INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — You may see them outside concerts or sporting events you go to. We’re talking about ticket scalpers. 

This summer, lawmakers have decided to take a closer look at how tickets are bought and sold.

Jessica Lewis of Indianapolis said Friday that she has purchased tickets from a scalper.

“Plenty of times, because they be a little cheaper than actually going online.” Lewis said. “Online, they like to give you a service fee and all these other fees. So, if your ticket is about like $80, it’ll jump to like $102.”

On Friday, we caught up with her and a friend after they bought tickets at the box office at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Friday night’s Indiana Fever game against the Dallas Wings. “I’m very excited!” Lewis said after she got her tickets.

Scalping of tickets will be a topic of a summer study with lawmakers.

“I’d say it’s become a lot more prevalent,” said Alex Wong, who was visiting Indianapolis from Honolulu.

Renny Harrison, the owner of Fanfare Tickets in Carmel, said, “It is legal, as far as I know.” 

Lawmakers will study how tickets are sold, including scalping, resales, speculative ticketing and ticket platforms.

“If it’s something that is a discussion of how we guarantee the fan or the consumer is having a legit transaction, then, sure, I think that’s something to consider,” Harrison said. “If it’s something where we’re talking about the primary regulating the secondary market, then I’m not so sure.”

If you do decide to buy tickets away from an arena box office or a verified ticket platform such as Fanfare Tickets, Harrison offered this advice: “The way we transact business guarantees the people we sell tickets to are going to get into the event. My advice would always be do business with somebody you know.”

What if you decide to buy tickets online, how can you make sure those are legitimate?

“I think it all comes back to doing business with somebody you know and, you know, you can speak to after the event,” Harrison said. “If you buy off Craigslist, maybe you can talk to that person afterward, maybe you can’t. If you buy from us, we’re always going to be there.” 

Statement

Mike Peduto, owner of Circle City Tickets in Indianapolis:

“As the owner of Circle City Tickets, I have been providing the people of Indiana with access to tickets for over 30 years. Our business model has been to provide our customers with a wide range of ticket options at competitive prices. We provide our customers with the ability to sell their tickets at a competitive price, receive payment immediately and not have to deal with listing their tickets on an exchange which they have to constantly monitor.”

“We support the current efforts by the  legislature to examine the primary and secondary ticket markets in the state.  We support a secondary ticket market with a wide range of buyers and sellers since that insures competitive pricing and a high level of customer service.”

“By dealing with a long established company such as Circle City Tickets, buyers can be assured that they will receive bonafide tickets at a fair price.”