Online scalpers make killing on One Direction tickets

MANILA, Philippines - Scalpers went online to sell tickets for the concert of British boy band One Direction at prices higher by at least 300 percent, just hours after thousands lined up at various SM ticketing centers on Friday for the March 2015 event.

A search of various online selling sites Saturday morning showed that a number of netizens are advertising tickets for the concert.

For instance, one seller claimed having 10 general admission tickets and is selling each for P4,000. The original price was only P1,150.

In a text message, the seller said the tickets were bought from SM Ticketnet and a lot of people are already inquiring about the post.

Another seller is bidding out two silver tickets with the starting price of P8,000. Silver tickets are originally pegged at P2,220 each.

Meanwhile, gold tickets – pegged at P3,375 each – are being sold online for as high as P10,000.

Another seller, who said they have VIP tickets, are re-selling two titanium tickets at P12,000 each. The original price was P7,450.

Diamond tickets, which cost P14,800, are being sold as high as P24,000 each online. This is higher than the original price of VIP tickets, which cost P17,950 each.

The STAR has yet to come across a post selling VIP tickets, but a number of items show that people are willing to buy one for as much as P30,000.

As of Saturday noon, all except titanium, silver and general admission tickets were sold out, based on the SM ticket websites.

Priority selling started 8 a.m. on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena for the first 15,000 customers. Tickets were sold in other SM ticket outlets starting 2 p.m.

Reminders released on the Manila Concerts Scene website said only five tickets are allowed to be sold per person.

Organizers of the concert have yet to comment on the supposed resale of tickets at higher prices.

No law on scalping

The Philippines has no national law prohibiting scalping, generally defined as the mass purchase and resell of tickets at more expensive prices.

Other cases have already been reported in the past, mostly for athletic games held at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Scalpers have previously been arrested by the police as the city has an existing ordinance.

A Quezon City councilor even filed a proposed measure seeking to impose higher penalties on people who sell tickets for shows or events at prices above their official cost.

Fifth district Councilor Aly Medalla said there is a need to amend the penalties on the anti-scalping ordinance passed in 1955.

She noted that the current measure penalizes scalping only for P10 to P50 and imposes a jail term of only five to 30 days.

“These penalties no longer serve the purpose of deterring felonious acts and must be updated,” she said.

In her proposal, Medalla said the penalties must be increased to a fine of not more than P5,000 and an imprisonment of not more than one year, based on the discretion of the court.

The ordinance defines scalping as “selling in Quezon City of athletic tickets and/or tickets for shows and other allied activities by persons engaged thereof, at prices above its official prices.”

The proposal was filed months after alleged scalping incidents during the basketball finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) in October last year between De La Salle University and the University of Santo Tomas.

A fan posted photos on the Internet and alleged that a scalper was able to secure tickets from an employee of Araneta Coliseum despite an earlier announcement that tickets were already sold out.

In a statement, Araneta Coliseum said the “staff in question has already been placed under preventive suspension pending investigation of this incident.”

“We are also working closely with (Quezon City Police District) Station 7 to go after the scalpers and to deploy more operatives in succeeding events at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to intensify the drive against scalping,” it added.

The UAAP leadership also condemned the alleged sale of overpriced tickets.