Scalpel Tickets Abound in 2008 Beijing Olympics
A recent surge of black market tickets for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games was brought to the attention of Beijing's Olympic Committee (BOCOG). It would seem that individuals who were initially allowed to purchase 50 tickets each are taking advantage of their bulk orders by selling them at 10 times their original price. While BOCOG allows the tickets to be transferred between users, it does not tolerate making personal profit from it.
According to BOCOG, more than 1.5 million tickets were distributed for the first round of ticket sales, and it was available only to those living in Mainland China. Apparently, some people who secured tickets had no interest in the games at all, and whose main purpose is to really resell their slots for greater profit. These slots are extensively sold in some Chinese website, with prices going to almost 39,000 Yuan (the original price is just 3,000 yuan). The black market seats cover a wide range of events, including events likely to be seen as the highlights of the Games. High demand tickets include the 110m hurdles final, where Chinese Athlete Liu Xiang won the gold medal when he was in the Athens Olympics 2004, therefore being the first Chinese man to win a gold Olympic medal in track and field.
Just recently, the second round of ticket sales have been launched, with the applicants getting randomly allocated seats. In this second round (where the maximum number of sold tickets is 8 per individual), individuals with allocated tickets will not be able to get the physical ticket itself until next summer, though this hasn't been an excuse for some people to sell them beforehand. These people resort to signing contracts promising tickets to be handed over immediately upon issuance. BBC news managed to purchase two tickets for two badminton semi-finals from a person who insisted on signing a contract with the transaction details. This man charged only 2,000 yuan for two tickets-- and which reportedly only cost 600 yuan. They paid a deposit of 600 yuan with the remainder being paid upon getting the tickets.
BOCOG had taken to tracking ticket sales to the best of their abilities, primarily because no warnings had ever stopped determined sellers from carrying out their ticket sales. To address this, the director of the Beijing Ticketing Center, Zhu Yan told the press that they are prohibiting the resale of tickets. People who desire to transfer a ticket to someone else is fine, but reselling for profit is not. There have been debates on the corresponding retribution for people who flout these rules, though the most likely punishment is a 15 day detention with a 1,000 yuan fine.
