Scholarly
A small handful of scholars have examined various areas of ticket resale. This page is a collection of research and news articles that have a wealth of information on ticket resale (a.k.a. scalping). It is updated when new research comes to light. I welcome suggestions for additions.
Note: Where it is possible to reference the research paper, links open PDF documents in a NEW window.
Ticket Resale Specific Literature
Note: The most recent work on this topic is the Leslie & Sorensen paper. I highly recommend reading.
Understanding Ticket Brokers, Joris Drayer & Stephen Shapiro
The Economics of Ticket Scalping Univerity of Notre Dame.
Rockonomics: The Economics of Popular Music NBER Paper by Alan Kruger @ Princeton
Some Economics of Ticket Resale Pascal Courty, A key scholar on ticket resale
Ticket Pricing Under Demand Uncertainty Another Pascal Courty piece.
The Welfare Effects of Ticket Resale Alan Sorensen @ Stanford – Updated 10/09
Ticket Scalping: An American History 1850-2005 Kerry Seagrave (book).
eBay Auctions for Third Eye Blind Concert Tickets Journal of Cultural Economics
Select News Articles on the Topic
Facing the Music. Billboard Magazine
The Value of Scalping. The Boston Globe
Is the Ticket Biz Out of Line? The Washington Post,
Judge: Fan can sue Sox ticket reseller The Boston Globe
Scalping law? What scalping law? The Boston Globe
Multibillion-dollar industry pressures state to loosen restrictions on resales. The Boston Globe
Exploring ‘gray area’ of ticket law: An interview with Jim Holzman, president of Ace Ticket, the largest ticket reseller in Massachusetts The Boston Globe
America’s largest ticket scalper. Rolling Stone Magazine (not available online as of recent)
Ticketmaster vs. Ticket Buyers The Wall Street Journal.
To Protect Its Box-Office Turf, Ticketmaster Plays Rivals’ Tune.
Can’t Get No… Tickets. The Wall Street Journal.
Like it or not, scalping is a force of the free market. The Boston Globe
The Price of the Ticket. John Seabrook, The New Yorker, August 10, 2009, p.34
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/10/090810fa_fact_seabrook#ixzz0ttEPdQZL
Other Stuff
Why Cant I Get Tickets? Report on Distribution Practices Office of the New York State Attorney General
Buying Frenzies and Seller Induced Excess Demand Rand Journal of Economics
Rosen, S. & Rosenfeld, A. (1997) Ticket Pricing. Journal of Law and Economics. Vol 40, No., 2
Thaler, R. (1980) Towards a positive theory of consumer choice. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization Vol. 1. pp 39-60