scalpers are scum

It sounds like you would have bigger fish to fry, given the layoff and unemployment thing, than to worry about making a 6-hour drive and trying to get a good deal from a scalper for a college football game.

Maybe it's just me, but I love the Hawks as much as anyone I know, but if my wife was laid off on a Monday and there was a looming mortgage payment I was worrying about, the last thing I would do is make that trip and spend money on football tickets.

There's nothing that says you HAVE to pay what the scalpers were charging. Just like there's nothing that says they HAVE to drop the price to what you consider reasonable.
 
I didn't specifically come to town for the game i came to see my family and for my husband to see my family before he goes to army boot camp in two weeks.....now my sister and her husband and cousin were all going to the game so I thought it would be nice if i could get my husband in to see one last game before the army that was my plan but i didn't have the money to spend the price of the tickets......so i went back to my sisters to watch the game, i was just trying to get my point across that for someone to see a game you basically have to get season ticket to get a reasonable deal.....is that too much to ask...
 
I'm sorry but if someone is offering me $200 for an extra ticket, I'm not going to turn it down.

I'd rather pay 3X face value if it means the Hawks are winning. Nobody complained years ago when you could get in for $40 and watch a struggling Iowa team.
 
ajjorgen23 said:
I didn't specifically come to town for the game i came to see my family and for my husband to see my family before he goes to army boot camp in two weeks.....now my sister and her husband and cousin were all going to the game so I thought it would be nice if i could get my husband in to see one last game before the army that was my plan but i didn't have the money to spend the price of the tickets......so i went back to my sisters to watch the game, i was just trying to get my point across that for someone to see a game you basically have to get season ticket to get a reasonable deal.....is that too much to ask...
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Did this surprise you? There were multiple articles before the season started that they sold a record number of season tickets and that all home games were sold out. The only options would be away teams returning some of their ticket allotment (not happening for WI fans) or scalping tickets.

I am sorry for your situation and can understand because I will be losing my job in the next few months as well. However, I think most people have a problem with your posts because you come across as having a sense of entitlement to a reasonably priced ticket. Look at the subject of your post: "scalpers are scum". Really? Why? Because they wouldn't sell you a ticket for the price you wanted to pay at the time you wanted to buy it?
 
I got to Kinnick about 45 minutes before kickoff. I was quoted two tickets for $300 followed by another offer of $400. At that point I considered going to a bar/restaurant for the game when I saw a deal fall through. I didn’t hear the seller’s asking price but the buyer offered $130 (I assumed per ticket) which the seller would not take. They parted ways and I asked the seller how much he wanted and he said $150 for the pair and I said sold. The buyer that walked away was overheard saying “that guy (meaning me) just got ripped off” and the only thing I could think of was WTF? $150 was not that far off face value and half the price of the other two offers. The tickets were Section 107, row 68 and I could not have been more satisfied with the transaction.
 
PJHawk said:
I got to Kinnick about 45 minutes before kickoff. I was quoted two tickets for $300 followed by another offer of $400. At that point I considered going to a bar/restaurant for the game when I saw a deal fall through. I didn’t hear the seller’s asking price but the buyer offered $130 (I assumed per ticket) which the seller would not take. They parted ways and I asked the seller how much he wanted and he said $150 for the pair and I said sold. The buyer that walked away was overheard saying “that guy (meaning me) just got ripped offâ€￾ and the only thing I could think of was WTF? $150 was not that far off face value and half the price of the other two offers. The tickets were Section 107, row 68 and I could not have been more satisfied with the transaction.
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To quote Howie Mandel, "You made a great deal!"
 
With the donation, a lot of tickets cost over $100 a piece - I know ours on the 30 are a hair over $100 a piece and the ones between the 40s are around $125-$130 a piece. The donations are critical to funding the remodeling of Kinnick and supporting the other nonrevenue sports (things that are important to us real Hawk fans). Then, add in the fact that games like Ball State and Eastern won't command anywhere near that price and add in the years where people can't even give away tickets to games like Western Michigan or Indiana (back in 2007) and I don't think someone trying to unload tickets for one of the biggest home games we have had in the past few seasons for $150-200 is anywhere near outlandish - prices haven't consistently been like that bince the OSU game in 2006. Some of the people selling could be real Hawk fans who also drove several hours to get to the game and who have invested thousands of dollars in Iowa football over the years. Those dudes aren't scum, maybe they have mortgage payments, too, and for once they see an opportunity to recoup some of their huge investment. If you don't want to pay a premium to watch Big Ten football, you have two options in your home state where you can see a lot of great B10 players playing every weekend and you won't have to drive 6 hours. Please go buy some crimson and cream shirts and leave those of us who have invested thousands of dollars in donations over the years alone.
 
ajjorgen23 said:
I didn't specifically come to town for the game i came to see my family and for my husband to see my family before he goes to army boot camp in two weeks.....now my sister and her husband and cousin were all going to the game so I thought it would be nice if i could get my husband in to see one last game before the army that was my plan but i didn't have the money to spend the price of the tickets......so i went back to my sisters to watch the game, i was just trying to get my point across that for someone to see a game you basically have to get season ticket to get a reasonable deal.....is that too much to ask...
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So what should be the alternative? Should the University not sell as many season tickets as they can so single-game seats will be available? Should we build a 200,000-seat stadium so anyone can get face-value tickets at any time? If that's your answer, then how much are you willing to pony up to help pay for that stadium? If you had 2 tickets and someone offered you $500 or $1,000 a ticket, would you take it? If you would (and I guarantee you would), then you're a hypocrite for complaining about it when you're on the other side of the transaction.

I'm not a fan of scalpers, but I'm adult enough to know they exist, and why they exist. I'd rather it be this way than to have us be 3-9 every season and unable to get to the point where tickets are hard to find.

Your husband got laid off, and is leaving for army boot camp in 2 weeks. Did he get laid off and then join the army, or did he join the army and quit his job because he's going to be leaving? That has no real bearing on the issue, but it sounds like you're throwing out a couple of stories in hunting for sympathy (husband was laid off and husband is going to boot camp and I wanted him to be able to see one last home game before he ships out)

Like the other poster said, it's a sense of entitlement with you. You want what you want, when you want it and for how much you want to pay. Anyone who says you can't have it on your terms is "scum". Grow up. I want to go to the grocery store and pay $10 a week for unlimited groceries. They say I can't have it for that. I guess that grocers are scum.
 
How are the scalpers scum? Is it because they are trying to make money? Did you go around and ask them how much money they have? Face value on a ticket at the fifty is $121. Some season ticket holders pay over what you would call face value. Dont care how far you drove or why you were there. Scalpers dont run around all day for the fun of it. They can sell for whatever price they want. Grow up.
 
OUTofTOWNHAWK said:
How are the scalpers scum? Is it because they are trying to make money? Did you go around and ask them how much money they have? Face value on a ticket at the fifty is $121. Some season ticket holders pay over what you would call face value. Dont care how far you drove or why you were there. Scalpers dont run around all day for the fun of it. They can sell for whatever price they want. Grow up.
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Agree. I bet plenty of the posters here would or have sold things for profit before.
 
Scalpers provide market liquidity. They do not set prices. Demand sets prices. Craigslist is full of tickets being sold by "non-scalpers" and they charge similar prices.

I like the fact that I can go to basically any sporting event in the world and be able to buy a ticket in front of the stadium 15 minutes before the game.

That said, I'm in my 10th year of Hawkeye season tickets and don't have to deal with scalpers.
 
Its all about perspective. I bet the scalpers in Ames are viewed as the most generous, caring individuals in the city. :)
 
Many good points have been made in this thread.

The only thing I'll chime in with is my extreme distaste for ticket brokers that buy hundreds of tickets with no intention of actually using them. I'm not sure this is the case for Iowa games but I know it is rampant with professional sports, especially the Cubs. These are the companies/people that screw ordinary fans. I wish there was a way for teams to prohibit this type of thing but in actuality I think some teams actually benefit by it through backdoor deals with these companies for kickbacks.
 
Scalping, for better or worse, is the law of supply and demand at its most basic. I've sold and bought from scalpers for anything from NCAA football and basketball games to Carnegie Hall concerts and Broadway shows. (Disclaimer: I am not a scalper.) Depending on the event and venue, demand generally exceeds supply around 30 minutes before a scheduled event and you'll pay more. The equation quickly levels out a few minutes before kick-off, opening tip, curtain, etc., and turns around totally a minute or two afterwards. Nothing more devalued than a Broadway ticket sold/bought at 8:05 p.m.

I don't know how you show up at Kinnick expecting to pay face value, or less, before kick-off to a conference game sold out months in advance. On the other hand, if you're willing to get to your seats 8-10 minutes into the game, you probably can get a bargain.
 
ajjorgen23 said:
I also am not rich and don't have much money especially since my husband just lost his job that week on monday so i'm sorry you don't think i love the hawks cause i'm not willing to pay 150 for a ticket when i have a mortgage to pay as well
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Hey, I am with you. I am a die-hard Hawk and yet I don't think I would fork over $200 for a home game. You took your chance and sorry it did not work out for you. You just never know on gameday what the scalper situation will be like. Ignore the naysayers and the ones giving you a hard time ... Sometimes it is hard to make plans too far in advance and have tickets lined up. I feel you pain ... I was recently displaced (don't wish that on my worst enemy) as well (fortunately found another opportunity) but when that happens you are definitely watching your pennies! Go Hawks and best to your hubby in finding a new opportunity ...
 
It is simple supply and demand...you should try getting packers tickets, you'll really be crying after that experience.
 
Ticket scalping, free market economics at it's finest.

I'm betting I could have got tickets for the UT-ISU game for around $10 judging from the number of empty seats in the stadium.
 
Kindabigdeal said:
Many good points have been made in this thread.

The only thing I'll chime in with is my extreme distaste for ticket brokers that buy hundreds of tickets with no intention of actually using them. I'm not sure this is the case for Iowa games but I know it is rampant with professional sports, especially the Cubs. These are the companies/people that screw ordinary fans. I wish there was a way for teams to prohibit this type of thing but in actuality I think some teams actually benefit by it through backdoor deals with these companies for kickbacks.
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The Cubs own Wrigley Premium Tickets or whatever that place across the street from Wrigley is called. That is the second biggest reason I hate the Cubs, their jagbag "fans" being the first.

If a scalper bought hundreds of decent Iowa tickets, in most years they would take massive losses.
 
hold on...you couldn't afford to buy tickets because your husband lost his job, yet he's leaving for boot camp in 2 weeks? were you not preparing for his job loss anyway? were you not putting a little money aside for while he's gone and its just you?

sounds like TERRIBLE planning to me. i'm not going to feel sorry for someone who waits til the day of the game to buy tickets and then doesn't like the price of them.

but i would like to thank you and your husband for his services for our country. i wish you both well and hope you are re-united very soon and both are healthy(dead serious)
 
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