker sites at many times the original ticket prices. Last December we wanted to see a holiday show in Baltimore. We went to the concert hall in person to buy tickets and arrived before the box office opened. There were only a few people in line in front of us. When it was our turn (maybe five minutes from when the tickets went on sale), all of the seats were sold out except for two in the back of the second balcony. By the time we got home, hundreds of tickets were already on sale on the internet. The tickets in the front of the theater that had originally sold for about $65 were listed for up to $900. The $35 balcony seats that I had just bought were list ed at over $200. There is something wrong when consumers are at the mercy of scalpers, or “power sellers” as they call themselves on Ebay. Several states limit the resale price of tickets. Our General Assembly has failed to provide any similar protection to consumers in Maryland. When I am elected to the House of Delegates, I will introduce legislation to limit the resale price of tickets to no more than five dollars above their original selling price. It’s time for the people in Maryland to be able to see a show or sporting event without feeling that they were ripped off.
—Diane Lee Nixon
Candidate for the House of Delegates in District 20