Setting purely black and white legal issues what would we expect from a business point of view? I get to wondering: 1. What is the head of Security doing handling this? Okay, I expect he might have people outside the stadium looking for scalpers but how does combing Ebay include stadium security? 2. Couldn't somebody from season ticket accounts handle this? There may be alot of information missing from this article but it seems that the Pats went to DEVCON 5 awfully quickly. If this man has indeed only missed 3 games in 18 years, could someone have tried calling to say, "By the way dear Mr. Season Ticket holder, you aren't allowed to resell your tickets. Could you stop please?" This seems like good business. Regardless of the black and white "right" of the PATS to terminate his account there is the issue of customer relations. This seemed to be extremely innapropriate customer relations. I guess when you have 50K people on the waiting list you feel you don't need customer relations. Heck they don't even feel a need for customer relations at REV games...
Exactly, especially about the DEVCON5 and 50K. A stern but professional cease and desist type letter and/or call would have done just fine. The 50K so we don't need customer relations: that's the real shame, even more so if this is not isolated but the only one to make it into the news. If the Pats were acting out of arrogance like that, they need to be slapped and reminded that just 10 years ago, you needed the NY Giants or Super Bowl Champs to get more than a half filled house. You couldn't give the empty seats away otherwise. And that 50K will drop REAL QUICK if the Pats ever have two 4-12 seasons in a row. It may even drop slightly as a result of bad PR from this, but I ain't about to survey all 50K of them.
Soccer Championship Tickets--MLS CUP Think senor Briggs & Co. will go after this seller? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1378350020 Probly not, it looks to be a commmercial dealer. Not a bad deal btw, two tickets/$50, or four tickets/$80. Before you bid, keep in mind the game WILL be played in monsoon-like weather.
Oh wait... it just occured to me, they'll only come after you if you have something really valuable, like Patriots season tickets at midfield, that they could steal from you - so I'd say this guy is safe. For all you Revs season ticket holders who don't plan to renew, this is the perfect scalping opportunity! go for it.
Massachusetts General Laws, TITLE XX: PUBLIC SAFETY AND GOOD ORDER Chapter 140: Licenses Section 185A. Resale of tickets; necessity, term and transfer of license; information in application; definition of resale; restrictions. "Section 185A. No person shall engage in the business of reselling any ticket or tickets of admission or other evidence of right of entry to any theatrical exhibition, public show or public amusement or exhibition required to be licensed under sections one hundred and eighty-one and one hundred and eighty-two of this chapter or under chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A, whether such business is conducted on or off the premises on which such ticket or other evidence is to be used, without being licensed therefor by the commissioner of public safety, in this and the six following sections called the commissioner. A license shall be granted only upon a written application setting forth such information as the commissioner may require. Each license issued under this section shall be in force until the first day of January next after its date, unless sooner revoked. No such license may be transferred or assigned except upon written permission of the commissioner. The sale of a ticket or pass, entitling the holder thereof to admission to any such theatrical exhibition, public show or public amusement or exhibition upon payment either of nothing or a sum less than that demanded of the public generally, shall be deemed to be a resale thereof within the meaning of this section. No person shall engage in or have any interest, as a stockholder or otherwise, in any such business in the conduct of which is or are resold any ticket or tickets of admission or other evidence or evidences of right of entry to any theatrical exhibition, public show or public amusement or exhibition of which said person is the owner or in which he has any interest, as a stockholder or otherwise." Not that this helps any. The Magpie
Nice work digging up the statute. (edit spelling) Now your next assignment is to dig up how we can all become licensed resellers. Be sure to see if there are any clauses about organizations of resellers based upon having a single organization license. Might be nice if all the ticket holders joined this new organization so they can legally resell their tickets.
What's the point? What benefit do the Pats get from taking away this guy's tickets and giving them to whoever is next on the list? There isn't any additional money involved, unless they had a grandfather policy and this guy had his tickets since 1962 when a seat 15 rows up on the 50 yard line at Braves Field for $6 a pop was considered outrageous. Like the old lady who has been living in the rent controlled apartment on Beacon Hill for $90/month, the landlords are waiting to kick her out so they can rent it out at market value. Or is it to "teach this guy a lesson?" Seems that there is virtually nothing to gain, other than getting rid of alleged riff-raff, and a lot in the PR/goodwill area to lose. You know the theory where someone who has a good customer experience will tell 2 people, but someone who has a bad one will tell ten. Tom
Right and Wrong vs. Legal and Illegal Is there a difference? Let's STIPULATE that the Krafts have a legal right to revoke his tickets. They also have the legal right to eject us from the stadium if we misbehave (in their opinion not ours). They probably have the legal right to control what we bring into the stadium (down to telling my sister to buy a new purse because the one she has is "too big"). I'm sure some southern states had laws that backed up segregation of schools, back of the bus policies, etc. It didn't make those policies any more RIGHT. This incident feels really WRONG. We shouldn't apologize for the PATS/Krafts even if they were legally empowered to revoke these tickets. They treated their customer like dirt. Since I can't get bottle caps with my water/beer; since my sister can't bring her purse into the game (BTW, her wallet and two cell phones fills it - it isn't a sack); since I'm paying more for parking and concessions; since, despite the last three results, the team generally still sucks; since there is no soccer celebration, since post-game tailgating is a crapshout (security comes by to kick you out; and since the team sucks (oops I said that twice but they doubly suck so it is okay), I come to the conclusion that the Krafts just don't give a damn about me, the customer. This incident is just another symptom of their attitude. So, I thank them for bringing MLS to New England and I try to forgive alot of the above but it just gets harder and harder and harder and harder and...
Forgive my cynicism but I'm sure a campaign contribution (i.e. legal bribe) in the appropriate (i.e. large) amount to the properly connected state legislator(s) would probably make it happen.
Re: What's the point? Maybe they wanted to put to rest all of the complaints of Rev fans being treated poorly by treating pats fans equally poorly.
Just wonder if anyone is going to go after Tufts Assoc. Health Plan- they are "openly" advertising an auction on Kiss108 for two Rolling Stones tickets in the 32nd row for tomorrow night's event at the stadium?? Jon
Of course not. If the reaction by those who read the Globe Article in general mirrors the Big Soccer sentiment, then perhaps (am I reaching?) the Pats are having a bit of regret about the seemingly selective revocation.
This guy was price-gouging. He was ready to reap 3X ticket price for his set, a profit of quite a pile of $$$. Not exactly the actions of a "loyal" fan - auctioning off the tickets to whoever will pay the most. Oh and he was assaulted - according to his lawyer he got his shirt ripped! Briggsy could be looking a significant time behind bars for this one! And he wrecked his car on the way home - that must be the Pats fault too. The whole article was the LAWYER'S P.O.V.! Scalping for big money should be stomped out IMO. "Real" fans sell them at face value, or to friends, or for a small markup for legitimate expenses. I still think he'll probably win his suit based on the fact that the sale was never consumated. The Pats should probably back off and let him keep his tickets; they've gotten lots of free publicity that it's not safe to publicly auction your season tickets.
i don't have the article in front of me...but i think the guy in question even works in the law field somehow. he may have not known how to use ebay properly, but should have known enough .....or sell them to the opp team's fans during w.c. qualifying. ahem, d.c. suburban soccer dads are you listening?
so your telling me that if you had the chance to make 3X the money on the ticket you wouldnt do it because you are a "REAL" fan screw that if I had tickets an some idiot wanted to pay 3 times the face value hell ya I would take it, an it wouldnt mean I am not a real fan.
ahhh, yes....i have seen this bridge. nice view of a large grassy expanse. scenic setting near a lighthouse. just a hop, skip, and a jump from a mcdonalds. its, like, the best bridge ever. do you really own it moacir? are you that mean mirrored glass, headset wearing guy that used to tell me i couldn't use your bridge? "go use the ramp" you'd say. "because i said so" was the other phrase you'd bark out when i'd ask why. i hope you do sell it. like the gates you must have owned at one point too. we can only use the ones that have been sold. we never get to use the one that doesn't have a name on it. at least we'd get to use the bridge once you're out of the picture. mean people suck.
Personally, no I don't gouge people that I sell tickets to. It probably has nothing to do with being a "real" fan, just my personal ethic isn't to always get as much as I possibly can. My point is that if the guy wants to be profiteering to the tune of hundreds of $$, he shouldn't be whining about what a great fan he is, and that it's the first time he'd done it, etc., etc. Scalping isn't a victimless crime - the victims are the fans who can't see events at a reasonable price. The fat wads of tickets that the scum walk around with at Sox, Pats, Celtics & Bruins games are tickets that should have been on sale at the box office at the regular price. When amateurs decide to jump into the game to get their piece of the action, they legitimize what the mafia controlled scalpers are doing.
The latest, the fan lost his restraining order to have his tickets returned, but is still fighting it: http://boston.com/news/daily/09/pats_fan.htm
,.., need Pats tickets? http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...=&ebaytag1code=0&st=&SortProperty=MetaEndSort didn't it come out that the security douchebag had a personal thing against the scalper?
If it hasn't, it may soon. Not to look too much into it, but this pretty much had to be the case. Why else would one person be targeted, and not the eBay sellers. Unless this was a macho ploy, often pulled by some in the State Police.
Wow, those prices are out of control. Big difference between Pats and Revs: I couldn't sell my tickets at any price.
Just for fun, I checked ebay for MLS tickets. I found one! Three tickets for sale for the upcoming Galaxy/Quakes match. Current bid 10 bucks.
i think they need to give everyone on that paying 50k pats waiting list 6 flex tix for the revs and make it mandatory that they use them somehow (easy to track with that barcode technology at the gate)....in order to stay on the list.