Why is Scalping illegal

Question

Why is it illegal- it is not really stealing, you are the one who paid for the, for example, tickets. Shouldn't it then be your property to do whatever you may want to do with it/them. The producers/creators of the tickets are not losing buisness nor money! So why is it a crime

Answer 1

Scalping is illegal because a large additional amount is added to the purchase of the tickets.

Answer 2

There are a lot of theories of this.  Yours is certainly one, and valid.

Another theory is that the government might have given subsidies to the theater or venue, and in return, wants affordable tickets for their voters.  Scalpers make that less likely.  

Or, even in the absence of subsidies, the local government might want locals or tourists to be able to find affordable tickets.

Of course, the theaters in NYC took care of scalping on their own, when they raised the prices so high that scalpers can't afford the risk of there not being someone to buy at a price higher than regular price.

I dunno. I rather agree with you.  But there are reasons government feels like they need to poke their nose into things.  

Answer 3

It's part of marketing.  Someone could buy 100 tix, or all the tix and sell them for profit only for themself, not the artist or place of the show. So, in effect the producers/creators would lose out.

Answer 4

You have to have a license to sell certain things. For instance:

At my school some guy with a lot of money came up with a pallet of bulk-priced ipods and started selling them for half of what they are sold for in stores. It's illegal and he got in a lot of trouble. The argument applies, they are his, why should he not be allowed to sell them for a price he chooses? The answer is another question- what if everybody did that?

What if everybody in your town started selling off cheap electronics? Your local electronics stores would go out of business. It's great when you get the 250$ laptop, but when you need a cable or spare part for it, have fun trying to find an individual who bought a pallet of those, or have fun buying a gross of them from the manufacturer, who only sells in bulk.

Many things you need a license to sell, for exactly this reason. Without them, there would be chaos.  

Answer 5

Scalpers create an interference with business atmosphere. But laws are very specific per state, on what can be resold, and what can't be resold. this website covers most of it:

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-07...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.co...

The laws were created because majority of the time, the scalpers themselves obtained the tickets through unscrupulous methods (inside man), and ends up creating the need for scalpers, because they take up all the precious seats for an event. Most aren't even licensed to SELL tickets at all, so are doing so illegally (anti-scalping laws aren't even a factor in this)

Answer 6

when i read your question i thought you meant scalping like what native americans did and thought you were an idiot. i think scalping is illegal because it means the scalper is taking advantage of the people who buy the tickets. i honestly don't know for sure though.