Tickets found on resale sites for sold-out shows often appear at outrageously inflated prices, with Choice citing Justin Beiber’s recent tour as a pertinent example.
“We found Ticketmaster Resale listed VIP tickets to Justin Bieber’s concert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane for $2,555, a 374 percent mark-up on the face value of $539,” Choice Magazine spokesman Tom Godfrey told the ABC.
Recently, tickets to Midnight Oil’s hotly anticipated tour reached prices of over $1,000 on ticket resale sites, with the band speaking out against the practice and adding extra shows to combat the price hikes.
Furthermore, it’s been confirmed that Midnight Oil’s tour promoter Frontier Touring is preparing a submission to the ACCC, calling out “misleading sales tactics” used by resale sites.
Scalpers have long been taking advantage of resale sites, with tours including DZ Deathrays and Dunerats fetching $250 price tags for tickets with a cost price of $50.
The problem is, that once tickets are purchased – they are then considered legal property of the owner, who is free to use resale sites to set the cost at their will.
Unfortunately, unless resale sites decide to start capping costs at the original ticket price, the market will continue to dictate inflated prices. It’s a classic case of supply versus demand, and that concept has been abused ever since the dawn of capitalism.
