NYT -- Springsteen Ticket Scalpers, Glory Days Have Passed You By.
July 28, 2003
Springsteen Ticket Scalpers, Glory Days Have Passed You By
By PATRICK HEALY
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 26 - Michael White and Sean
McNeil planted themselves in the Giants Stadium parking lot
with modest goals - they would drink beer, purloin cheese
from nearby tailgaters and sell a spare ticket to the
evening's Bruce Springsteen concert.
But soon, they were slashing their price like used-mattress
salesmen. No one would buy the ticket for face value, $57,
nor for $20. Twenty minutes before showtime, Mr. White
couldn't even give it away.
It was like trying to sell sand on a public beach. Scalpers
and ticket-buyers quickly learned the basics of supply and
demand - with 10 shows at Giants Stadium, Mr. Springsteen
had an estimated total of 550,000 seats to sell.
"That's a lot of seats," said Andrew Massimino, the
assistant editor of Backstreets magazine, a Springsteen
quarterly. "Stadium shows rarely sell out, even the
top-drawing bands."
A box office official said tonight's show sold 57,000
seats.
Frank Cupo, 39, had one extra ticket. "It's a feeding
frenzy," he said. "I'll get five bucks if I'm lucky."
Some fans said they paid $700 or even $1,500 for
last-minute tickets at past Springsteen shows in smaller
halls. This time around they're finding tickets for $20,
$5, or even free. That means getting into the show may be
cheaper than parking or a $6 beer.
"Show up - you'll get in," Mr. Massimino said. "I was at
opening night, and a lot of tickets were floating around.
Pretty much anyone could have gotten tickets for under face
value."
Jesse Huff is Exhibit A. On Thursday night, Mr. Huff and a
friend went to Mr. Springsteen's show on a whim. Without
calling Ticketmaster or the stadium box office for tickets,
they jumped into a convertible, popped in a bootleg CD from
a Springsteen concert and drove to the stadium.
They tailgated, lolled in lounge chairs and drank
Budweisers. Then Mr. Huff, 29, a trader for Merrill Lynch,
ambled up to the gate and started asking for tickets. Two
strangers asked him: "Are you really Springsteen fans? Do
you really like Bruce?" Mr. Huff said by telephone.
Mr. Huff told them that yes, he was, and they handed him
two third-tier tickets. He thanked the men and bought them
each a beer inside the stadium. He said that all the men
had wanted for the two $60 tickets was that he return the
favor to another Springsteen fan in the future.
"Springsteen's going to attract that type of crowd," Mr.
Huff said. "Because of the music and his own background,
they're nicer in general and have more of that ethic and
moral background."
At Giants Stadium, minivans sported "Bruuuce!" bumper
stickers, and one man said he had moved to the United
States from Buenos Aires to be closer to Mr. Springsteen.
Some fans said they followed the ethics of Bruce. That
meant selling spare tickets for little money or giving them
away.
"Nobody makes a penny on it," said Melanne Civic, who came
from Washington, D.C., to see the show. "It wouldn't be
right, that's all. We just don't do it."
As footballs sailed over the fields of cars, two fans
sealed a deal. Marc Moss, 32, handed over $15, and Mr. Cupo
gave him a third-tier ticket. Mr. Moss had been reluctant
to buy at the gate, but his aunt, a longtime fan of Mr.
Springsteen, had insisted. "Don't screw it up," she had
told him, Mr. Moss recalled.
"Usually I buy ahead of time because I get nervous," said
Mr. Moss, a photographer from Missoula, Mont. "I just
happened to be here at the right time. You can't beat it."
Moments later, a scalper prowled the crowds, asking $75
for upper-tier tickets. Did he realize that a fan had just
sold the same seats for $15?
"Go get him," the scalper said, scowling, and walked off.
Rob McConville, 25, just wanted to make a few bucks. Once,
at a Springsteen concert in Atlantic City, he had marveled
at the way desperate fans were paying scalpers $1,500 for
last-minute tickets. He thought to himself, "I could do
that."
But tonight, Mr. McConville, a ninth-grade world history
teacher, stood outside the stadium with $939 worth of
tickets. His dreams of profit had faded long ago, and by 6
p.m., Mr. McConville said, he was hoping to simply recoup
his investment.
Mr. McConville said that at first, Mr. Springsteen had just
two concerts scheduled. "Then he added like another eight
shows."
He shook his head: "Please let me sell these last tickets."
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company. |
