Ticket selling - what am i doing wrong?

PJ_Soul

Question for you folks:

I am attempting to sell my Franz Ferdinand etickets (Vancouver), and on Facebook and CL my proposal is that buyers can 1) send payment via Paypal using the goods/services option so that they have protection, and I then immediately transfer the etickets through my ticketmaster account using their email so they know right away that the tix are legit through TM, or 2) they can meet me in person to pay cash and actually watch me transfer the tix on the TM website to their TM account.

To me this seems like a fail safe way to guarantee that they aren't getting ripped off with fake tix. But, while there is actually tons of interest, no one will pull then trigger because they are all afraid I'm a scammer. People are actually insulting my method and saying only an idiot would do what i'm proposing and that I'm an idiot for suggesting it. They even seem to prefer that i print out the etickets rather than transferring ownership to them via ticketmaster. They are completely paranoid. One guy said he wanted to take a photo of my drivers license to do the deal (fuck that! Give a strange man my home address?? Don't think so!). Then he said that I am displaying every warning sign of being a scammer even though i was going to meet him and transfer the tix to him while he watched.

So am I totally out to lunch thinking that a ticketmaster transfer is actually the best way for buyers to know the tix are legit?? And that using good/services option for paypal makes it safe for them if they don't want to watch me do it in person??

(PS - anyone want to buy the tix? Lol. Face plus paypal fees)

Thirty Bills Unpaid

You are not out to lunch.

To the people that have a better way... do it their way if that makes them feel better.

* Except for the driver's license guy's way of course!

PJ_Soul

Yeah, well I'm happy to print the tix if they want of course, and also transfer them, but I don't have a printer at home and they all want to meet this weekend (demand is high). When I say in don't have a home printer they all think this is the cherry on top of the scammer sundae, lol.
If people are going to be that paranoid, I'm really surprised that they would buy hardcopy tix from anyone, which can't be verified.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

PJ_Soul said:

Yeah, well I'm happy to print the tix if they want of course, and also transfer them, but I don't have a printer at home and they all want to meet this weekend (demand is high). When I say in don't have a home printer they all think this is the cherry on top of the scammer sundae, lol.

Meet them at Staples and open the ticketmaster e-mail in front of them while you print their tickets.

PJ_Soul

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

PJ_Soul said:

Yeah, well I'm happy to print the tix if they want of course, and also transfer them, but I don't have a printer at home and they all want to meet this weekend (demand is high). When I say in don't have a home printer they all think this is the cherry on top of the scammer sundae, lol.

Meet them at Staples and open the ticketmaster e-mail in front of them while you print their tickets.

Closest staples is a long haul for me. Fuck them - don't even want my tix going to totally illogical paranoid people, haha. Not bending over backwards just to sell for face value. A close friend is actually the owner of a pretty major ticket brokerage, so I could just sell to him, but i totally hate what he does for a living and don't want to send my tix into the dirty world of legal scalping.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

PJ_Soul said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

PJ_Soul said:

Yeah, well I'm happy to print the tix if they want of course, and also transfer them, but I don't have a printer at home and they all want to meet this weekend (demand is high). When I say in don't have a home printer they all think this is the cherry on top of the scammer sundae, lol.

Meet them at Staples and open the ticketmaster e-mail in front of them while you print their tickets.

Closest staples is a long haul for me. Fuck them - don't even want my tix going to totally illogical paranoid people, haha. Not bending over backwards just to sell for face value. A close friend is actually the owner of a pretty major ticket brokerage, so I could just sell to him, but i totally hate what he does for a living and don't want to send my tix into the dirty world of legal scalping.

It is what it is. Get rid of your tickets to your friend. Someone will buy them and: they'll be happy, your friend will be happy, and you will be happy.

Perfect!

PJ_Soul

Well, i actually have pretty strong feelings about ticket brokers - I think it should be illegal. Really don't want to contribute to that market, so i would actually not be happy doing that. So I will try to sell privately and wait for a buyer smart enough to know my method is their safest and cheapest bet. It's a sold out show, so surely someone will want them!
Just wanted to confirm that these paranoid people from Craigslist are the idiots, and not me, lol.
(Haven't been to CL for a long time.... Forgot what a cesspool it is. Ugh).

Joey Eakins

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. However, I always stick to the logic of "If it's too good to be true, then it probably is." You are doing something that probably not too many people would do to a sold out show i.e. You are selling tickets to a sold out show on Craigslist for face value and you have the buyer's interest in mind.

It is sad that what you are doing sounds "too good to be true," but I bet a lot of buyers are seeing it like that. You being a good person is being seen as suspicious on Craigslist, a place where people get screwed over on a daily basis. I am sure you will find someone who wants to buy them from you.

Good luck on your sale!

HesCalledDyer

Stubhub? I know it's a 3rd party, but you set your selling price.

evsgjamm

Sounds like you're weary of potential customer's sketchy behavior, so kudos to that. If they think YOU are scamming and you think THEY are scamming (re: driver's license photo. fuck that shit) then piss on em. Have you tried kijiji as well? Safer playground in my experience. Also, me confuscious: can you print the tickets at work or a friends or neighbors? If there's a will...

G'luck - GO TO FRANZ FERDINAND and cancel whatever it is that's keeping you from going.

PJ_Soul

Sold finally! That wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, despite the huge interest in the tix (40 people must have texted me about them, but most only after I had the deal pending with someone).
Douchey-mcgee told me that he was suspicious of me because I'm a woman, and the scammers are always women so he didn't believe a word I was saying. He also threw out the fantastic line, "My money, my deal!".

P34RL J4MM3R

The best way to get stuff done is to ask for cash only and only offer printouts of the ticket. Also, then you can sell this multiple times. )

EnterThanman

Glad you sold em'. I was going to suggest Stubhub as HesCalledDyer did above. The buyer pays an insane mark up, but people seem happy to do it for the security side of it. It's also completely faceless, so you don't have to deal with peeps being deuchy.

On the other hand, it's also one of the most evil sides of the concert industry, creating another breed of flippers, so you have to pick your poison I suppose.

HesCalledDyer

PJ_Soul said:

Sold finally! That wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, despite the huge interest in the tix (40 people must have texted me about them, but most only after I had the deal pending with someone).
Douchey-mcgee told me that he was suspicious of my because I'm a woman, and the scammers are always women so he didn't believe I word I was saying. He also threw out the fantastic line, "My money, my deal!".

Douchey-McGee sounds like he has a case of chauvanitis. I'm glad he didn't get them!

mwplum

I actually sold tickets for the same show. Here's my quick opinion as I think I may have seen you ads on Craigslist. #1) Too much information: the ad makes it sound like you're trying to hard to convince them you're legit - save that conversation until you actually communicate with them #2) Don't give them too many options, be more confident, you have something many people want, and are doing something altruistic by offering them at face value - you get to dictate the terms #3 as for the ID, I have shown it to buyers in the past to show them my DL matches my tickets, but other than than, no photos, etc - again, confidence, tell them they're not buying Superbowl tickets, they're spending like $100 #4 Meet them at a place that would install certainty for the buyer, coffee shop, etc…but even better at your office/place of work, etc (obviously only works if you are not a student etc and have a workplace)…Anyways, hope that helps for next time. Typically, If I can't go to a show now, I just use Stubhub as there is more certainty for the buyer, and less hassle/sketchiness for me in having to meet them.