Get your tickets here

When Olympic tickets first went on sale over a year ago, it seemed like a no-brainer to buy whatever you could get your hands on. Now some ticket holders are surprised to find they can't even sell them at face value.

Dan Rogers, a computer software engineer living in Ottawa, says he regrets ever shelling out over $800 for four tickets to the women's bronze-medal hockey game.

“Honestly, I wish I'd never bought them. It's just a pain in the butt at this point,” says Rogers, who vied for tickets as soon as they went on sale.

First he sent in his credit card number (only Visa, a sponsor of the games). Next, he sent a list of events he wanted to see, numbered in order of preference. A lottery then determined the event and the tickets he ultimately received.

You sort of gotta look at cutting your losses because otherwise you've got a really expensive piece of souvenir paper

Women's bronze medal hockey was not his top choice but he still planned on going to the game. That is, until he moved to Ottawa from Vancouver this past summer. Now he's just trying to make his money back.

The industry of reselling tickets – better known as scalping – is a billion dollar business in North America. But for individuals trying to unload unwanted Olympic tickets, the practice can be more burdensome than lucrative.

Like many across the country, Rogers expected to make his money back easily – maybe even make a profit. But with less than a month to go, he's doubtful.

“You sort of gotta look at cutting your losses,” he says. “Otherwise you've got a really expensive piece of souvenir paper.”

Too soon to worry

Vancouver lawyer Julie Gibson says not to worry just yet.

“People are going to want to go to medal rounds and there are going to be people arriving in Vancouver with no Olympic tickets.”

Some ticket holders are worried they won't be able to make back the money they spent.

Gibson has written about scalping laws and predicts the next month will bring a flurry of activity to British Columbia. Unlike Ontario, Manitoba, or Alberta, B.C. has no legislation to limit the scalping of tickets, so the market is wide open.

With the lax laws even the Vancouver Organizing Committee has entered the re-selling market by facilitating a 'fan-to-fan marketplace'.

To address fears of ticket fraud, VANOC's marketplace is the only online exchange that ensures the seller isn't passing off a fake ticket.

Just as on Craigslist, the seller sets the price, but the buyer and seller must each pay VANOC 10 per cent of the price for the additional peace of mind of knowing they are buying real, not potentially counterfeit, tickets. If a gold medal game ticket sells for $3,000, VANOC makes $600.   

“It's quite a brilliant move on their part to say, 'You want a valid barcode, we take 20 per cent.'” Gibson says.

While VANOC's online exchange might provide a venue for safe scalping, other ticket holders complain the fees have actually made it harder to unload their tickets.

Last minute scalping competition

Paul Melis of Langley B.C., purchased tickets to the opening ceremony and has also run into problems trying to sell them online.

“I'm not interested in going on that website because of this 20 per cent I end up losing on the deal,” he says.

To get hot (or cold) seats to popular events, fans might have to pay a hefty fee on VANOC's fan-to-fan marketplace.

VANOC only revealed it would be hosting the fan-to-fan marketplace this past December. Melis says had he known about it earlier, he wouldn't have bought the tickets in the first place.

For those not wanting to pay the additional fees on the VANOC site, Craigslist has become an inferior alternative. Potential buyers are afraid of bogus tickets and Melis says this has made his experience more difficult.

“I don’t know what it would take to get somebody to feel confident they're buying valid tickets,” he says.

Like the many ticket holders who have made postings on Craigslist, Ebay, or the VANOC fan-to-fan site, Melis is still on the fence about whether or not to use the tickets himself.

“We're all paying for these overpriced Olympics. So another thing on my mind was that if I could make a few dollars off this, then it would offset the fact of how much more I'm paying in my standard of living these days.”

VANOC declined to comment for this article, but its website maintains the fan-to-fan marketplace is the only place to buy legitimate tickets.