At one point in our lives, we’ve all tried to score tickets to an ‘it’ event. This means we’ve all known the heartbreak of finding out the (insert concert, sporting event, or conference) sold out in minutes, sometimes seconds. That is when most of us find ourselves at the mercy of ticket scalping. Currently, there are no federal laws against the resale of tickets, and the desire to see (insert artist, athlete, or speaker) is strong enough for us to seriously consider pulling the trigger and paying the above face value cost to attend. But what about on the other side of the event—the organizers. Should they wring their hands with worry? Not quite, but ticket scalping does create three problems for event organizers by excluding a segment of attendees, leaving the door open to a negative event experience, especially if the scalper (as opposed to a legitimate reseller) turns out to be a fraud, and it represents a potential liability issue. So, what can organizers do to safeguard their event from being hijacked by ticket scalpers?
- Partner with a ticket sales firm like Songkick. When Adele announced her upcoming tour, the frenzy for tickets was high among fans… and scalpers. To help minimize scalping, Adele used Songkick and prevented over 50,000 sales to known or suspected scalpers.
- Limit the quantity of tickets per purchase and include terms and conditions with each purchase to help prevent reselling. In the end, ticket scalping will always be around, but don’t let a scalper ruin your event. Instead take what preventive measures you can, but always remain focused on the attendees that are present at your event instead of spending all your time worrying about the ones who aren’t.
Photo via: Las Vegas Weekly
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