I have tried to give important sounding titles to all of the jobs here because I want you to feel good about what you are doing. That middle aged woman with five kids working at the sandwich place. She isn’t some poor woman working as a drudge. She is an artist. A sandwich artist. It is sort of silly and worth making light of. But there is a serious side to it as well. When it comes right down to it, most of us are working jobs that aren’t terribly important to the mass of humanity. But on a small scale, most jobs to have some value, no matter how small. And if we do them well, we better ourselves and humanity even if only a bit.

So why would I say that you should call this job being a ticket speculator? After all, we all learned during the big run up in oil prices a few years ago that speculators are terrible people. They take bread from widows, money from orphans, they raped your sister, and they want to feast on your pets. Old Lenin was right that speculators deserve a bullet to the head. And our enlightened political leaders were justified in condemning them.
Well, not exactly. Speculators actually perform useful functions in markets. Among other things they bring some stability to it. They take risks. Sometimes they make a lot of money. Sometimes they lose a lot of money. But generally, their actions are good for the overall market.

Like vultures in nature, they are completely misunderstood. Without them we would be much worse off. They preform useful functions in nature.

So why have they been given such a bad name? Simple. The average person is economically illiterate, if not completely illiterate as well. Seriously, go and talk to people lining up to vote in many populated areas. It is a wonder that this country has survived thus far. And the people they elect. They are generally slightly less stupid, but much more immoral than the electorate. So they prey on everyone’s fears. They have no interest in propagating the truth. But the truth is that speculators are great. And ticket speculators are following a noble calling.

I wanted to rehabilitate the term. Also, ticket speculator is much better than the preferred term – ticket scalper. Imagine that, some guy who takes a risk in an economic market is compared to some jerk who cuts off part of someone’s head. Anyone with any sense would see that this is absurd.

So, enough with the ranting. You can rest assure that there is nothing intrinsically wrong or immoral with buying a product with the hope that it will go up in value. And it is just a hope. You can lose money speculating in the ticket market too. Many do.

Nevertheless, this can be an exciting and fun way to make a few extra bucks, but you need a game-plan. First, you need to figure out your market. I recommend speculating in a field you already know something about. Are you a fan of a particular type of music, comedy, or sport? Then start there.

Get on the internet and find out when the shows are coming to your town. Find out when the tickets are going on-sale and where. Check and see what the market looks like. Find out from listings on Stubhub, Craigslists, and Ebay what tickets have been going for at previous shows. You not only need to figure out how much over the list price tickets have been selling for, but also consider the fees associated with reselling them on those websites.
If you think there is a profit to be made, go to Ticket Master or whatever other outfits there are and buy tickets. Now by this point you are probably flush with cash from your vending machines, dog biscuit sales, and water dealing, but that is no reason to be stupid. Don’t start by trying to buy every ticket available. Nor do something really stupid by just buying one ticket and trying to resell it. Buy a small amount of tickets to start with, in groups of two. Buy tickets for shows that you reasonably expect to sell.

You aren’t going to sell your tickets right away, although you can try. Most people procrastinate and don’t buy tickets when they are first available. They usually wait until the last minute. That’s when you step in. You are wise to try selling them on Craigslist first because that is free. Stubhub will have a broader market available. So will other reselling sites.

There are no Federal laws against ticket speculating (yet), but there could be local and state laws on the books. Why would that be? You aren’t doing anything wrong. In fact, the artists and sports teams appreciate you buying lots of tickets upfront. They get the money and their art or sport appears more popular, thus generating additional interest. They get the benefit of that, while you get the risk of losing money. You were wise. You saw a trend, made an investment, and want to reap a modest reward. But remember those stupid people I told you about. The voters. Well, they are your problem. They elect people who pass laws against this perfectly reasonable business. They use armed force to stop you from engaging in mutual exchange. And they call you the criminal. Make sure, therefore, that if you show up at the venue before the event to sell your tickets, that you are aware of all laws regarding ticket speculating and their enforcement. Some places where it is illegal may have a culture of tolerance for this. But you still do it at your peril. Also, be mindful that if there are local laws how they apply to selling them to someone in your own state over internet websites.

A couple other tips for you. Don’t buy the pricey box tickets or anything like there. There is too much risk and not enough of a resale market. Focus on the basic seats. If you are selling the tickets in person, get a credit card reader on your cell phone. A potential buyer might not have a lot of cash, but might be more willing to make a big charge. Keep your prices reasonable. No one, except a complete idiot with lots of money, is going to pay 1000x face value. Also, complete idiots often lack money to begin with. Finally, if you need more advice or help, check out books from a library or store for additional information and insights.