‘Willing buyer, willing seller’: How and why ticket scalpers do what they do

SINGAPORE – After listing over 20 Taylor Swift tickets on Carousell for nearly triple the price per ticket, Timothy became a target of ire for the American superstar’s die-hard fans.

Timothy said he and his friends previously sold limited edition sneakers in a Telegram channel, and this gave them experience with online transactions. One buyer, who wanted to be known only as Tzepie, bought four Cat 1 tickets for Swift’s March 3 concert. She paid $875 for each ticket, over $500 higher than the original price.Fans like Ms Tzepie are aware that scalpers take advantage of their desperation and that there are risks in purchasing tickets from them.

“It was one week before the concert, and I could not find anything cheaper,” she said, adding that she had exhausted all official avenues during both the pre-sale and general sale. She had also asked a friend to try and get tickets for her. When asked what he would do if he was unable to resell all the tickets he and his friends bought, Timothy said that he would “go for the concert and maybe ask some of our friends too”.

“For example, they pay with time by queuing up early, by setting up multiple accounts to increase chances, by opening a bank account at a new bank to get an additional shot at a ticket. However, scalping is unethical when the commodity becomes a necessity, Dr Ramaswami said, citing examples like the increase in prices of bottled water in a natural disaster, or face masks at the onset of the pandemic.

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