Is reselling tickets online a truly viable form of self employment, or a type of scam that’s really causing self destruction? Any time an event is sold out or tickets are otherwise hard to get, it’s usually more than possible to find them all over eBay. If this type of ticket brokering is a legitimate way to work at home, can anyone start doing it…or are they, in actuality, breaking the law?
Ticket Scalping vs. Ticket Brokering
To know if the law is being broken, first know what the law actually is. In the United States, there are no nationwide laws which address ticket reselling of any sort. This is left up to the states, and many of them do have specific laws in place regarding these sorts of sales. It’s also important to know how to make the distinction between ticket scalping and ticket brokering, because some difference does exist.
Largely, ticket scalping is defined as the practice of selling tickets on or around the location where the event is taking place, before and during the time when the event is happening. This kind of ticket reselling is considered illegal by states when the ticket seller in question is on the premises- at the location of the event itself. However, in some states it’s perfectly legal to sell tickets around the area so long as it’s not happening on the property.
Ticket brokering is often conducted online. Here’s the important part: buying and selling tickets on eBay is completely legal.
State Laws for Reselling Tickets
While ticket brokering, reselling tickets online, is not illegal in the main, state laws still have their own rules regarding such sales. It’s important to know what that law is to avoid breaking it. Some states, for instance, put a cap or maximum value on the price of tickets. Sellers who go above this value are breaking the law. Other states are against ticket reselling completely, so know how to operate within these laws at all times. To make it easier, eBay offers an on-site, state-by-state lookup for buyers and sellers.
Reselling Tickets
In almost all cases, it’s completely legal to sell tickets at their market value. How, then, can ticket brokers make money? Like Ticketmaster and other popular ticket sellers, postage fees and service charges can be tacked onto the price. After all, it does take some effort to find and buy tickets (not to mention the initial investment), and it does cost materials to ship these tickets to buyers. Be sure to double-check state laws, but ticket brokers will find that most consider this to be an acceptable practice and a truly viable work at home, self employment opportunity.
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