New England Patriots Obtain Online Ticket Reseller Names 233
Billosaur writes "The New England Patriots sued on-line ticket re-seller StubHub (a subsidiary of eBay) to obtain the list of names of people who tried to buy or sell Patriots tickets using the service. StubHub lost an appeal in Massachusetts state court last week, and was compelled to hand over the list of 13,000 names. It is currently not clear what the Patriots organization intends to do with the names, but they have intimated that they may revoke the privileges of any season ticket holders on the list. The Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, said the court order to turn over the names infringes on the privacy rights of Patriots fans. At issue is whether using the on-line service allows an end-run around team rules and Massachusetts state law, by allowing ticket holders to charge extreme mark-ups on their tickets." How does this ruling apply to other pieces of transient property?
It's all about the markup... (Score:3, Informative)
If I remember correctly, here in MA is is completely legal to resell tickets - just not for profit.
Our local sports teams have more than just a few insanely loyal fans who will do just about anything to see a game. People try to take advantage of this, which results in prices nearing mortage levels (and at 300k for a 2 bed home in the suburbs here, that it quite a bit of money).
I'm all for people being enterprising and making a little money - say 10% or at most 20% above face value. But anything over that is taking advantage of the fans, and preying on their obsessive love of the sports they love.
Read it and weep (Score:3, Informative)
Too effing bad. Every sports related season ticket by any team in any sport always has rules attached. And if one of those rules is season ticket holders can't resell their tickets, then the franchise has every right to find out who is reselling and cut them off. If you don't like their rules, then don't buy their tickets. That's your only option.
Re:It's all about the markup... (Score:2, Informative)
Interesting counterpoint (Score:3, Informative)
Personally, I'm torn on this issue. Basically, as a person on a fairly standard middle class income, it sucks that I'll likely never be able to attend major sporting events because scalpers quickly scoop up all of the tickets and price them out of range of the normal fan. On the other hand, if teams insist on building stadiums that don't hold the number of fans that would actually be willing to go to the games (for example, Invesco Field in Denver was built to almost exactly the same capacity as the old Mile High Stadium, even though waiting lists for season tickets there are decades long), it might make sense to let the free market determine the price of seats.
Personally, I think that scalping should be illegal, as scalpers essentially make their money by employing dirty tricks to corner the market on tickets, thereby possibly artificially inflating the cost of tickets. I understand the free market argument, but I think measures should be taken so we can be sure that fans at a game represent a true cross section of the fan base for the team, not just the ones that can afford $500 or more for tickets.
Re:It's not quite that simple (Score:3, Informative)
The question isn't whether they're based in Massachusetts, it's whether they're doing business in Massachusetts. And they are.
Re:To be fair... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Spelling Nazi (Score:2, Informative)
Re:To be fair... (Score:1, Informative)
The Pats issue, I think, is that the majority of the tickets are season tickets, and to get them there is a clause in the contract that the tickets may not be sold on other markets. They can be given back to the Pats office where they will be sold to people on the wait list and your account will be credited appropriately. So there is a controlled market, just not for wild profits, or for any profit for that matter.
Personally, I'm torn on this one. I paid good money for those tickets, and spend even more to attend each game; $50 to park, then the money I/we spend on tailgating, then the $5 for a bottle of water and $7.50 or more for a beer. It would be nice to recoup some of that if I decide not to go to a game. But, it is a contract, is it not? I'm not willing to loose the tickets for some odd transgression.
On the other hand, it is a scarce resource that I have rights to. Why shouldn't I try to get as much as I can for it. Oh yeah, It's only the NFL that is allowed to do that; Super Bowl commercials, and the players (hold outs), not the fans. Remember NFL, your nothing without the fans. Maybe it's time to watch the rugby world cup. Oh, thats on pay-per-view.
A Pats fan.