StubHub Counterpunches

[QuiGon]

Apparently they think the best defense is a good offense. I have to say I hope they win because I think they are 100% in the right.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/12/stubhub_files_c_1.html

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Apparently they think the best defense is a good offense. I have to say I hope they win because I think they are 100% in the right.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/12/stubhub_files_c_1.html

How could you possibly think that StubHub is correct in what they are doing?

Obviously you must be a season ticket holder to actually think what they are doing is right.

 

[pats1]

Stubhub's countersuit is ridiculous.

"StubHub said the Patriots have attempted to monopolize the ticket resale market by revoking the tickets of any fan caught reselling them anywhere but on the club's own TeamExchange website, which is operated by Tickemaster."

So StubHub is saying the Patriots hold a monopoly over the "ticket resale market" because the Patriots do it legally and StubHub doesn't?

Isn't that like saying companies that sell medical marijuana hold an unjust monopoly over the marijuana market because they do it legally and everyone else doesn't?

...

I don't know why you think StubHub is in the right, QuiGon.

Bah, alas! I now remember that thread awhile back. It's all clear now. You were the only person on Earth that believed in unregulated capitalism.

I don't understand the logic behind scalping being illegal. We live in a capitalistic society.

 

[PatsFan37]

Apparently they think the best defense is a good offense. I have to say I hope they win because I think they are 100% in the right.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/12/stubhub_files_c_1.html

Are you kidding? Their case is a technicality, that passing along Ticketmaster's $12.50 service fee constitutes scalping, when StubHub routinely sells $80 tickets for several hundred dollars.

Either they're desperate, because losing the season's ticket holders would cost them tons of money, or they're trying to improve their negotiating position for a settlement.

 

[QuiGon]

How could you possibly think that StubHub is correct in what they are doing?

Obviously you must be a season ticket holder to actually think what they are doing is right.

Well it was unfair of me to give a one-sentence throwaway line like "I agree with what StubHub is doing" without being specific... so here are some specifics...

1) I favor open markets with no regulations on re-selling tickets (and it looks like scalping is about to become legal in the Commonwealth). Despite what others will tell you, this is the system which favors consumers the most. Yeah, popular games are going to cost money. It's called supply and demand. There are plenty of idiots that think that enforcing scalping laws help consumers get cheaper access to tickets, but that's bullcrap pure and simple.

2) The Patriots are extremely hypocritical with regards to the whole thing (sorry, but it's true). They don't want you scalping, but if you want tickets with that Super Bowl package from their "official travel agency" then you better be prepared to shell out 4 times face value.

3) Personally I don't like StubHub because their fees are outrageous. Why anyone (either a buyer or a seller) would ever use StubHub over eBay is beyond me... but I have no problem with them operating in the manner they do.

 

[AStack75]

The New England Patriots still sell tickets through RazorGator and PrimeSport (the official brokers/agents). The only reason they are suing StubHub (which is essentially the same as RazorGator) is because they aren't getting their cut.

The hypocracy that exists with the New England Patriots and their ticket policies is ridiculous.

Why do you think only a handful of season ticket holders get SB tix in the lottery? Because the team gives them to PrimeSport to sell at a markup. PrimeSport....the official Super Bowl travel agent of the New England Patriots.

http://www.razorgator.com/tickets/s...gland-patriots-tickets/?performance=4252001|1

http://www.primesport.com/iprotour/fpsale.asp?action=NEW&PID=PP101981
[No game ticket needed: Deduct (US$-2,200.00) per ticket.]

 

[IcyPatriot]

The Patriots pay the players and all the employees of the orginization. they pay all the utility bills, insurance bills, blah...blah...blah. :blahblah:

They have all the right to make money how they wish ... even if it includes reselling their own tickets...how any fan of the Patriots can brag about their orginizations excellance from top to bottom and begrudge them earning $$$ from that process is guilty of two-faced pettiness.

Anyone here who owns their own business (I do) knows how difficult it is to turn a profit. Kraft puts alot of $$$ into the team and the stadium .... that increases their value ... but he is deserving of putting some cash in his family's pockets ... I would assume this is one way to do it.

Selling a ticket which is corporate property goes into corporate income and is taxed corporately as well as the NFL getting some portion of sales.

Taking a fee from reselling a ticket qualifies a person as an independant contractor...which means you take 100% of your money and you are resonsible for the federal and state income taxes yourself... it's a great way of putting cash in your pocket when you know you have other personal expenses that you can use against that income to defray your taxes.

In other words the Krafts as all business people do have personal expenses they cannot give to the corporation to defray corporate taxes. So, instead of the corporation taking in income for which it has no expenses to reduce tax liability ... they personally take in the income ... they use those personal expenses now to reduce the ticket fee income and they get to put more $$$ in their pocket with no cut going to the NFL ... Makes lots of sense to me .... American as apple pie.

 

[AStack75]

I don't have any problem with the team making a buck. The problem I do have it with the Super Bowl tickets. The SB teams are alloted a certain percentage (17.5% for the AFC team/17.5% for the NFC team if I recall correctly) of the total SB tickets. The Krafts could and SHOULD distribute these tickets to their fans who have supported the team financially all season long. Yet the choose to give them to PrimeSport to make even more money from their fans buy scalping Super Bowl tickets for thousands of dollars.

When the team does this but then turns around and sues another company for doing the same thing. That is what pisses me off. It is hypocracy.

The fact the NFL teams can get away with scalping their own tickets.... I just can't go along with that.

 

[QuiGon]

The fact the NFL teams can get away with scalping their own tickets.... I just can't go along with that.

The Patriots are definitely hypocritical about the whole thing, but so is the league overall. They came down on Dennis Green for scalping his tickets, but then they turn around and do the same thing themselves.

The whole point of the Patriots' original lawsuit against StubHub is based in hypocrisy. They are not suing StubHub on principle, they are suing because they don't want anyone doing what StubHub is doing unless they get a part of the profits. Now fact is most teams (I would guess about 2/3rds) have deals with StubHub where StubHub is the official ticket reseller, and season ticket holders and interested buyers are allowed to exchange with the team's approval (needless to say, the team gets a cut).

ProFootballTalk had a great article about this very issue, and how a lot of teams just wish the Patriots would STFU. It's not something that the powers-that-be want a lot of attention drawn to.

 

[IcyPatriot]

The Patriots are definitely hypocritical about the whole thing, but so is the league overall. They came down on Dennis Green for scalping his tickets, but then they turn around and do the same thing themselves.

The whole point of the Patriots' original lawsuit against StubHub is based in hypocrisy. They are not suing StubHub on principle, they are suing because they don't want anyone doing what StubHub is doing unless they get a part of the profits. Now fact is most teams (I would guess about 2/3rds) have deals with StubHub where StubHub is the official ticket reseller, and season ticket holders and interested buyers are allowed to exchange with the team's approval (needless to say, the team gets a cut).

ProFootballTalk had a great article about this very issue, and how a lot of teams just wish the Patriots would STFU. It's not something that the powers-that-be want a lot of attention drawn to.

When StubHub pays the bills they can make some profit. Stealing the Patriots product and brandname to make a buck ... no different than copying anything and reselling it with no expense for the product that makes you $$$. Sorry, but I think you are missing it here ... on the street it's called leeching ... the word for people like StubHub is ****ROACH.

 

[spacecrime]

There are plenty of idiots that think that enforcing scalping laws help consumers get cheaper access to tickets, but that's bullcrap pure and simple.

Hmm, methinks that it is an idiot who thinks that $800 a ticket is less than $99 a ticket.

Please explain why selling tickets for as much as you can possibly get results in lower prices than capping the amount at $99.

You can believe in uncontrolled supply and demand all you want, but don't say it results in the best consumer prices. It results in higher corporate profits. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, but the higher profits come from increased consumer prices.

 

[QuiGon]

When StubHub pays the bills they can make some profit. Stealing the Patriots product and brandname to make a buck ...

Excuse me, but nobody is stealing anything. That's a load of crap and you know it.

no different than copying anything and reselling it with no expense for the product that makes you $$$.

That is a horrible analogy and the situation you gave has nothing to do with what is going on. Your analogy is so horrible that it cannot even be addressed logically.

I am not a season ticket holder, but if I was then I have bought the tickets legally from the team who determined the price they would sell them to me. If I decide to re-sell those tickets at a profit through StubHub, then that's just the capitalistic society within which we live. I am not selling forged tickets, I haven't stolen them from anyone and nobody is forced to pay my asking price. Furthermore, we are talking about a luxury good... we are not talking about heating oil or medicine or bottled water during a hurricane.

Sorry, but I think you are missing it here ... on the street it's called leeching ... the word for people like StubHub is ****ROACH.

Please tell me why I can wait in line for 48 hours to buy a PS3 for $600 and turn around and sell it for $2,000 and that's perfectly fine, but I can't do the same with tickets to a football game. If I buy a $500 Tom Brady football card and he wins 3 more Super Bowls, I can turn around and sell it for $1,000 and that's perfectly fine. Please explain to me why you think football tickets are so special that they get their own laws.

 

[QuiGon]

Hmm, methinks that it is an idiot who thinks that $800 a ticket is less than $99 a ticket.

And methinks that it is an idiot and a totally simplistically minded moron who interprets that statement from what I have said. Fortunately I believe you cannot be so stupid as to believe that that is what I said so I conclude you are merely being deliberately belligerent.

Please explain why selling tickets for as much as you can possibly get results in lower prices than capping the amount at $99.

Because there is no availability at $99. Let's suppose for the sake of argument that scalping was illegal and enforced and anyone that scalped a ticket would get struck down and killed by a bolt of lightning the moment they did it. Face value of a Super Bowl ticket is $500. How many $500 Super Bowl tickets do you think you're going to have access to...? The answer is simple: ZERO. But when I wanted to go to Super Bowl 39 to see the Patriots, I had access to tickets. Anyone that wants to go can go - they just have to pay what the market values the tickets at. They cost me $5,000 on the open market and I freely paid that amount because it was worth it because $5,000 isn't that much to me. But if there's no open market then I can't go because I have zero availability.

As a consumer I have benefitted from the simple fact that the tickets are available to me on the open market whereas there is zero availability without the open market. Now sure... the 95% of the population that can't afford to spend $5,000 on football tickets whines and screams and moans about how unfair the system is... they are jealous of the people that can afford to pay that much and they are also jealous of the dude who just made $4,000 profit for doing nothing. But that's what we call capitalism.

You can believe in uncontrolled supply and demand all you want, but don't say it results in the best consumer prices.

You're putting words in my mouth. I didn't say it resulted in the best consumer prices. But what it does do is allow the marketplace to set the price. Consumers benefit from this system because without this system in place, there is simply no availability of premium tickets at all.

I know the unemployed morons amongst us who live in their mommy's basements hate the fact that other people have more money than they do, and think it's really really really unfair that people get to buy things that they can't, but that's the system in which we live. If you don't like it, feel free to emigrate to nice communistic countries like Vietnam or Cuba.

The logical flaw you people are employing is you foolishly believe that if scalping is illegal and enforeced, then there will be plenty of tickets available for everyone at face value. That just ain't the way the world works.

 

[dhamz]

Please explain why selling tickets for as much as you can possibly get results in lower prices than capping the amount at $99.

Because the law of only being able to sell tickets at face value applies only to me and you. A liscensed ticket broker (Ace Tickets for example) can still legally sell them for whatever they can get.

If everyone could resell their tickets legally at fair market value, the brokers would have more competition and prices would fall.

 

[PatsRI]

It's simple if the Pats and Mass. law say they can't sell these tickets with that markup then what's the question here? If StubHub was selling them with only the 10% then there would be no problem. The countersuit will go nowhere. And I think the original suit will be upheld because it is state law.

I could care less if the Pats are trying to make money. It's called capitalism. Let Stubhub buy their own team and see what they say when someone tries top make money off them without permission. If Mass law was different then StubHub has the right to make money to. As I see it one party is within the law and another is not.

One solution to those whining about unavailability is pay to be on the waiting list and use the Ticketexchange that the team runs. It'll cost you less then StubHub. I got 3 tickets to the Indy game 2 days before the game 5 rows up behind the Pats bench. Games like the Jets there were hundreds of tix available. It's legal and less expensive if you want to go to a few games a year.

 

[QuiGon]

It's simple if the Pats and Mass. law say they can't sell these tickets with that markup then what's the question here? If StubHub was selling them with only the 10% then there would be no problem. The countersuit will go nowhere. And I think the original suit will be upheld because it is state law.

There have been several articles in local newspapers over the past 6 months detailing the current state law and a very strong movement within the legislature to do away with it. This tends to involve Red Sox tickets more than the Patriots, but I think it is very safe to say that the current state laws in Massachusetts are not going to be around for much longer.

 

[bresna]

Massachusetts laws on this are vague to begin with. I personally know two people who were arrested and spent several hours in jail, for re-selling tickets below face value!

I'd be more inclined to side with the Patriots if they dumped Ticketmaster as their sole ticket agency. Ticketmaster's fees are outrageous. A $10 service charge plus an $8.50 delivery fee per ticketfor a completely electronic transaction should be against the law too. It's criminal. Talk about StubHub making money for doing "nothing" all you want - Ticketmaster is the king of that game!

 

[Clonamery]

The New England Patriots still sell tickets through RazorGator and PrimeSport (the official brokers/agents). The only reason they are suing StubHub (which is essentially the same as RazorGator) is because they aren't getting their cut.

The hypocracy that exists with the New England Patriots and their ticket policies is ridiculous.

Why do you think only a handful of season ticket holders get SB tix in the lottery? Because the team gives them to PrimeSport to sell at a markup. PrimeSport....the official Super Bowl travel agent of the New England Patriots.

http://www.razorgator.com/tickets/s...gland-patriots-tickets/?performance=4252001|1

http://www.primesport.com/iprotour/fpsale.asp?action=NEW&PID=PP101981
[No game ticket needed: Deduct (US$-2,200.00) per ticket.]

I belieeve the Yankees are going to be doing the same thing.....trying to get their cut......StubHub is EBay with a loan shark's mentality.

 

[robd54]

What bothers me as someone on the waiting list is the fact that a decent percentage of season ticket holders only keep their tickets to make a profit, and if the team was strict on it maybe there wouldn't be such a ridiculous wait. Personally I LOVE the TicketExchange, I was able to get tickets to every home game this year, all excellent seats. It allows me to get these good seats at face (slightly above with the fees). For instance, the Texans game we were on the visitor side, section 132, row 1, seats 1/2. RIGHT on the 50. To get those on stubhub would've been about $500/ticket, that's just wrong. I hope the team continues to cracks down and promote the use of the TicketExchange, it allows REAL fans to get season tickets and/or go to the games.

 

[mikiemo83]

What bothers me as someone on the waiting list is the fact that a decent percentage of season ticket holders only keep their tickets to make a profit, and if the team was strict on it maybe there wouldn't be such a ridiculous wait. Personally I LOVE the TicketExchange, I was able to get tickets to every home game this year, all excellent seats. It allows me to get these good seats at face (slightly above with the fees). For instance, the Texans game we were on the visitor side, section 132, row 1, seats 1/2. RIGHT on the 50. To get those on stubhub would've been about $500/ticket, that's just wrong. I hope the team continues to cracks down and promote the use of the TicketExchange, it allows REAL fans to get season tickets and/or go to the games.

in my opinion as a reward for placing your name on the waiting list and paying the fee you should not have to pay handling charges if you use electronic transfer of the ticket or pick them up Directly.

Only should have additional charges to offset cost of shipping them via FED-EX or whatever means