Do Scalpers Still Exist?

Can you even buy a ticket from a scalper outside a show anymore? Ticket prices are just bonkers these days - and everything is electronic. I don't remember the last time I even saw a scalper outside a show. I suppose flipping tickets online is much easier - you don't stand outside and instead you give Ticketmaster a cut. But still.

I tried to get tickets for Letterkenny Live last week. That's standup comedy by the way. I tried during the pre-sale and didn't get anything worth buying. So I tried again during the general on-sale... and again, nothing. I was essentially only able to buy preferred platinum tickets. At $350 a head, no thanks.

In the past, we could have rolled the dice and showed up outside the venue and grabbed seats. Now no more.

When is the last time you've bought a ticket from a scalper? Did you pay multiple hundreds of dollars? Because I'm over that too.

Comments

[Mike]

Yes scampers exist. The are called Ticketmaster, and they are bastards.

[Bkallday]

The game is a mess these days. You have ppl with fake tix trying to sell, u got ppl online trying to get you to send money to them, then they never send you the tix, or you just gotta take a shot in the dark. Scalpers have been nearly eliminated from the game but you will occasionally see one. Stubhub or something like that is your best bet these days. Getting good deals on tickets is almost a thing of the past, unless theyre just cheaply priced to begin with. These sites are making an absolute killing on all the fees and extras that they charge! It sucks but whats the alternative?

[rnfr]

Um scalpers are still pretty big in the NJ/NY market at every venue. I use them all the time I cant remeber the last time I used ticketmaster. 99% better deals and less issues, Seat geek is a great app 100% verified and pending volume of the gig or event wayyyyy cheaper then ticketmaster. Never use Craigslist thats where the fraud and bs comes from. Also Facebook believe it or not fairly decent

[Bob]

Scalpers absolutely exist. they are called ticket brokers, and ticket brokering is literally no different than scalping. it just takes place online instead of in person. Oh, and ticket brokering is legal whereas scalping is illegal. Why one is legal and the other isn't, I don't know. I have never paid more than the regular price for a ticket. if I can't get the ticket for its original value, I simply don't go to the concert. Hence, why I have been to maybe five concerts in the last five years.

[fletch]

Scalpers? Scalpers? What kind of Ohio Democrat are you, Al? Next thing you'll be writing is how you support the Washington Redskins. Of course, I kid.

That's how funny things have gotten.

[bryon]

For really popular & sold-out shows, you're pretty much screwed no matter what you try, and good luck if you got shut out of buying regular priced tix. But for shows that aren't sold out, I have found great deals on StubHub. Scalpers are buying up blocks of tickets and hoping to resell them on StubHub for a profit. But if you get close to the show and demand is light, they need to start unloading them at a loss.

Recent case & point - The Who played Toronto over the summer (great show, by the way.) The crowd was good, but there were still a bunch of seats on StubHub the day of the show, and my buddy and I bought two tickets for $50 each that were originally priced over $200. The guy beside us bought the night before from the same seller and paid $125 each. He was really happy about his deal until he talked to us. :-)

[stu]

yeah scalpers are out there, just not as many. i see them at the aac in dallas for every show i go to there. and they’re the same guys hawking $20 bootleg shirts after the show. luckily i don’t go to a lot of shows at big arenas so i don’t have to fight ticketmaster or scalpers.
i did haggle with one guy for an aerosmith ticket a couple of years ago. talked him down to face value as the show was 5 minutes from starting.

[GNR]

I too try to get Letterkenny in Milwaukee and same thing happened to me. Who knew hicks, skids, and hockey players were so popular, eh ??

However, I still go to shows without ticket in hand and still get in. Small venues to arenas. I almost always post on craiglist under Tickets for sale, but put WANTED and meet you there. 95% of the time it works and don't have to pay those f*cking sc*mmy ticketmaster or whatever service "fees".