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Ticket touts are raking in 59% profit from reselling access to sporting and music events, according to new research. Security group G4S said a “committed tout” could make over £28,000 a year b selling just 10 tickets a week – more than the average UK salary. Prices are jacked up when organized touts flood ticket offices and websites buying up bulks of tickets with no intention of attending, then, at an inflated price, they are resold to people who do want to attend but were disenfranchised by the tout in the first place. The traditional operation with touts outside shows and football matches continues unabated. Music fans have battled the tout for years and the huge rise in popularity in live music and festivals have seen traditional agencies like Ticketmaster, formally enter the resale market with its Seatwave site.
Average mark-up down – 32% mark-up for festivals
The average mark-up on online black market tickets has fallen from 64% in 2009 and 71% in 2008 owing to a better supply of tickets on the internet, according to the G4S Events' 2010 Ticket Tout Index.
However, the mark-up was higher than the average during the previous two years. Tickets for music festivals - including headline events such as the VFestival - are being offered online with an average mark-up of 32%. However, individual gigs were not securing as big a premium as previous years, the research found. Key events, like those at The O2, still attract large price tags. Examples from the survey include: • A pair of Paul McCartney tickets sold for £450 - some 235% over face value
• Two tickets for the V Festival sold for £430. The pair had a face value of £162.50
• A £35 international rugby ticket selling for £85.
"Fans continue to pour thousands of pounds into the wallets of the touts," said Mark Hamilton, managing director G4S Events. Adding:
"But, fans should be aware that in buying tickets from unauthorised outlets, they could find themselves barred from entering events if their tickets are found to be fraudulent, or their identification does not match up with the ticket purchaser." The law Currently it is not a crime to resell concert tickets in the UK. Last year, a code of conduct was set up by the Office of Fair Trading and the Society of Ticket Agent Retailers to cover box office and online vendors. However, it does not cover sales on eBay, unregulated reselling sites and the man in the street.
A separate code of conduct is also in place which covers businesses that sell on tickets to entertainment and sporting events.
‘Phantom tickets’
Researchers for G4S found many "phantom tickets" for sale, when tickets are advertised for sale before they have been released to the public or events that had not been announced and some that did not even exist. In the online scam, the emails are never answered and the phone lines have been disconnected. Some card providers do provide protection but the mantra, as always, is caveat emptor.
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