The New England Patriots' recently announced lawsuit against StubHub is downright stupid. If you don't know about it, the Pats claim that StubHub causes fans to sell tickets over face value. That's the focus of the suit.
It's also wrong, and proves how little an East Coast firm like the Pats understand not just what StubHub.com does, but the nature of the Internet-based secondary ticket market.
StubHub is a medium through which to sell tickets at any price. The fan sets the price, not the company. Thus the tickets can -- and are -- set at below face value levels. The Boston Globe report found tickets that were higher than face, but didn't even bother to look at tickets that are priced at just $70, and there are a lot of them. Moreover, a ticket for a great seat can be found at a low or below face price if the buyer looks around.
StubHub is the wrong legal target and this lawsuit will not hold up in court. indeed, the Patriots have to explain why the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, San Francisco Giants, and other organizations have set up special programs with StubHub, and they have not.
This started because some Bostonian was less than savvy in his or her ticket purchases. They didn't have to spend over $800 on a ticket -- but they did. StubHub didn't put the ticket there, the seller did.
Going after a ticket reseller is not the answer. Going after a ticket broker is. StubHub is not a ticket broker. It's a reseller and that can be at any price.
I also disagree with the stubhub lawsuit. I have often purchased tickets below face value. Even the brokers and individuals that list tickets sky high usually end up eating the seats if no one is willing to pay.
ReplyDeleteI see this as an attempt by teams and ticketmaster to turn the market into a monopoly for them only. I know several teams have been trying to setup ticket exchanges and most with plans to charge fees for using their service. Whats next..making it illegal to give my buddy my tickets for free that I paid for? Give it up guys... all that you will do if stubhub goes away is increase the number of guys scalping tickets on the street!!!!