What adverse effects the secondary
market may have
22. Other evidence suggested as many ways in which
the secondary market, or particular elements of it, may operate
to the detriment of consumers or of the industries, including
that:
buying
tickets for the purpose of resale often deprives others of the
opportunity to buy those tickets at face value, and "drains
tickets away from the primary market", with the result that
"genuine" or "real" fans cannot buy tickets
for popular events at face value;[69]
resale of tickets at inflated prices
puts them beyond the reach of the audiences for whom they were
intended, such as supporters involved in a sport, or fans who
follow particular artists;[70]
selling on of tickets for free events
diverts what has been given, or provided at public expense, away
from those intended to benefit;[71]
the tolerated proliferation of unofficial
sources blurs the distinction between official and unofficial
sources and gives apparent legitimacy to fraudulent operators,
who may sell forged tickets or fail to provide tickets which have
been paid for; operators in the secondary ticket market are often
part of wider criminal operations;[72]
consumers and overseas visitors may not
realise that they are buying tickets on a secondary market as
opposed to "official" sources where tickets may be available
at face value and with better consumer protection:[73]
Mr Paul Williamson, European Sales Director of Ticketmaster told
us that while tickets for a series of Prince shows at the O2 were
still available at the face value of £31, tickets were also
being sold on eBay for £140,[74]
and Tickex told us that its research indicated that some 20% of
tickets purchased in the secondary market were still available
to be purchased at face value in the primary market, because primary
channels provided poor information for consumers leading to wrong
assumptions about the availability of tickets.[75]
touting may affect the country's ability
to continue to attract world class events for instance the Rugby
World Cup in 2015 and Football World Cup in 2018, for which bids
are being prepared (and there is an increasing trend by international
governing bodies of sports to write into bid requests that host
nations must control ticketing in similar terms to those that
exist for the Olympic Games);[76]
profits taken by the secondary market
have direct and indirect effects on revenue for promoters and
performers, e.g. promoters may be deprived of revenue when, for
instance, tickets sold at a discount are sold on at face value
or above;[77] performers
lose out because their fees are based on face value ticket sales;[78]
resale of tickets at inflated prices reduces the amount consumers
are willing to spend at events or on tickets for other events;[79]
resources (both financial and administrative) have to be diverted
to anti-touting measures including the cost of police and extra
stewards;[80]
many secondary sellers do not account
for VAT on inflated ticket prices or for tax on their profits;[81]
staff at the venues have to deal with
the consequences of secondary "sales" which have left
disappointed (and perhaps aggressive) consumers with forged tickets,
cancelled tickets, inferior tickets or no tickets at all, and
sometimes "unable to see the divide" between the tout
and the venue, which they try to hold responsible; [82]
consumers lack protection, e.g. they
may have inadequate or misleading information about the location
in the venue and face value of the ticket (if it exists at all),
and what terms and conditions apply to it (including conditions
restricting transfer and allowing cancellation of tickets transferred
in breach), and they may be unable to obtain refunds when events
are cancelled ;[83]
on-site touting makes the environment
uncomfortable and unattractive for attenders;[84]
all forms of reselling adversely affect
the image of the promoters (and, to overseas visitors, the image
of the event, city and country);[85]
some secondary sellers purport to be
selling tickets (known as "futures") which they cannot
possibly own, because no tickets for the event have yet been put
on the market, and sometimes for non-existent events which promoters
have no intention of putting on, resulting in non-delivery of
tickets, and disappointed fans[86]
individuals and clubs given preferential
access to or allocations of tickets are given an incentive to
"cheat" by selling these on, often involving personal
not club gain and potentially endangering such preferential arrangements
for the benefit of others.[87]
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