Sting the Touts

The final straw was when the tickets were released for the Carling Weekend Festivals at Reading and Leeds. Hundreds and thousands of people save up all year and wait to buy their tickets, only to be pipped to the post by touts and people who buy the tickets only to sell them on as profit.

In America, they are known as "Scalpers" so beware.

eBay was flooded with hundreds of tickets for the festivals at twice the price found at the official ticket vendors. This happens not only for large festivals but also for small intimate gigs.

Reasons Why Touting Should Be Banned

• They don't declare their profits for tax purposes
• They are running up the costs of all football and music events
• They destroy dreams of people from all age ranges who have saved up for a long time to go to an event
• A system *like* Glastonbury 2007 will ensure just people passionate about the event end up going whilst not having to pay over the top prices
• Reading and Leeds festival tickets for 2007 went onsale at 7pm ... by 9pm on the same day (yes 2 hours) there were in excess of 800 camping tickets for sale at ridiculously stupid prices

They dont have uses. Pure and simple. There are a finite number of tickets. If only people that want to go buy them, then its fair. If those people later realise they cant go, fine, they can either return them to the venue (and if the venue in question doesnt allow returns they are actively encouraging touting, and i would have definate issues with that sort of place) and get their money back, or sell them onto friends or via eBay at face value.

The sad thing is, there are few ways to deal with touts, one of them is to have promoters agents outside the gig, and confiscate touts tickets. It does say on the back you cannot resell. I guess then the venue can open the box office and sell them fairly. Much like communism, in theory it works, in practice it will fail.