Reselling tickets

[moonpolka]

According to the law in some states/provinces, you are only allowed to resell event tickets at the ticket's face value. But what if you purchased a ticket as part of a subscription series at,say, $50 per ticket. (The ticket says on it $50 but does not state the amount of the $5 service fee you also had to pay for that ticket.) It's now in the middle of the series, you can't go and want to sell the ticket. The venue is now selling individual comparable tickets to this event for $100 (as printed on the ticket) plus $10 service fee (not printed on the ticket.) 

So based on this "face value" legislation, can I legally sell the ticket for the CURRENT value at which the ticket is being sold ($110)? Or, legally, can I only sell it for $50 (not even adding on the $5 service fee since it's not printed on the ticket)?

I live in Ontario, Canada. The government website is not clear on this so I called their 1-800 number and they said they didn't know the answer and I should consult a lawyer!  Needless to say, it's not worth the trouble and expense to do so.

So I'm turning to the ebay community to see if anyone out there has any knowledge about - or experience with - this...

(The same kind of question would apply if you won a ticket through a contest and it says "complimentary" on the ticket - would only only be able to GIVE it away and be prohibited from selling it at all?)

Thanks in advance for any input!

[pierrelebel]

The eBay.ca official policy:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/event-tickets.html

[moonpolka]

Thank you for taking the time to reply! Unfortunately, the ebay link you provided doesn't answer my question.

[pierrelebel]

There is a link on that page to contact eBay if you need more information.

[recped]

You can read the actual Ontario Ticket Speculation Act here:

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90t07_e.htm

The critical part is this (the bold is mine)...

(a) being the holder of a ticket, sells or disposes of the ticket at a higher price than that at which it was first issued, or endeavours or offers so to do; or

Interesting to note that commissions are allowed but the maximum allowable is $0.50, if I`m reading that correctly Ticketmaster always are in violation of the act!

Of course if you have friends in high places you can get around this sort of stuff......

4.  The Attorney General may make regulations exempting any person or class of persons from this Act and prescribing conditions attaching to an exemption. 2010, c. 27, s. 3.

[moonpolka]

Thank you for your reply! And you are so right about friends in high places. Something I find interesting/confusing in the link that you sent from this "ticket reselling statute":

In (a) it says it's an offense to resell a ticket  "at a higher price than that at which it was first issued" but in (b) it states it's an offense to resell a ticket "at a higher price than that at which they are advertised or announced to be for sale by [the primary seller/the venue].

Because, as a subscription ticket, it was first issued at a lower price BUT now the venue is selling a ticket in this section for a higher price.

To wit:

Offences:

2.  Every person who,

selling

(a) being the holder of a ticket, sells or disposes of the ticket at a higher price than that at which it was first issued, or endeavours or offers so to do; or

purchasing as a speculation or at a higher price than advertised

(b) purchases or attempts to purchase tickets with the intention of reselling them at a profit, or purchases or offers to purchase tickets at a higher price than that at which they are advertised or announced to be for sale by the owner or proprietor of any place mentioned in section 1,

is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000. R.S.O. 1990, c. T.7, s. 2.

So which one is it? Do I have to resell the tickets at the price for which I bought them or can I sell them for the price at which the venue is now selling seats in the same section? The wording of this Act makes the situation as clear as mud!

[moonpolka]

I'll give it a try! Thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

[nuvistors]

The worst that can happen is that you could be suspended from ebay.

[moonpolka]

I certainly wouldn't want to be suspended from ebay!!  I want to follow the rules but how do you follow the rules if it's impossible to find out exactly what the rules are? When even the people who wrote them (i.e. the government) don't know? (I phoned my local Member of Parliament's office today to see if they would know but they couldn't give me an answer either.) So I guess I'll just have to sell the tickets at exactly what I paid for them and not a penny more...

On that note, what if someone wins free tickets through a contest and they can't go? I guess, according to this statute, they'd have to give the tickets away as charging even one penny for them would be illegal...