Check this Craigslist ad out: This is an AUCTION with the starting price of $898 each. My favorite part: " I HAVE A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF THEM" Sure wish that me and other long-time LOYAL TBF Festers “HAD A VERY LARGE AMOUNT”.
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This auction is for Telluride bluegrass festival GA 2020 4-day ticket w/ town parking camping . Please adjust your quantity, I have a very large amount of them.
As soon as I receive them from planet bluegrass, I will send them out priority mail with signature confirmation.
Please messsage me with all questions before purchasing.
Very sad to see this but not surprised at all. I’m trying to keep positive thoughts that the folks at PB actually care more about the loyal festivarians than the almighty $ but i’m starting to struggle with that…
Just trying to internally channel Tim O’Brien’s “Free Again”…
I have a dumb question for these scalpers. How are they going to move these tickets without making their personal information available?
If they use the online ticket transfer system, the buyer, and PB, will know which account the seller is using, plus See Tickets will only charge face value for the ticket.
If they send you a barcode and wristband, you can track the owner through the RFID chip, since the info on the chip will lead right back to the buyer and their account and credit card. Just follow the crumbs back to the crum.
Even if the scalper goes into the See Tickets account and changes the names, phone number, and address, the credit card purchase number is still there.
Anyone who considers buying from one of these scalpers should have a RFID chip implanted in their head. They need to be tracked because they are a danger to themselves, and probably to others.
Maybe FOM would agree?
But have faith. Every year some of these tickets show up right before the fest at face value, because these scalpers don’t want to eat them.
The particular guy John is referencing has been doing this for 12 years now. PB is aware of him and has been trying to shut him down. He also scalps tickets for Electric Forest, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Burning Man, etc. From what I can ascertain he has a large network of people who come together to scalp tickets so they can go to TBF for free and maybe even make a profit. Because they rotate names, card details, and addresses, PB can’t pin the operation down.
Furthermore, he frequents this forum and seems to take great pleasure in doing what he’s doing. I suppose some people just don’t have a moral compass. There’s not much we can do aside from flagging posts and never buying from scalpers - ever.
There is no federal law against scalping, but, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 15 states ban the practice in some way, most labeling it as a misdemeanor with penalties including fines and/or up to a year in jail. States that restrict scalping include: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
A careful reading of the statutes is essential, though, as some barely prohibit scalping at all or in very select circumstances. Arizona, for example, bans scalping only within 200 feet of the entrance to the venue, which means that ticket prices can go as high as someone’s willing to pay—so long as the transaction is 200 feet and an inch away from the door.
The NCSL cites another seven states (Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) that require a seller to have license to broker tickets, and many limit the allowable markup to $3 or less. Again, however, regulations and limitations vary widely. Individual sellers, for example, may be exempt or subject to different price limitations—again demonstrating the importance of reading the laws carefully.
Very sad to see this but not surprised at all. I’m trying to keep positive thoughts that the folks at PB actually care more about the loyal festivarians than the almighty $ but i’m starting to struggle with that…
If it’s not illegal, and any language that PB may have on the tickets about reselling carries no weight, then the only course of action we have is to just not buy them. If we continue to flag the scalpers for their behaviour, we could actually be guilty of harassment or intimidation.
Yes it does suck, but we can’t prevent people behaving like a-holes. But we can choose not to associate with them.
In any case, I hope to see all of you next June, in a much happier frame of mind, drinking Bloody Marys, Russian Qualudes, homebrew and the Frog.
I have to agree with one thing Cindy Lou, some of the performers and blah at best. To be totally honest, we come for the pre-fest activities, and the Town Park family fest!
Whether it’s against the law or not, Ebay and Craigslist both have their rules, one of which is that the seller will comply with all terms and conditions regarding the product. Craigslist specifically states not to post tickets for more than face value. Planet Bluegrass specifically states that it is against their terms and conditions to sell the ticket for more than face value. Which then makes listing them for more than face value against Craigslist and Ebays policies as well. Flagging them is just marking the listing as against the terms of the Ebay, Craigslist, and/or Planet Bluegrass. It’s not harassment to flag them as such and it has nothing to do with the law. So flag away.
But the rules are rarely enforced by eBay and Craigslist. And even if they are flagged and taken down, the scalpers are allowed to just repost them again the same day. The only way to beat them is to not buy the tickets. It’s like playing whack a mole.
PB does its best, and the percentage of tickets that fall into the hands of scalpers is not that large. But as long as there are people willing to pay these marked-up prices, they will continue to scalp. :cheers
Most of Camp Billy did Not get tickets as they went for the vehicle camp pass for a couple of our family who need the vehicle pass ticket. I won four, but what is the fun if my camp can’t come. It was very frustrating experience.
Easy there, Cowgirl. I believe Lucas knows the scalper frequents the forum based on his conversations with him on eBay. I believe the scalper is almost taunting him. Don’t forget, Cindy Lou, that people can visit this forum anonymously as well.
I know you’re fired up but let’s treat good folk, like Lucas, well.
To my knowledge he does not have an account on here. If I did know he had an account, PB would have banned him and his ip address years ago. I only know he visits here because he has mentioned it elsewhere.
I have been able to gather a good amount of data on this person and have reported it directly to PB for action at their discretion. Publishing it here is of no use.