The Ticket Scalper Part 4:
When Things Go Wrong
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Ticket scalping isn't always as easy as some may think. There were days when I just couldn't sell any tickets. The show or event was a "bomb." Over time I began to realize that aside from being arrested every now and then, this was also another downside of ticket scalping.

I remember scalping tickets to a Gloria Estefan concert. I wasn't sure about the market for tickets, but I knew the concert wasn't sold out. When a concert is not sold out, people can always go to the ticket office window and buy tickets. Since all the good seats are usually taken way in advance, most of these tickets at the ticket windows are seats way in the upper levels. As a ticket scalper, I have to find someone other than a scalper to sell me their tickets at a price where I can also make a profit.

I meet two guys in the parking lot. they have eight tickets and they want $500.00 for all eight tickets. I try to talk them down but they stand their ground well. I definately want the tickets for one reason - all eight tickets are section 101 floor seats. really good seats and I guess these guys knew what they had. I end up giving these guys the $500.00 (25 twenty dollar bills) they wanted. My goal is to sell these tickets for at least $100.00 each so I can double my money. A little time goes by and people want the tickets, they just don't want to spend $100.00 each. Now I'm starting to panic and I am thinking about bailing out and selling the tickets for $80.00 each, at least I would make my money back and still make a profit. Now I am at the point of selling the tickets at the price I payed for them but still no luck. Eventually, I ended up selling the tickets for $300.00 to at least make half my money back. I wasn't mad or upset because I should have done my homework and asked other scalpers in other cities (call them on the phone) to ask how was the Gloria Estefan concert for scalping tickets. I guess I was moving too fast.
What is so remarkable about all this is the fact that the two guys that sold me the tickets made more money than I did on this night. They were the real scalpers that night. I took it like a champ and also reminded myself that I had made a lot of money selling tickets to the fans at the concerts/events, so why should I be upset in this rare instance where a fan actually profited off of me. I also looked at it as sort of paying "taxes" on all that ticket scalping I was doing. I also thought that it was my karma catching up with me. This is one of the reasons I was against selling fake tickets - it will only catch up to you and give you bad energy, bad luck and misfortune. On this night, I was the customer.