FC: More photos; eBay shuts down Eagles and Giants ticket scalping

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Over the weekend I added more D30 photos to mccullagh.org. Here are some 
Aruba images:
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/aruba-oranjestad.html
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/aruba-more.html
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/aruba-highlights.html

And some from last week's trip to San Francisco:
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/new-year-fireworks.html
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/golden-gate-park-garden.html
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/wirednews.html (scroll down)

On the way back, I flew through the Philadelphia airport and saw this 
article, below, on the front page of the Inquirer. Once eBay gives them the 
boot, the smarter scalpers will just shift their auctioneering to France...

-Declan

*********

http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/01/06/front_page/ESCALP06.htm

   Saturday, January 6, 2001
   N.J. throws the flag on online scalping
   Some Eagles fans were paying $150 a ticket at eBay auction

   By Eugene Kiely
   INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

   Eagles and Giants fans turned eBay, the online auction house, into a
   virtual scalping site for tickets to tomorrow's playoff game at the
   Meadowlands, although the company agreed late yesterday to shut down
   any illegal auctions.
   Kevin Pursglove, a spokesman for San Jose, Calif.-based eBay, said the
   company had reached an agreement with the New Jersey Attorney
   General's Office to remove any postings that violated the state's
   antiscalping law.
   New Jersey law prohibits the resale of tickets for more than $3, or 20
   percent, above the face value, whichever is greater.
   But tickets were routinely being auctioned off on eBay for $150 or
   more apiece, as Giants and Eagles fans scrambled to obtain seats to
   the sold-out game between the National Football Conference Eastern
   Division rivals. At one point yesterday afternoon, more than 50
   tickets were being offered.
   Despite the agreement, eBay was still showing auctions with bids
   higher than the face value of the tickets last night. A company
   spokesman said earlier that it was in the process of shutting them
   down.
   Face value of the tickets was $72 or $77, depending on seat location,
   so by law they cannot be resold for more than $86.40 or $92.40,
   respectively.
   "Clearly the prices stated in those listings are way above that,"
   Pursglove said. "We are in the process of removing those listings."

   [...] 




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