Ticketmaster To Let Users Resell, Bid on Tickets

Ticketmaster (Nasdaq: TMCS) is planning to launch two new features that will let users resell unused tickets and bid for tickets online, rather than waiting in line at retail outlets, according to published reports.

One feature, called "Ticketmaster Marketplace," will serve as an online venue for season ticket holders to sell unused tickets.

Sanctioned Scalping

According to Ticketmaster, because the Marketplace is a "sanctioned place for season ticket holders to sell tickets they can't use," buyers "won't have to worry about fraud or the hassles of arranging in-person ticket pickups."

Tickets will be sent via e-mail with a bar code, which the buyer must print and take to the stadium. Only the stadiums of teams participating in Ticketmaster Marketplace will be equipped to scan the codes.

The site will adhere to laws against scalping by getting the approval of the teams issuing the tickets; canceling and reprinting each ticket so there is no actual exchange; and limiting the amount of profit a seller can make on a ticket, according to local laws.

Not for Profit

There are some drawbacks, however. Both Ticketmaster and the sports team take a cut of all tickets sold, so if a seller is limited to a small profit on resold tickets, that profit might be entirely negated.

The Marketplace so far has no teams listed, but The Wall Street Journal reported that 17 National Basketball Association (NBA) teams have signed up to participate, and that Ticketmaster plans to waive its fee for the service during NBA playoffs.

Resale Roaring Ahead

The resale market for event tickets is clearly a good one. Ticket sales were so popular on auction giant eBay's (Nasdaq: EBAY) site that the company set up a separate category for event ticket sales .

"It's clearly a mechanism that is well suited to the Internet," eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove told the E-Commerce Times. According to Pursglove, eBay's event ticket category is growing rapidly, and that growth is expected to continue, both within eBay and on other sites.

In the future, Ticketmaster will take another page from eBay's playbook: Plans are in the works to launch a feature that lets users bid for concert tickets.