Ticket scalpers in cyberspace

• Compulsive behavior drives buyers

By Allan Drury
Westchester (N.Y.) Journal News

Scalping tickets for sporting events has spread from stadium parking lots to cyberspace.

A quick glance at eBay, the auction Web site, shows that sellers draw bids several times the face value of tickets. Law enforcement agencies say they monitor the sites to make sure prices are within legal limits but admit online sales are difficult to police.

The NFL isn't amused by the burgeoning Internet market for tickets. Most teams print language on the back of their tickets warning buyers against unlawful resale, said Greg Aiello, a league spokesman.

"We view it as unethical and in some cases against the law," Aiello said. "It suggests a desire to profit personally and perhaps illegally on the coattails of either the NFL or the team."

State laws governing the resale of tickets are often murky. In New Jersey, it is illegal for a licensed broker or season ticket holder to sell a ticket to any event held in the state for more than 50 percent above the price the broker or season ticket holder paid.

Other sellers cannot charge a price more than 20 percent above face value, said Genene Morris, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

The law applies even if the buyer and seller both live elsewhere, she said.

Some sellers on eBay post names that make it clear they are brokers. But it's difficult to tell whether others are brokers or season ticket holders and, thus, how much they can legally get for their tickets.

But of nine randomly chosen auctions to the Sept. 15 New York Jets-New England Patriots game, only one stopped before bidding topped 120 percent of the face value of the tickets.

The face value of the highest-priced Jets ticket, the mezzanine level, is $70.

The top bid in the nine auctions was $320 for a pair of lower-level seats with a face value of $55 — meaning the winning bidder paid $160 per ticket.

An eBay education

eBay, which is based in San Jose, Calif., does its part to try to see that sellers follow the law by providing links to the rules in each state. eBay encourages sellers to include language on their postings explaining the rules that apply, said Kevin Pursglove, a spokesman.

But he conceded enforcement is nearly impossible and the company depends on sellers to abide by an honor system.

"We don't make any pretense that we can be expert in every resale policy on a state-by-state basis," he said. "We feel our best role is to educate people."

Morris, the New Jersey consumer affairs spokesman, acknowledged the price caps, which were raised in April, are tough to enforce. Because most eBay sellers do not list their real name, phone number or address, it's difficult to identify them, though the site allows sellers to be reached by e-mail.

But Morris said the state has prosecuted several ticket agencies in recent years for violating the law. The offenders paid fines and signed settlement agreements in which they agreed not to violate the caps again, she said.

"We generally don't comment on investigations, but as a matter of course we do monitor that (Internet ticket sales)," she said.

Teams monitor sites

NFL teams are aware of the thriving online market and some are doing all they can to crush it.

Just ask John Reis of Warwick, R.I., a Patriots season ticket holder for 18 years who had his tickets taken away in June after his wife placed his three tickets to a game against the Green Bay Packers on eBay.

The team's cybersnoopers were able to tell the tickets belonged to Reis because the posting listed his name and address, he said.

Reis, a crime prevention officer in Rhode Island Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse's office, said he knew he would be unable to attend the Packers game because it falls on his wedding anniversary.

He said the tickets, which had a face value of $99 each, drew a high bid of $851. But he said the high bidder never contacted him and the Pats took his account before he even received his season tickets from the team.

"I've been a loyal season ticket holder," Reis said. "I've never been kicked out of a seat. I've never been late on a payment. If I had known I was jeopardizing my season ticket account, this wouldn't have happened."

A Patriots spokesman would not comment on how much effort the team puts into monitoring online auctions.

The Jets monitor eBay and other online sites, said Robert Parente, the team's vice president of business operations. If they're able to identify a season ticket holder looking to sell, the Jets write the fan a letter, he said.

"We tell them they should cease and desist," he said. "When we talk to people, most people are reasonable and they take them off eBay."

Auction sales discouraged

The Jets do not want season ticket holders selling their tickets online at any price, even a price that complies with the law, he said.

The Jets have never yanked anyone's season tickets because they were reselling them, Parente said. The team offers fans who can't use tickets they've purchased the chance to donate them to the United Way or to sell them at face value to a fan who's on a waiting list, he said. But if the Web posting does not identify the seat or row, it can be difficult to tell who the seller is.

It's clear the Patriots and their new home, Gillette Stadium, are an irresistible draw. Of the 11 randomly chosen auctions for tickets to the home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the lowest high bid for two tickets was $305.

A ticket broker paid the highest price for a pair of tickets to the rematch of last season's AFC championship game. He submitted the high bid of $610 for a pair of $75 end zone tickets.

Compulsive behavior drives buyers

The behavior of the buyers fascinates psychologists and marketing experts.

What is it about these sports fans anyway? Why are some otherwise rational people willing to click a mouse and tap a keyboard until they've spent the grocery money on a pair of tickets to a football game they could probably catch on television?

"My fiancee calls me OCD (for obsessive-compulsive disorder) because I'm always on the computer trying to get these tickets," said Seth Winkleman, a 30-year-old New Britain, Conn., man who regularly bids on Patriots tickets on eBay.

"When you get the tickets for a good price, it's a really good feeling," he said.

• Dipankar Chakravarti, a professor of marketing at the University of Colorado, says it is what academics call the constructive processing theory. Bidders will continue raising their offers because they're competitive and abhor losing, not because they believe the tickets are worth what they're willing to spend.
• Francis T. McAndrew, a psychology professor at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., said a couple of other factors may inspire fans to keep bidding higher.

Even though bidders on eBay aren't identified until bidding is closed — and then only by the nicknames they choose — losing out in an online auction may feel like a public defeat, he said.

"To withdraw is an admission of defeat," he said. "People aren't going to want to do that publicly. It's self-perception. They'll think less of themselves if they do."