panda tix on e-bay, but...

[javasaurus]

As many of you probably know, viewings of Tai Shan, the young panda cub at the National Zoo, will begin soon, but by ticket only. Something like 13000 tickets were given away by the zoo, and of course, some are being scalped at unbelievable prices ($200 to $500) on ebay. However, according to this article, the zoo is upset that people are scalping the tickets, and will be comparing names on tickets to IDs.

This will be interesting...

(also, I thought scalping was illegal in Maryland -- you can add a small fee, like 10%, but no more -- and many of the sellers are in Maryland. I'll check on this and post more later)

Edit: I found a few scattered references to scalping's being illegal in Maryland, but nothing specific. Anybody know any details?

Comments

it's never been enforced...

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

...at any Capital Centre / USAir Arena show I've ever been to...

Re: it's never been enforced...

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

I'm now under the impression that scalping may be legal in Maryland (though individual districts may have their own rules). Also, they tend to go after the big-time scalpers, rather than those just trying to get rid of a couple tickets.

This particular case, where the tickets were originally free from a government sponsored source, may play differently than a private sports/music event. I know that Capital Police occassionally crack down on people trying to sell Capital tour tickets.

Re: it's never been enforced...

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Not certain, but I *thought* I heard of a sting being done up at Camden Yards a few years ago. However, the purpose of that was more to protect the idiots who buy such tickets... that were often turning out to be forgeries, by catching the folks selling them.