HOW do scalpers get their TICKETS????????

Question

I went to a baseball game and I saw about 15 different poeple with a big stacks of tickets trying to sell them. Do they buy tickets to sell on the street or do they somehow get hooked up.

I ask this because it does not seem like a very lucrative way of doing it, if in fact they are buying them hoping to sell them all. (most people didn't even come close to selling half of them by the time the game started.....

Answer 1

Scalpers will employ a variety of methods, some several at a time.

You can have many sets of season tickets.

You can line up (and if seat limits exist) have others lineup for you to get the choice game seats.  (either live or internet)

You can offer a service where you will buy other people's tickets (but typically below face value)

They will make enough money off the big game that they don't even need to break even on the smaller games, so if they walk away with half their tickets to the lousy game, they may have done ok because they sell for 200% of facevalue for the big games.

The only solution of course is to never buy from them.  Without a market, they wouldn't buy tickets.

A colleague of mine went to NYC and went to a Yankees game.  It wasn't against a great team and he waited till the game began.  He got $350 seats for $50 each.  (I still can't believe there are people that will pay $400 for a single ticket)

Answer 2

They probably have friends who work for ticket companies or they work for a ticket company.

http://ticketmaster.com

Answer 3

it is a difficult process

scalpers normally go to websites like stub hub and get all of the tickets they can, and sometimes make there own from the ones they bought

you just need to ask them to go up to the gate with you before you buy the ticket

it works

they wont do it if the tickets are fake cuz then they are are arested

Answer 4

Don't let the scruffy clothes fool you....many of these guys are professionals.  More often than not, all the "independent" scalpers in a particular area are all working together.

You sell your tickets to the guy with the "I need two" sign and he simply hands them to the guy selling tickets a few feet away.  The way they make it lucrative is to buy at well-below face value.  A lot of them figure people have extra tickets because of last minute cancellations and would unload them for the price of parking or a couple hot dogs.  

Their "plan" is well-rehearsed:

For example:  I had two extra tickets to a game.  I stopped outside the stadium and offered them to a guy with a "I need tickets" sign.  They were $30 tickets....First, he asked to see the tickets (it's important that they actually HOLD the tix)...He offered me $20 for BOTH.

When I said "no" and asked for my tickets back, he called over his buddy and made a big show of asking what HE thought the tickets were worth.  Like a good Used Car Salesman he frowned and said stuff like "they're not really that good seats...I'd give you $30 for both..."

I said no thanks and he offered to add another $5.  All this time, he would NOT hand me the tickets back...Luckily, I'm bigger than most of those guys so I just said "we're done" and held out my hand.  

After that, I went up to the ticket window and shouted out that I had two tickets if anybody was intersted.  A guy with a kid asked "how much"...I told him I had two $30 tickets...I'd sell them to him at face value.  He agreed without hesitation.

Again, most of these guys are pros.  They have a set plan to take advantage of people who are in a hurry to get into the stadium.