PUTTING CONSUMER PROTECTIONS BACK INTO TICKET RESALE
By state Senator Connie Williams

Think back to the last time that you decided to purchase a ticket to a concert or a game. Did you stand in a long line for hours – camp out overnight – or spend hours hitting redial on your telephone? Or, did you decide the event was worth it and spend five, six, eight or even ten times the face value and shop online? Maybe you waited until the day of the event and very discreetly visited a scalper outside of the event, hoping that you wouldn't be caught.

Earlier this year, a majority of the state Senate voted in favor of legislation that will make it even more difficult to obtain tickets at face value, although the legislation was billed as "adding consumer protections" to ticket resale. What the legislation would do – according to its proponents – is to provide a "legitimate" way for fans to buy and sell tickets online in a "safe and trusted" manner by requiring a company brokering the sales to guarantee a full refund if: the ticketed event is canceled; the ticket is not valid for entry at the event; or the ticket is incorrectly described at the point of purchase.

Proponents of the bill (SB 86) argue that online ticket resale has rendered the current law (which places a 25 percent cap on how much a ticket can be resold above its face value) ineffective. Further, they argue that millions of dollars worth of Pennsylvania tickets are currently being resold on the Internet well in excess of the cap and with virtually no law enforcement.

I voted against the legislation because I don't believe that it is truly offering consumer protections. Rather it is creating an underground economy where online ticket resellers can sell tickets at whatever prices people are willing to pay and generally do so without reporting income from their "industry."

What this legislation would do is to remove the cap only on those tickets that are sold online and not on the tickets sold by ticket brokers who may have a small storefront in the city. The legislation would not legitimize scalping -- ticket resale outside of a venue. Scalping is still illegal in Pennsylvania.

What this legislation would do is to legitimize one form of ticket resale – online resale – by allowing profits to be made from commissions, fees and exorbitant increases above the face value of tickets.

Tickets for popular concerts and high-profile sport events are sold-out quickly – sometimes in less than an hour. No one is so naοve to believe that every single ticket was purchased by people who planned to attend the event. This market for ticket resale is placing many events out of the reach of many working families.

Sure ticket resale is happening and yes people are finding ways to get around the 25 percent cap on the price, but calling the cap outdated only as it relates to online sales hardly seems like the way to respond to attempts to skirt Pennsylvania law.

This is an issue of fairness. Whether tickets to events are considered a luxury or not, everyone should be on a level playing field when it comes to having the opportunity to purchase the tickets at face value. And, if the public supports the idea that ticket resale should be subject to the free market system, shouldn't everyone who is involved in ticket resale also have the same opportunities as the online sellers?

The legislation has passed the Senate and is now before the House, I encourage you to write to your state Representative about this bill. Ask him or her to vote against the bill, or to significantly amend the bill with more consumer protections, such as notices on all online resale sites that inform customers that they are not the official ticket outlet for an event or that tickets may be priced above face value.