Adam Scott Actor

Rochelle Johnson knew what was happening from the beginning.

As expected, people were clutching tickets in bulk for Jeff Dunham comedy show Saturday night at the Taylor County Expo Center. It's just that not all these people were from Texas ... or the United States.

Some seemingly devout followers Dunham Windsor and Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada, were buying tickets in packages of eight Dunham. All orders had the same name on them, but with different names and different addresses.

Johnson, general manager of the Expo Center, connected the dots. These Canadians had no intention of making the trip to Abilene for an evening of ventriloquism crass. They wanted, in all probability to sell tickets he had bought at a higher cost.

For the Expo Center - and really, Abilene as a whole - this was virgin territory. Abilene has landed some acts of good size in the last decade, but none with all the print advertising or wild popularity as Dunham. According to trade publication Pollstar concert, he is the only comedian whose route can win on the legendary musicians as Paul Simon and James Taylor.

So on the one hand, landing Dunham was a minor hit for the Expo Center. On the other hand, Abilene has indeed introduced to the harsh realities of the secondary ticket market.

It happens all the time in big cities. A high-flying act, for example, Bruce Springsteen announces a series of shows. Tickets sell out in minutes. The culprits here are not only the chief overzealous fans: It's a whole host of secondary ticket sellers picking up seats that can turn them over to make a profit.

To Dunham, and to a lesser extent, a show in April Miranda Lambert, Abilene has never had to worry about such things. But it was not long after the entry gates that opened the Johnson and Exhibition Center staff began to see Dunham tickets sold over the Internet for as much as $ 200 (compared with a nominal value of $ 46.50).

"The unfortunate thing is that people do not always pay attention to the web address," said Johnson. "Instead of going to the site, Google" Jeff Dunham tickets, the first thing to go to one of these entry points. "

Johnson says there's not much you can do to prevent this type of activity. Sellers of tickets purchased legitimately, ie, promoters and venue still get paid. But that does not make the ideal situation.

"Unfortunately, the customer is harmed," said Johnson.

However, for a complete picture of what is happening here, we have to talk to a secondary ticket seller.

Hank Wendorf is the president of TicketSource. com, a Dallas-based company, which has sold "tickets to premium events" since 1992. Right on its website, the company notes that most of their tickets are resold above their face value.

TicketSource.com focuses on sports tickets, in some ways is a "different animal" from other entertainment events, Wendorf says. But the basic principles of mediation remain the same ticket. And they are no more complicated than a freshman class of the economy.

"Every business has to do with buying and selling products," Wendorf said. "You buy at one price and sell at a higher price."

That's what you do with Wendorf tickets, and says he has nothing to apologize for. Because, as he points out, the responsibility of the consumer.

"The consumer has more control over the market that they realize," Wendorf said. "The only price will go up to the point that people are willing to pay."

As for the secondary ticket providers poaching tickets before the average fan can get to them, Wendorf says places have mechanisms to limit such practice. You can reserve a certain amount of tickets on sale exclusively at his locker, or restrict certain zip codes ticket during the initial sale.

In the case of Jeff Dunham series in Abilene, the market more or less had something to say. Due to the decree of the promoters, all tickets at the Coliseum Expo Center was quoted at $ 46.50, from nosebleeds to the front. As a result, local suppliers outside of the city equally engulfed the main floor seats in a hurry. But as of press time Friday, there are still large tracts of unsold tickets at the rear corners of the arena.

Meanwhile, as the show date approached, the online resellers started to reduce their demands in the hope of getting a return on their investment. A quick web search of the week before the show revealed that tickets were selling floor Dunham at a rate (slightly) depressed $ 50 to $ 100. One of the ads on Craigslist, including suppliers of $ 1 bills promoted everywhere.

So the free market wins the day? Depends who you ask. But the increase in online ticket sales means that even places of Abilene will have to find ways to manage your ticket sales.

"The secondary ticket market has given agents the ability of Canada to sell tickets for a show in Abilene," says Wendorf.