Tickets to see Bruce Springsteen don’t even go on sale until Friday, but already a number of websites are offering tickets to the concert at outrageously high prices.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is questioning the practice of “speculative tickets” on sites, including StubHub, TicketNetwork and Vivid Seats, and asking them to explain how they combat this practice.
"Some of the sellers of these tickets may be offering tickets they don't even have," he said. "Too often, speculators leave music fans holding the bag with bad tickets or no tickets at all."
Schneiderman says speculative tickets often end up being for different locations or seats than advertised and in some cases, consumers don’t get tickets at all. The practice also drives up prices and causes confusion among consumers.
One person who wants to go see Springsteen in Buffalo is die-hard fan Ned Miller. Miller has seen "The Boss" 16 times and is hoping for a 17th.
"I've seen him at First Niagara a few other times; I've been in the pit for his shows," Miller said.
Miller hopes to get a ticket, but is worried about the speculative tickets and high prices. He says it's simply unfair. "I understand the idea that a commodity is a commodity but you have to allow people to try to buy them first."
Tickets being offered on these sites to see "The Boss" at locations across the state are priced in the thousands of dollars, including one site offering tickets to see Springsteen at First Niagara Center for $3,600.
Another issue surrounding online ticket purchases are bots that buy up every ticket. Cyber scalpers than sell them at sky-high prices. The House of Representatives and Senate are both considering bills that would ban the practice.
The legislation against bots was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer after outrage when Paul McCartney came to Buffalo and all of the tickets disappeared almost as soon as the online sale began.
Miller was one fan of Sir Paul who fell victim to this problem. He too couldn't get tickets. He says he hopes this doesn't happen to him this time, with Springsteen.
"I know from past experiences that Springsteen tries to stop that kind of thing from happening," Miller said. "I'm hoping that the situation is more advantageous to regular people trying to buy tickets this time."
Bruce Springsteen is coming to the Queen City on February 25, 2016.
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