Fans hoping to see Bruce Springsteen perform in Baltimore in November should be able to buy tickets online Friday for between $31 and $100. But don't blame Scott Culler for being skeptical.
The 23-year-old securities analyst from Marriotsville, who'd never seen Springsteen live on stage, was thrilled when similar prices were announced for the May 18 concert at the Verizon Center in Washington. Culler tried to buy four tickets the moment they went on sale Feb 2.
But the sale didn't go through. Ticketmaster's Web site reported that the show was sold out and referred Culler to TicketsNow, an online resale marketplace acquired by Ticketmaster in 2008.
TicketsNow functions much like eBay, where the seller determines the price of the tickets. Resold tickets can be priced considerably above - or occasionally, even below - the original value.
"Their cheapest tickets cost $250," Culler says. "How can a show be sold out immediately after opening ticket sales to the public? I definitely feel ripped off."
He was one of thousands who faced similar problems in February when they tried to buy tickets to three Springsteen concerts in Washington and New Jersey. Their experiences highlighted the hazards of buying tickets online.
Once, everyone bought tickets at the box office. The most dedicated fans arrived the earliest and snagged the choicest seats. Now, most fans use computers to buy their tickets. Though the practice was intended to be far more convenient for consumers, it has opened up countless opportunities for technically savvy scalpers to purchase large blocks of tickets, depleting the supply and driving up prices on the resale market.
Bands, concert promoters and venues keep coming up with new ways to outfox scalpers - all, unfortunately, imperfect. A method called "paperless ticketing," currently being promoted as the most promising technique so far of placing tickets directly into fans' hands, will be used for Springsteen's next concert in Washington on Nov. 2, but not for his appearance 18 days later in Baltimore.
Not only is this Springsteen's first appearance in the city since 1973, but "the Boss" and the E Street Band will be performing at 1st Mariner Arena, a relatively small venue with about 13,000 seats. Tickets for the concert go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
