Brewers seek passage of scalping bill

[Invader3K]

Senate to vote on scalping bill.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bill that would make it easier for the

Milwaukee Brewers to prosecute unauthorized ticket scalpers is moving

through the Legislature. Team officials say scalpers are using aggressive tactics to hawk

tickets, which hurts their attempt to provide a fan-friendly

experience.

---

 

Interesting. To be honest, I haven't noticed that many scalpers outside the "designated resale area," which always seems to consist of the same three or four guys anyway.

 

[jjkoestler]

Interesting. To be honest, I haven't noticed that many scalpers outside the "designated resale area," which always seems to consist of the same three or four guys anyway.

Agreed. Is this really a problem? Does anyone have negative experiences with scalpers outside the designated resale area?

[patrickgpe]

no occasionally i see people on the bridge behind center field but they are never obnoxious. I have witnessed on a few occasions people trying to sell tickets to people in line and the ticket sellers actually yelling at them to go away.

[Invader3K]

Usually I find that if you do find a scalper outside the "designated area", they are much more open to wheeling and dealing than the usual guys you see by Helfaer.

[RockCoCougars]

Invader3K]Senate to vote on scalping bill.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bill that would make it easier for the

Milwaukee Brewers to prosecute unauthorized ticket scalpers is moving

through the Legislature. Team officials say scalpers are using aggressive tactics to hawk

tickets, which hurts their attempt to provide a fan-friendly

experience.

I would guess these efforts are geared more towards hawking season ticket packages than for creating a 'fan-friendly experience'. Living 'outstate', I would rather pay over face from a scalper for a sold out game than buy a 20 pack of tickets, of which I will miss at least 5-10 games. It was one thing to buy the 10 game plans at County Stadium when the seats were $10-$12 bucks a piece, it's another thing to pay $20 plus for twice as many games just to be able to purchase tickets to the 'marquee games'. If I need to go that bad, I will use Craigslist or a scalper.

[pretendastronaut]

It's hard to comment on this since the article really doesn't mention what the law would do, or what would change.

 

While I've had negative experiences with scalpers, it has been on the bridge. I have also given away or sold tickets cheap in the parking lot, to someone walking around asking for tickets, who I thought was just a fan, only to end up having someone completely different show up in those seats, who paid more for them.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I've had that happen to me too when I've sold extra tickets. I just figure it's bound to happen sometimes.

 

My one real experience doing business with a scalper outside the designated area was more of a trade. My wife and I had four loge level tickets, but weren't able to find two other people to come to the game. I tried to resell them to the usual suspects like I normally do, but they were only offering peanuts that day (it was slow because it was a Saturday night during Summerfest). The most they would do was like $25 for two tickets that had a face value of like $35 each. I ended up walking away, figuring I'd just give the two tickets away at the gate. I ended up trading the four loge tickets to a reseller guy for two club level tickets directly behind home plate, and he threw $20 on top. We had a fun time sitting in the club level for the first time ever.

[beno78]

How about if they work on real problems? This doesn't seem like one that exsits to the point of legislation. Maybe more port-o-poties so people are not peeing all over the place would make the place more "fan-friendly"?

[RockCoCougars]

How about if they work on real problems? This doesn't seem like one that exsits to the point of legislation. Maybe more port-o-poties so people are not peeing all over the place would make the place more "fan-friendly"?

That would be more fan-friendly for me, especially on Opening Day. That said, I doubt if the port a potty industry has the lobbyists that the team does.

[TabbertBB]

Plus the Brewers don't want you to drink in the parking lot. They would rather have you buy the $7 beer in the park and wait in line there.

Gee, more port o potties, what a novel idea.

This is just about like the Suttle Bus problem. Another problem that isn't really there, but they want it to be a problem and create some stupid solution.

I agree with a few other people that the Brewers are so stupid when it comes to popular games, like bobblehead games, that they don't rip the ticket. Anybody can go through and get the bobblehead and then go and sell the ticket and the person buying the ticket is out of luck.

Great, sounds like this is a done deal. Now on to more fun stuff.

[snyttri]

The Brewers get a cut from ticket resellers on Stubhub and Ebay so on-site scalpers are scalping competition.

[carniesandrubes]

The Brewers get a cut from ticket resellers on Stubhub and Ebay so on-site scalpers are scalping competition.

 

They get a cut from Stubhub if you sell directly through your season ticket account. If you sell just by going to Stubhub, they get nothing. Same with eBay - the Brewers get nothing from those.

[ewizabeff]

I'd love to see the Brewers crack down on the kids going through the parking lots (usually Giants) raising money for a "basketball tournament" or whatever their story is that day. If a dad and his kid come buy and sell me a candy bar for little league, that's fine. But the unsupervised kids with the crumpled up "donation record sheet" are scammers and they get a few people each time they come through.

[twobrewers]

They get a cut from Stubhub if you sell directly through your season ticket account. If you sell just by going to Stubhub, they get nothing. Same with eBay - the Brewers get nothing from those.

I'm not so sure about that. MLB has partnered with Stubhub to re-sell tickets. All you have to do, when selling your tickets, it enter the code on your actual ticket and the purchaser can "print at home" brand new tickets for your seats. There is no way this would happen without MLB approval, so there must be some agreement.

 

Also, scalping is the free market at work. The problem is that the Brewers implement an outdated ticket pricing strategy. They should be charging whatever the market will bear for that games tickets instead of two simplistic levels. (Marquee and Non-Marquee) As long as the scalpers stay in their designated areas - there really isn't a problem.

[Invader3K]

I assume that the Brewers and MLB actually get a cut on both ends (from the buyer and seller), since there is a service charge both ways. Pretty good deal for them, actually.

 

And yeah, I get sick of the kids trying to solicit for stuff in the parking lot. I also get tired of how they let that vacation timeshare company solicit you when you enter the stadium.

[BadgerFan]

The problem is that the Brewers implement an outdated ticket pricing strategy. They should be charging whatever the market will bear for that games tickets instead of two simplistic levels. (Marquee and Non-Marquee)

LOL...so we're going to have ticket pricing similar to the stock market?

 

I can hear it now..."The Brewers won their 5th straight game today and the BTI (Brewers Ticket Index) rose 2.4% to close at $78.44 for a Loge Infield ticket. Playoff ticket futures also rose 1.5% to finish the day at $168.23."

[RockCoCougars]

The problem is that the Brewers implement an outdated ticket pricing strategy. They should be charging whatever the market will bear for that games tickets instead of two simplistic levels. (Marquee and Non-Marquee)

LOL...so we're going to have ticket pricing similar to the stock market?

 

I can hear it now..."The Brewers won their 5th straight game today and the BTI (Brewers Ticket Index) rose 2.4% to close at $78.44 for a Loge Infield ticket. Playoff ticket futures also rose 1.5% to finish the day at $168.23."

I don't think an auction for the few thousand odd tickets available for Opening Day would be out of line. I'd much prefer this to a lottery that I have no chance of winning, having to pay inflated prices on the secondary market anyway.

[twobrewers]

LOL...so we're going to have ticket pricing similar to the stock market?

 

Actually, a few teams have implemented more advanced ticket pricing strategies. If opening day tickets are worth $50 for a Loge seat, why should the Brewers sell theirs for $25 only to have someone else profit on that mark-up?

 

Should a Sunday afternoon game really cost the same as a Tuesday night game?

[Buckhunts]

The Giants have instituted a completely dynamic pricing system for their individual tickets. In 10 years, most teams will be doing this.

[1992casey]

Here are this year's Giants ticket prices:

 

http://sanfrancisco.giant...ting/dynamic_pricing.jsp

[dadofandrew]

Little doubt this is the wave of the future, much like hotels and airlines, an empty seat is a wasted seat.

 

Also, SF has said they will raise and lower prices based on weather, SP, and so on when the game gets close.

[kramnoj]

Ticket pricing can be interesting, if you like the theory of supply and demand. The Mets have something like 200 different ticket prices: http://newyork.mets.mlb.c...park/seating_pricing.jsp

 

At some point it gets a bit much. I'm all for the Brewers making the money rather than scalpers, so it can actually improve the team. And it would certainly make sense to sell OD tickets at a different price, if they aren't bought as a package. But at some point there is a limit where it just seems silly, and I think the Mets may have reached that.

[jhart05]

Here are this year's Giants ticket prices:

 

http://sanfrancisco.giant...ting/dynamic_pricing.jsp

 

Wow, that really is an excellent idea.

[snyttri]

This August 2007 article on MLBs then new agreement with Ebay unit Stubhub disusses how much MLBs attitude about on-line scalping has changed.

"... Last season, the New York Yankees revoked season tickets of fans who used StubHub, saying it violated the contract that the ticket holders had with the team. The Yankees even went so far as to ask its flagship radio station, WCBS, to turn down ads from StubHub, and security guards at Yankee Stadium regularly questioned fans arriving with StubHub envelopes."

http://www.nytimes.com/20.../business/02tickets.html

[temke]

from the discussions i have heard, the brewers are asking for it, but the sellers at the bucks games are getting pretty aggressive since they are taking such a hit this year.

 

i dont mind the rule in place now. i just wish they would have a second point on the east side of the stadium. if i park across the highway by the sausage house and have an extra to unload, i have no interest in walking all the way around to the resale area to do it legally.

 

it seems like the east end of the bridge would be a logical point.