A Miracle!

[Colin Allen]

That would work unless the touts outbid the fans in the auction and then put the tickets up for sale at even more inflated prices.  To argue that a losing bidder has lost because the auction passed their spending limit is not always true, as extensive research into E-Bay has shown.  Your proposal would not remove the touts.

M Holmes <fofp at HOLYROOD.ED.AC.UK> wrote:  Hawkfan writes:

> I've met Michael Eavis a few times (I grew up in Wookey Hole 6 miles from
> Glastonbury; he went to the same school as me though considerably earlier)
> and I've always found him a decent chap. Before Glastonbury was so big (and
> before regs were so strict!) he went out of his way to help local bands
> perform in his barn. Back in the early 80s I've seen him wander up and down
> the queue to catch touts. I don't feel as strongly about ticket touts as he
> does, but I applaud his stance.

> Yes touts only have a market because demand so strongly outstrips supply,
> but if he adopted the usual capitalist view and doubled ticket prices he
> would then be criticised for cashing in. Seems like a no win situation to
> me.

Eavis has always come across well on the TV interviews which I've seen.
I have no idea as to his motivations for his campaign against touts.

As far as being criticised for cashing in were he to charge
market-clearing rates for tickets, I'd say this is where an Ebay style
auction can help. In such an auction, people bid only what they're
willing to pay, and thus they collectively, not Eavis, set the price.
Since all failed bidders will have bid a lower price than that at which
tickets are available (whether they're sold at differential prices as
bid, or at the price of the last successful bid) there's no room for
touts to arbitrage.

Then all Eavis needs to make clear is that the excess cash raised will
go to the charities, and everyone is happy. Or at least more people are
happy than pertains in the current situation.

FoFP