Online ticket sales are absolutely broken. I'm not talking specific outlets, though they are broken for tons of other reasons, but the ability to resale tickets has been a huge pain as of late for many. Scalpers purchase their max tickets and turn around and put them up for sale at 10x the cost for concerts.
What really made me point this out now is this article on /. http://apple.slashdot.org/story/13/04/25/2026214/wwdc-sells-out-in-2-minutes-ticket-on-ebay-45-minutes-later
What would be your solution here?
Mine would be simple - don't allow resale. Only allow the tickets purchased to be used by the person that originally purchased it. I can't help but think that applications like iOS' Passbook would be perfect for this. That way if you purchase a ticket, only YOU can use them. Even if you purchase many, then you have to be there to allow anyone entry.
I hate paying MORE for concerts these days but this solution would also provide an "insurance" at a nominal price that would allow a full refund if unused. Other sites already charge a ton for "service fees" so I'd happy purchase a ticket that only I could use and pay a little more to make sure I can get fully refunded if I don't go.
Thoughts? What's wrong with this solution? What would you do to fix this?