Did you sell your season ticket on StubHub?

[Gainzo]

It makes sense to me !! Their trying to isolate scalpers from the fans. I'm sure there are season tickets holders that never attend a game, but sell every ticket for high profit. They'll also try and buy tickets low and resell them at a higher profit later.

How many times have I heard people complain about the lack of real fans at the games, just people who sit there not really understanding what's going on. This is a result of the ticket prices forcing out the serious fan that can't pay the asking prices of tickets today !! If the Pats can force tickets to be sold at the face value, they'll sell out fast, but more average income people and their FAMILIES will be able to go too games. You can resell the tickets at face value and avoid the hammer. I think the excuse of selling tickets to make up the cost of buying season tickets is weak, if you can't afford them, don't buy them !

JMTC

Do you realize that if the Pats have total control over ticket sales through their ticketexchange program that you need to be a season ticket holder or be on the waiting list in order to have the opportunity to purchase tickets?

If I'm not mistaken the Pats charge $50 per seat when you sign up for the waiting list.

I have never sold my season tickets to anyone. I want the Pats to go after the Ace Tickets of the world, not stubhub.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I have finally found an area where I disagree with Patriots management.

How else is a fan like myself going to score some prime tickets to bring his family from NYC to the Blade? My kids are soon going to be old enough to appreciate it, and I'm planning to buy some great tickets for "whatever the market will bear", take a couple of rooms at Bob Kraft's new hotel and turn it into a weekend we'll always remember.

Let the free market rule! If people want to sell their tix, let them. If people want to pay a silly price for them, let them. Who gets hurt?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I don't agree with your endorsement of what the Pats are doing but you are correct in saying that the Pats should go after the ticket brokers.

The ticket brokers, who own season tickets, are the villains here not the regular fan.

The Pats should go after Ace Ticket and the rest of the "licensed" ticket brokers in Massachusetts.

I just went to aceticket.com and looked at the prices they are charging for the upcoming Skins game

1 ticket in Section 335, Row 19 is listed for $225. I sit in 135 and the face value of my ticket is $125.

I completely disagree. The ticket brokers are operating under the assumptions of a free market. As long as they obtain their tickets legally and as long as the people to whom they sell their tickets abide by Gillette's conduct policies when they are on the property, the Patriots have no interest in interfering with the secondary market that the success of their team on the field has created.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

As a season ticket holder who is scared to sell our seats for a profit I applaud the Pats on this issue. They should go after all brokers and other scum that are making money off their seats. My family actually goes to the games and enjoys cheering for the Pats. We do not use are seats to supplement our income in order to pay for that boat or NH house on the lake. Occasionally we sell a seat to the people in our section at face value if somebody can't make it.

Selling your seat at face value is your choice. However, if others, who have also obtained their season tickets legitimately, make the choice to sell their tickets for a profit, then what right do the Patriots, or any one else, have to limit what these ticket holders do with their tickets, as long as the people to whom the ticket holders ultimately re-sell their tickets behave according to the rules of conduct of the Stadium when they are on the property? I'm not a libertarian, but some of these arguments smack of excessive control of a free market.

 

[PatriotsReign]

I have finally found an area where I disagree with Patriots management.

How else is a fan like myself going to score some prime tickets to bring his family from NYC to the Blade? My kids are soon going to be old enough to appreciate it, and I'm planning to buy some great tickets for "whatever the market will bear", take a couple of rooms at Bob Kraft's new hotel and turn it into a weekend we'll always remember.

Let the free market rule! If people want to sell their tix, let them. If people want to pay a silly price for them, let them. Who gets hurt?

Go look at how many tickets are for sale. It's the Patriots fans & players who get hurt if those buying from the ticket agencies are people who don't care about the game and/or the Patriots. The LAST thing we want to see is corporations buying them for entertainment purposes. I say, take your client somewhere else, you're not wanted here.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

The ticket brokers, who own season tickets, are the villains here not the regular fan.

The Pats should go after Ace Ticket and the rest of the "licensed" ticket brokers in Massachusetts.

I just went to aceticket.com and looked at the prices they are charging for the upcoming Skins game

1 ticket in Section 335, Row 19 is listed for $225. I sit in 135 and the face value of my ticket is $125.

Why are the Ticket Brokers the "villains?" Did they obtain their tickets illegally? Are they selling them to people who violate the Blade's conduct policy? As for the price they are charging, if there wasn't someone willing to pay that price, there would be no buyers and the price would have to come down. That's a free market. You bid. I offer. If we can't agree, the deal isn't done. This all sounds to me like the "mommy state," and I'm a Democrat!

 

[Gainzo]

Why are the Ticket Brokers the "villains?" Did they obtain their tickets illegally? Are they selling them to people who violate the Blade's conduct policy? As for the price they are charging, if there wasn't someone willing to pay that price, there would be no buyers and the price would have to come down. That's a free market. You bid. I offer. If we can't agree, the deal isn't done. This all sounds to me like the "mommy state," and I'm a Democrat!

The Commonwealth has a law in the books that says a ticket can't be resold for more than $2 of face value plus some service fees.

How does Ace Ticket get away with charging $150 over face value for a ticket?

The legislature needs to address this issue.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Go look at how many tickets are for sale. It's the Patriots fans & players who get hurt if those buying from the ticket agencies are people who don't care about the game and/or the Patriots. The LAST thing we want to see is corporations buying them for entertainment purposes. I say, take your client somewhere else, you're not wanted here.

First of all, I care a helluva lot about the Patriots and I am someone who might one day want to score a few tickets this way. I don't know how long you've been following the Pats, but I froze my butt off at the old stadium when the Pats were playing so poorly that no scalper in his right mind would touch the tickets.

Frankly, I don't care if people who own the tickets legitimately sell them to a coporation or to anyone who comes to the Blade and behaves. I don't think the Patriots or anyone else has a legitimate interest in limiting the resale of these tickets under those circumstances.

However, if the patriots do want to do such a thing, they should give each season ticket holder a smart card instead of a ticket. The card would be good for the season. It would be like a Bearer Bond. If you lose it, tough luck. If it gets destroyed by accident, tough luck. Keep it in your safe deposit box between games. If the ticket holder wants to lend the card to someone or sell it for a particular game, s/he could, but would take all of the associated risks (i.e., the person to whom it is sold or lent might lose it or not return it).

 

[PatsFanSince74]

The Commonwealth has a law in the books that says a ticket can't be resold for more than $2 of face value plus some service fees.

How does Ace Ticket get away with charging $150 over face value for a ticket?

The legislature needs to address this issue.

I'll take your word on it regarding the law, though in other states such laws don't apply to out of state sales.

My position is that Government has no interest in regulating this free exchange as long as (a) the tickets are obtained legally and not through theft or coercion and (b) the persons to whom the tickets are sold behave in accordance with the conduct policies of the event venue.

 

[Gainzo]

However, if the patriots do want to do such a thing, they should give each season ticket holder a smart card instead of a ticket. The card would be good for the season. It would be like a Bearer Bond. If you lose it, tough luck. If it gets destroyed by accident, tough luck. Keep it in your safe deposit box between games. If the ticket holder wants to lend the card to someone or sell it for a particular game, s/he could, but would take all of the associated risks (i.e., the person to whom it is sold or lent might lose it or not return it).

That's a great idea. I'm originally from Australia and the Aussie Rules teams over there do that exact thing. You receive a "smart card" that gives you entry to each home game. You simply swipe the card and walk into the stadium.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

That's a great idea. I'm originally from Australia and the Aussie Rules teams over there do that exact thing. You receive a "smart card" that gives you entry to each home game. You simply swipe the card and walk into the stadium.

I'm glad we found something on which to agree, but I also think that this would excessively place limits on the availability of tickets to non-season ticket holders, other than to the family and friends of those who hold the tickets already, thus limiting the access of a broader public to the games.

Another solution might be to do away with the concept of "Season Tickets" to begin with and set up a blind, automated, random auction of all seats for all games by price point before the season begins. That would give more people access to their team. So, if I want four tickets at Price Point X for the fifth home game, I would put in my bid before the season began. A computer would decide whether I got them or not.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Actually, you're wrong. Our economy is based upon the principles of free-market. But if a professional sports organization says "these tickets are not to be re-sold" ... then, they are not to be re-sold. It doesn't matter that scalping is legal in certain states, the team can still pursue violators of this agreement.

Teams have the right to have total control of who attends their events and maintain the right to revoke a ticket or tickets at any time. I am a huge fan of this policy.

I love what Kraft has done with eliminating the "unwanteds" from attending Pats games. To maintain the "quality" of the fans attending Pats games, he needs to maintain control. To that, I say AMEN!

Otherwise people can sell everyone of their season tickets just to make money. To me, that's just Loserville.

So, you're suggesting that the rules of a free market should not apply in the case of the distribution of game tickets, but rather that the club owners should be able to determine who can attend the games in order to keep out "unwanteds" and restrict attendance to people of "quality," much as a private club can control its membership.

Interesting, what if the club owners decided to keep out people of a particular race or relgion or nationality? Could they do that? What are the criteria as to who is "wanted" and who is of "quality?"

You might respond, no, I just want to restrict it to "Patriots Fans." Well, what if there are 60,000 seats available and 60,001 people show up who can legitimately claim to be "Patriots Fans?" Would you establish criteria to distinguish a "real" fan from a less real fan? Would there be degrees of "fan?"

My point is simply this: the best way to distribute tickets in a secondary market is through the mechanisms of the free market. A free market uses a bid and offer process around price to allocate scarce resources most effectively. Is it ideal? No. Is it "fair" to people who can't afford the price? No. Is it the best way I can think of? Yes.

 

[Gainzo]

Another solution might be to do away with the concept of "Season Tickets" to begin with and set up a blind, automated, random auction of all seats for all games by price point before the season begins. That would give more people access to their team. So, if I want four tickets at Price Point X for the fifth home game, I would put in my bid before the season began. A computer would decide whether I got them or not.

That would never work. It's a good idea, but season ticket holders are the glue that holds together a franchise and provides guaranteed revenue.

Could you imagine if the Pats did an auction in 1991? It would have been ugly.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

That would never work. It's a good idea, but season ticket holders are the glue that holds together a franchise and provides guaranteed revenue.

Could you imagine if the Pats did an auction in 1991? It would have been ugly.

that is precisely my point. the free market is the only way to let this work. people who have waited to get season tickets, should have them and should be able to do with them whatever they want. in lean years, they're stuck with freezing their private parts off in the old foxboro, as I did, in fat years they have the option of making a few bucks off of them. we don't need external regulation to decide this. a free market will do just fine.

ps: nice debating with you. hope to see you out here more...