‘Hannah Montana’ Scalpers Selling Tickets For Hundreds
SUNRISE, Fla. — Fans and lawmakers said they were outraged on Tuesday that brokers have been buying all the tickets to see Hannah Montana in concert and then scalping them at a high price.
“I was really, really mad because I love Hannah Montana and that’s my favorite program,” third-grader Luanis Torres said.
“My dad was trying to get (tickets) for my birthday, but he couldn’t,” fifth-grader Amira Abushaar said.
Using advanced programs to get into computer systems before tickets go on sale to the public, brokers bought large amounts of the Hannah Montana concert tickets bypassing the performer’s rule of only four tickets allowed per person.
“Obviously these professional resellers are buying thousands within minutes while everybody else is trying to get one, two, three or four tickets,” Rep. Dan Gelber said.
Gelber said brokers then resell the tickets for extremely high prices. He said some tickets start at $200 for bad seats and go up to $700. He said the prices have dropped recently — they were going for more than $1,000 a few weeks ago.
“Of course it’s crazy,” Gelber said.
Gelber filed a bill to outlaw the use of automated ticket buying programs in Florida, and to force the resellers to post a bond with the state to protect consumers.
He said his motivation was that he could not get tickets for his own daughters.
“I think it’s a bipartisan issue,” he said. “You don’t have to be a Democrat or Republican to have a 9-year-old who’s terribly disappointed by the predatory practices of a ticket scalper.”
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