Organized Ticket Scalping

Kyle Whelliston describes the secondary market for Olympics tickets in Vancouver. It’s a good deal more organized than you might think, complete with a manager: “Everything ran seamlessly. One man stood off to the side, wearing a Bluetooth headset; after each transaction, the placard-bearing buyer or seller would return to his area. He was the nerve center, the one who tracked inventory and set rates.” Meanwhile, the operation’s “banker” was in charge of “making sure that the foot soldiers were not carrying too many tickets (to maintain the appearance of scarcity) or cash (to make changing bills more difficult).” (HT: Tim Burke)[%comments]