SERENITY on eBay....

POSTED BY: Ruxton
UPDATED: Saturday, May 7, 2005 20:44
VIEWED: 7660
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RUXTON

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 3:45 AM

Take a look at the few eBay listings for screening tickets, and note the number of NEW eBayers, with zero feedback (click on the number of bids to see who is bidding), bidding these few tickets sky high:

" http://search.ebay.com/Serenity-screening-tickets_W0QQfromZR40QQsojsZ1"

PHYSCHICK

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 4:06 AM

Well, isn't that strange. Couldn't possibly be a scam. These people obviously are just selling on ebay because it's the easiest way, it's not like they could find people to buy the tickets on this board. After all, it's not like the sellers are greedy or anything.

(If anyone was wondering, yes, I'm being sarcastic. And a tad bitter.)

ZOL

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 7:26 AM

Well, that`s just plain stupid - Ok so manypeople want to see it but, to be ripped off at $450 USD just fro 2hours of cinema time & that`s only IF the tickets are genuine.

well, no more words can decribe this.

RAYHILL

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 11:30 AM

Ok, I have to come in with the minority opinon here.

I'm always curious about what kinds of things get sold on eBay, and how much they go for. So as soon as the tickets went on sale, I started watching eBay to see if tickets would show up.

As we know, all of the theatres sold out within 24 hours. So we know that everyone who bought tickets bought them on the first day. And if anyone were buying ticket specifically to resell them, they would immediately turn around and post them on eBay, so that they're there when the hype is strong and the disappointed would-be ticket buyers log on to check out their alternative options.

But there's the thing. For the first several days, there *were* no tickets on eBay. I was watching. I was surprised by the fact, and thought it was really cool that the people who bought the tickets really bought them to see the movie.

Also, it looks like the people selling the tickets are only selling one or two each. If they were in it purely for the profit, they would have bought several. Hell, I bought 20, just incase a bunch of my friends wanted to go (and am now kicking myself for not getting more, since I have more friends who want the tickets than I have tickets).

And finally, the tickets sold out so fast that even people who *were* highly connected in the Firefly fandom didn't hear about it until it was too late. So anyone who's a professional scalper and not hooked in to the Firefly scene really wouldn't be likely to have heard about it in time to get tickets.

So regardless of what your opinion is of professional scalpers, it appears to me that the majority of the people selling their tickets on eBay probably fall into one of two categories:

1) People who bought tickets with the intent of using them, but had a change of plans and are tyring to reimburse their expense.

2) People who saw how much they were going for on eBay, compared that to how much they have to pay in taxes this year, and decided that they'd rather do the financially responsible thing and see the movie later.

In either of these cases, I can't blame them at all. In fact, I have to give mad props to anyone who falls into category 2. As great as it might be to see your favorite movie four months early, there's definitely something to be said for putting your financial well being ahead of your fandom in your priority list.

ICCLEDAMES

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 11:54 AM

Ah the joys of eBay - since I started looking on there, I've seen one person selling a kidney, one person selling their soul and another one selling themself. They were only on a couple of days before the eBay people cancelled them. Perhaps scarily, all but the person selling themself had bids on, and high ones at that! The one selling the soul was about £10 if I remember correctly but the kidney was about £70. I've also seen people selling paperclips. Not a pack of paperclips but just one on its own...but people were bidding!

ZOL

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 1:48 PM

The problem I have is this, if they are genuine (yes they could well be) then if people can`t make it then why not sell them for a little more than they paid for them and not $450 USD!!

That *IS* profitteering - it doesn`t matter if you have 1 ticket or 20 tickets - you are still stiching somebody up.

There seams to be some really profit orientated fans out there - thing is not to be greedy, and preventing others from taking part.

If it were me who had bought a ticket and couldn`t go, I would possibly put it up on eBay *but* it would be done for CHARITY & not for my own pocket - How many on eBay at the moment are doing that?

That`s my point in a nutshell, it seams like it`s not about the fans, it`s about the money others are making off the fans.

Darin (Zol.)

RAYHILL

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 2:12 PM

> if they are genuine (yes they could well be)
> then if people can`t make it then why not sell
> them for a little more than they paid for them
> and not $450 USD!!
>
> That *IS* profitteering

No, that is a free market. If you look at the startig bid for most of the auctions, you'll see that the sellers posted them for between $5-20. It's the buyers who bid the prices up to the $200+ range. It's not that the sellers were greedy, but that the buyers were willing to pay a lot for what they were selling. It's supply and demand, pure and simple.

And yes, there are a few people who have starting bids of $75+. But those auctions don't appear to be getting bids.

> If it were me who had bought a ticket and
> couldn`t go, I would possibly put it up on
> eBay *but* it would be done for CHARITY &
> not for my own pocket - How many on eBay at
> the moment are doing that?

That's a personal decision. And right now, in my current situation, I'd probably do the same thing. But a few years ago, when money was tighter, I would have been stupid to throw away $200+ that I could have put toward rent and food.

I don't think it's fair to condemn someone for not sharing your level of devotion to charity. In fact, I think that if donating to charity is a requirement it has less meaning than if it is something that someone does by choice. Not because they would be a bad person if they didn't, or because they would be rewarded if they did, but just because they believe it's the right thing to do.

> That`s my point in a nutshell, it seams like
> it`s not about the fans, it`s about the money
> others are making off the fans.

How many tickets have been sold on eBay? Maybe two or three dozen, tops? Out of about 2000 available tickets? I don't think a 1-2% edge case constitutes it being all about the money.

Also, I'm curious if your objections are regardless of the nature of the item being sold, or if it only applies to things that you are personally passionate about. Did you object as much to Gmail invites being sold for $50-100 on eBay? Or Tickle Me Elmos, PS2 systems, or iPod Minis going for insane amounts?

TALLGRRL

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 2:48 PM

What stuns me are things like one guy selling a ticket to a screening in another city he's supposedly going to fly to, and suggesting that the buyer "meet [him] at the theatre".
WTF???!!!
Anyone...ANYONE...who gets ripped off from buying overpriced tickets to A MOVIE deserves it.
yeesh!

"Take me, sir. Take me hard." -- Zoe

ZOID

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 3:42 PM

rayhill (member since April 30, 2005):

You could've talked all day and not said you personally purchased at least 18 tickets more than you needed, meaning that 9 couples in your city were deprived of the opportunity to see the movie because of your gluttony. You are part of the problem, not part of the solution. I predict someone going to the show in rayhill's town will see rayhill standing around outside the theatre, hawking his 'spare' tickets for a quick windfall.

Hey, it's the American way, ain't it? Take advantage of the system and then rape your fellow humans for the sake of profit. 'Free Enterprise'. I reckon we come by the 'Ugly American' tag honestly, at least...

For those who are lucky enough to live in the screening cities, but who were unlucky enough to get in line behind the rayhill-types: I suggest you go to the theatre anyway. There will be tons of tickets available on the dimly-lit street corners just adjacent the theatre.

With any sort of luck, the loyal Browncoats will just stand around the 'capitalists' as they grow increasingly desperate to unload their booty. My fantasy:

1 hour before showtime...
"I got 18 tickets, 18 tickets!".
"How much?", the Browncoat asks, steely eyed.
"Two-fifty each," saith the parasite.
"Mmm-hmm," quoth the Browncoat.

30 minutes before showtime...
"Hey, folks!? I said I got 18 tickets, 18 tickets here!".
The same Browncoat, still steely eyed, asks, "How much?" with the precise same vocal inflection.
"Ummm... Just to get you off my corner, Two hundred each," saith the parasite.
"Mmm-hmm," quoth the Browncoat.

15 minutes before showtime, a large crowd has gathered around the 'enterprising' leech...
"C'mon folks!" he whines, "I got 18 tickets to Serenity! 18 tickets! C'mon, who wants 'em?".
"How much?", intones that same Browncoat, steely eyes now smouldering with something like menace and mirth combined.
"One hundred a pair," saith the parasite, plaintively.
"Mmm-hmm," quoth the Browncoat.

5 minutes before showtime...
"What are you people, a bunch of morons?! I got 18 tickets to see Serenity, 18 tickets right here!".
"How much?", the Browncoat asks, steely eyes smouldering, the hint of a toothy grin on his face.
"Forty-five a pair," saith the parasite, clearly rattled. "My absolute bottom price."
"Mmm-hmm," quoth the Browncoat. Then, "I'll give you one hundred and eighty for the lot. Ten dollars apiece; what you paid for them."
"Done," says the relieved 'supplier'.

As he counts his money (oddly, it's in six bills: a hundred, three twenties and two tens), the not-so-successful profiteer sez, "Who the f*ck are you anyway?"

As he finishes handing the last of the tickets to a young couple, along with $12 for sodas and popcorn, the Browncoat muses, "They'll miss the trailers... Shame." Then he turns his attention back to the opportunist, throws his arm around his shoulder and grins his big, unsettling grin and walks him off into the shadows...

"Friends call me zoid. But you can call me Mr. Wednesday."

(NB: With thanks to Neil Gaiman's "American Gods".)

Sacrificially,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"Sure as I know anything, I know this: I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDM'

RAYHILL

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 4:25 PM

> You could've talked all day and not said you personally purchased at least 18 tickets more
> than you needed, meaning that 9 couples in your city were deprived of the opportunity to see
> the movie because of your gluttony. You are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

What part of "I have more firend who want tickets than I have tickets" did you not get? The tickets I bought are all going to friends of mine who are fellow Browncoats but are not active on the boards and therefore would not have heard about the event until it was too late. The same friends who stood in line to get tickets Phantom Menace tickets for me (before we knew it was gonna suck). The only exception are the two that are going to other members of the SF Browncoats group that I've never met, but have been helping out a ton on the ComicCon prep work.

> I predict someone going to the show in rayhill's town will see rayhill standing around outside
> the theatre, hawking his 'spare' tickets for a quick windfall.

Actually, no. You'll see me and the other SF Browncoats standing around passing out "intro to Firefly/Serenity" fliers to recruit new converts, and postcards advertising the local SF Browncoats group and the charity raffle that we're organizing for ComicCon. But you were right about the standing around part. :)

> Hey, it's the American way, ain't it? Take advantage of the system and then rape your
> fellow humans for the sake of profit. 'Free Enterprise'. I reckon we come by the 'Ugly
> American' tag honestly, at least...

*yawn* When you're ready to get back to intelligent intercourse instead of colorful rhetoric, let me know. I thought we were actually having a conversation there for a minute.

> For those who are lucky enough to live in the screening cities, but who were unlucky enough
> to get in line behind the rayhill-types: I suggest you go to the theatre anyway. There will
> be tons of tickets available on the dimly-lit street corners just adjacent the theatre.

I tend to doubt that. Especially considering how few have been sold on eBay. But definitely *do* come out and hang out with us in line. Any excuse to hang out with fellow Browncoats is a good one, in my book. :)

> My fantasy:

I may disagree with your assessment on the morality of selling high-demand items in an auction, but I have to give you props for highly entertaining rants.

If you're done with the mud slinging, though, I actually am curious whether or not your stance on the subject holds true for items that you are personally less passionate about. Do you think that it is still immoral to sell a low-availability item (be it a toy, a new electronics device, Raiders tickets, whatever) at auction? Or is your objection amplified by the fact that you are passionate about this particular fandom?

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