Resale sites renege on tickets
By Darren Rovell | ESPN.com
PHOENIX — Hundreds of fans won’t be going to Super Bowl XLIX after brokers and resale sites reneged on tickets that they already sold.
In most cases, those selling tickets never had them to begin with. The practice, called short selling, has become common for big games over the years. Brokers sell tickets and buy them cheaper closer to the event to make their profits. But the idea of selling before having anything in hand became more commonplace as the returns consistently came in for previous Super Bowls.
That was until this year, when too many brokers sold tickets they didn’t have and for lower prices than in previous years, making it impossible to get the real ticket for a price that was affordable when it came time to pull the trigger. By last Sunday, brokers were buying the worst seats for $5,000 just to save their company. Five days later, finding a ticket even for $10,000 was a challenge.
It’s unknown exactly how many were affected, but many stories have heartbreak.
https://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/12255886/hundreds-super-bowl-tickets-fall-through
