By Alfred Branch, Jr.
TicketNews.com
It was one of the most eagerly awaited tours of the year, and true to form tickets sold out for most shows in minutes. All seemed to be well for fans of The Police who were lucky enough to land some seats, they could go to one of the band’s first shows in more than 20 years, or surely they could resell the tickets at a hefty premium.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the bank.
Fans of the seminal ‘80s new wave band in several cities are finding out that reselling those extra Police tickets is not as easy as it would appear. Peruse Craigslist in any major city where the band is playing this summer, for example, and you’re likely to find fans trying to hawk dozens of tickets, some at heavily discounted prices. . .
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, one fan, Danielle Topping, has been trying to resell tickets for this week’s July 5 Police show at famed Wrigley Field for well under the tickets’ face value of $275.
The Police have routinely sat at or near the top of the TicketNews.com weekly ranking of popular events and concerts. And, according to Billboard, seven of the top 10 grossing concerts so far this year belong to the band.
Despite all that demand, tickets remain available. “I’ve had a terrible time selling them,” Topping told Crain’s “In the past I have been successful with Craigslist, but it is just inundated right now with tickets. I’ve lowered the price a little below face, but I still have people offer to pay me nothing for these tickets.”
In fact, tickets were still available today for the Wrigley shows, in addition to several other stops, on TicketLiquidator.
“The calls from people trying to sell seats have been phenomenal,” Steve Buzil, manager of ticker broker SitClose.com, told Crain’s “It’s definitely a buyer’s market.”
A spokesperson for StubHub.com has said the tour generated more ticket sales than any other since StubHub’s launch in 2000.
