Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Rep. Aaron Schock: Ticket scalper

For those who missed it and keep asking me about it, here it is: Aaron Schock -- ticket scalper:

When Aaron Schock was in high school, his job was to buy tickets.

His employer would order tickets to, say, a Garth Brooks concert, and Schock would call Ticketmaster. He would purchase the maximum number of tickets allowed and send them to his employer, who would reimburse Schock's credit-card account and send him a commission. Then his employer would try to resell the tickets to a diehard Garth Brooks fan, hopefully for way more than face value.

"It wasn't bad money for a high school student," Schock says. "It beat working at McDonald's."

Schock, one of the Peoria area's representatives in the state legislature, compares the practice of ticket-scalping to other great examples of American capitalism, such as playing the stock market or speculating in real estate. There is the potential of great reward, but also risk. And the risk and reward cut both ways.


Yeah, well the payday loan business is legal too, but I wouldn't call it moral. But you would elect a payday loan operator to the state legislature? I wouldn't want my sister to date one. A ticket scalper is almost on the same moral level.

JS sports columnist Kirk Wessler later explains that the State of Illinois legalized this sort of behavior in 1991. Even the ballclubs are getting into the act, selling tickets never offered to the public to brokers who then immediately jack up the prices. Thanks to computers and the Internet, scalpers don't even have to stand in line, which is why so few tickets are available at the door on game day anymore.

And the problem just keeps getting worse. Eventually, every single sporting event will be like the Super Bowl and the only way to get tickets it to know somebody who knows somebody, or be connected to a powerful politician or be a client for a huge corporation.

Ticket scalping is ruining sports. It benefits the greed-heads at the expense of the fans.

If ticket scalping is one of the "great examples of American capitalism," then so is Enron. But then, the last thing a sharp operator like Shock wanted to do as a kid was work at McDonalds. At least it would have been honest work, and might have better prepared him to understand his constituency a little bit better.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

18 comments:

JBP 10:27 AM  

So if people want to spend their money as they see fit, Bill Dennis would say "NO, you are ruining sports" by exhibiting your choice in the marketplace.

Wouldn't a real fan want to spend his money to see a sporting event? If he was a fan of the game, rather than the stars, couldn't he go to a high school game for free?

Nuts.

JBP

grand old partisan 12:50 PM  

There are a lot of things ruining sports, Bill. Scalping doesn’t exactly appear at the top of the list, in my opinion. And comparing it to Enron is absolutely ludicrous. No matter how big a fan they are, no one is depending on the ability to afford Cubs tickets as a critical part of their retirement plan.

Perhaps I’m not old enough to remember, but has there ever been a time when the potential of obtaining a ticket to a professional sporting event was greater if you were a true “fan” rather than if you simply had the time and/or money to afford it?

Billy Dennis 2:36 PM  

Partisan: The point is that theproblem is worsening, not that it never existed. Scalpers are leaches. If they once provided a service, they now act make it harder to see games in person, not easier.

Anonymous,  2:42 PM  

Ah well, at least Bill has found someone to hate besides Ray LaHood. It doesn't make the post any better, but it is nice to have a little variety in the venom.

Anonymous,  2:44 PM  

So how long is it going to be before Bill Dennis is labeled, "conspiracy theorist"?

Anonymous,  3:07 PM  

Schock could have volunteered to join the military. Good job. Decent pay and benefits. See the world. Learn a trade.

That'd be moral work... right?

Anonymous,  3:12 PM  

Lots of people cut corners. Especially in municipal bond contracts. Convicted felon ownership in violation of Federal law. Cozy relationships with elected officials. No talent people getting contracts based on politics and minority fronts.

JBP 4:20 PM  

Scalpers do provide a service. They sell tickets to high bidders. It would be pretty simple for sports teams to do this themselves, but they don't. So a market exists and scalpers arbitrage the opportunity.

Please, send more leaches.

Anonymous,  7:09 PM  

Let's just say I'm not exactly surprised to learn that a Republican made money screwing people over. It's what they do, unless you're a fetus, an unethical corporation, or the richest of the rich.

JBP 7:32 PM  

How is ticket auctioning "screwing people over"? People want tickets, so they pay for them. How are tickets different than any other good?

JBP

Anonymous,  12:36 PM  

jbpowers what is the door, a church? what does it represent

Yellow Dog Democrat 10:33 PM  

JB -- Because scalpers corner the market on a good and sell it at a monopoly mark-up. Becuase most of these sports teams are publicly financed, one way or another. Because it makes you wonder, if Schock would scalp tickets, is there anything he wouldn't do to make a buck?

Anonymous,  1:54 AM  

Is buying something on at a Yard sale or auction at a low price when you know it is worth much more and then re-selling it wrong as well?

Let's see... Is paying a discounted ticket price and then reselling those for higher wrong as well?

Is purchasing season tickets and then making a profit wrong as well?

Sounds like capitalism to me! You know... shame on Wal-Mart and big business in general... they pay cheap prices for everything and then sell it for me! I am never going shopping again, because every place does it... I just can't do it!

How about all the people that craft up something and then sell it... shame on them to!

How about those people that win something and then sell it... shame on them to!

Shame on the people that purchase 2 animals, breed them, and then sell them and make a really large profit... shame on them to!

Must I go on? I am sure everyone in America (likely even the world) has fallen into one of these categories... Shame on all of us!

I'm guilty as charged! Don't judge me... You are too!

Anonymous,  10:10 AM  

I see a pattern of socialist comments here. Schock got in line and bought tickets. Nobody is saying he manipulated the line to gain an advantage on anyone else buying tickets. Then his employer sold the tickets to someone willing to buy them. People, there is a price for Shocks time. I buy tickets from a broker because there is a price for my time also. I am willing to pay a mark-up so I don't have to stand in line for 10 hours to buy my tickets. This is capitalism in its purest form. If people were willing to stand in line to get their own tickets then there would be no market for ticket brokers! Remember, nobody here has said Schock or his boss manipulated the system to buy the tickets.

Anonymous,  7:50 PM  

Smart guy - Aaron was 10 years ahead of EBAY.

Capitalism. God bless America!

We need more people like Aaron in the legislature as opposed to those that think government regulation solves all problems.

Anonymous,  11:29 PM  

Bill, this is a great post!

But perhaps "morally wrong" is too strong. Scalpers aren't morally wrong. Neither are e-mail spammers, paparatzi, telemarketers, or panhandlers. They're all annoying, and they all make the world a little worse for the rest of us, but they aren't morally wrong. Like Aaron Shock!

Anonymous,  11:41 PM  

Schock is a little kid who has no business being in the legislature. Tell him to go back to frat parties and drinking, and leave the governing to adults.

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