eBay - Reporting Ticket Touts

[Razi]

It's been mentioned before, deep inside one of the other threads, but I've been using eBay for years and they are as good as gold with regards to taking items off sale when they are against eBay's guidelines. It's quick and simple to report:

Go to:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk//help/contact_inline/index.html
Select 'Report a Prohibited item or listing policy violation'
Then 'Prohibited Items Guidelines'
And finally 'Tickets'

Hit Continue.
Select 'Email'

Enter the Item Number of the Prohibited Item, and send the email. You will have to be LOGGED IN to do this.

Here's their policy on this matter:

The resale of tickets for football matches is highly regulated in England and Wales for a number of reasons, including security at sports events. Criminal law often prohibits the resale of such football tickets. For these reasons, all listings for football tickets to professional matches occurring in England and Wales or involving English or Welsh teams playing outside England or Wales are prohibited.

eBay may allow authorised dealers to list football tickets to these matches, but only through prior written agreement with eBay.

Maybe use this thread to keep track of any items that appear, so they can be quickly and easily reported to eBay?

This is a useful search:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?query=brighton+tickets

Only one so far is: 2246323048

I wouldn't advise bidding on items, as it's actually a legally binding contract between you and the seller, although I understand most are using fake information (which is also an offence).

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Is it possible to enter into a legally binding contract to achieve something which is illegal? Buying and selling tickets for football matches is regulated by law, remember.

 

[Razi]

Well, it's obviously a bit of a grey area. I'd imagine that if you ended up being the winner, you could get eBay to declare the auction null and void - thereby clearing you of any requirement to pay the seller. It's just easier, all round, to just report the seller.

 

[Razi]

Got a bit bored, so decided to do my bit for public safety by outing the touts from other clubs. From a single search, I found EIGHTEEN seperate auctions selling tickets for the Palace vs West Ham game. Reported them all.

Most were selling 1 or 2 scarves, with free tickets. Some were selling envelopes containing tickets. Some were selling caps, with a free ticket. One just had a scarf for sale for £200, that was advertised at being "just the TICKET for supporting West Ham in the South Stand". Amazing that people bid on that one with no real mention of a ticket in the description, so they could quite legally end up with a £200 scarf.

eBay Search for West Ham Ticket

 

[fatboy]

It is not illegal to sell a scarf and a ticket for £££'s though!

 

[Razi]

Depends, you're still trading a ticket for a sporting event. I guess if eBay determine that the value of the auction exceeds that of the usual price for a scarf, then it could be deemed to be paying extra for the ticket.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Can I applaud this seller?! Now this is a TRUE fan!

Tickets

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

Fair play to him!

 

[Gully]

Fair play you say but what if people start bidding and it goes up to say 60 quid, will he still take face value from the first person to make an offer?

 

[Lush]

Also it still contradicts one of the main reasons that you are not allowed to sell football tickets on ebay ie because of segregation.

Still fair play to the seller for trying to make sure a genuine fan gets the ticket for face value.

 

[Hilton]

Sold for £32, at least thats something

 

[Beach Hut]

Good for them although they could have used NSC and save commission

 

[albionman]

Just reported two more of the buggers.

I particularly liked the one that said "I have purchased 4 tickets for this weekends play off final, for personal reasons two tickets are now available".

The 'personal reasons' no doubt being that he/she wants to make a few quid.

Or is this turning me into a complete cynic ?

 

[Razi]

Reported 7 more. 2 for the Albion game, and the rest for the West Ham game. Passes the time..

 

[Giant Seagull]

Burn them at the stake

 

[Hilton]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=58740&item=4134276265&rd=1

 

[Razi]

Reported!

 

[Titanic]

Yes, but it's a bit of a waste of time, because as soon as they get a bid, they can email the person and do the deal offline from ebay.

 

[fatbadger]

Which is why bidding and then not paying is probably best, especially at such a late stage. They will not have time to sort out the sale, except by turning up on the day and trying to sell outside the ground.

 

[Titanic]

You have to get in first, with an amount that nobody else will be willing to beat, and then not be removed by the seller if he smells a rat. It's stacked in the sellers favour - to get just one email address of someone willing to pay over the odds.

The only real deterrant would be serious risk of prosecution - and I can't see that happening over a few hundred quids worth of tickets for a fooy match - unless or until there is major trouble at a game where segregation breaks down.