[leetcrew]

I simplified it so the example would fit in a single sentence. there are also more entities than just the artist+label organizing the tour/show. the fundamental point remains though: if scalping is a profitable business, the seller is seriously mispricing their product. I'm sure there's a good bit of variance in ticket demand show-to-show, but in total it looks like they are leaving a huge amount of money on the table. I'm not sure why, but I suspect they feel it is "uncool" to have very expensive tickets and worry that it might hurt the artist's image. maybe so, but the pricing is the original problem that is hurting fans and limiting the proceeds. arbitrage is merely a symptom, and the tickets would still be just as scarce without them.

[KozmoNau7]

There are many things in life where the main objective is not to extract the maximum possible level of profit.

The artists/bookers/venues choose ticket price levels based on a number of factors. They want to fill the venue and be profitable, but they also want to maintain a relationship with fans, which is going to get soured if the fans feel ripped off. There is also the factor of drinks sales, if you pay a ton for the ticket, you'll probably buy fewer drinks, and venues make a lot of money on drinks.

If they priced the tickets as high as the market could possibly bear, only the people with enough disposable income could go. That makes all of the fans who cannot afford the tickets angry that they cannot go, you really don't want to do that if you want to maintain a fan base.

Scalping is illegal in many countries for good reason. Here in Denmark, you can resell tickets all you like, but only at or below face value. It works and the artists/venues get to set the prices at levels that match their fan bases. Scalpers who don't care about the bands, but only about profit, don't get a say, because they they shouldn't have one.

[mattmanser]

And so you've answered your own misunderstanding of the problem.

It's not a symptom. It's necessary to have those lower prices to keep your image and your fans and impacts your long-term earnings, and so we're back to scalpers being nothing more than parasites and a net loss.

It's the same thing with the shoes, if they prices the shoes at their 'true' value, they alienate their customer base and the shoes lose value. The scalpers are actively harming the market.

[trebcon]

I guess my concern is I don't think simplifications are terribly useful, since it's not a simple topic, and can change wildly depending on the specific circumstance.

Which is why we have people who are experts in marketing and economy, and specialize in specific product areas.