As the Internet develops, more ways to make money online are emerging. One earning strategy is ticket scalping for popular events. This method is available to anyone with some money and free time. In this article, we explain how to do engage in ticket scalping profitably and safely.
Ticket scalping is a money-making strategy where tickets are purchased in bulk and later sold at a higher price. This method works with tickets for both sporting events, such as major football games, and cultural events, e.g., concerts of famous music artists.
How Ticket Scalping Works
To maximize your profits, you need to use two key methods. First, you have to prioritize speed. Scalpers buy tickets as soon as they go on sale. At this moment, prices are at their lowest, allowing for a greater profit margin between the purchase and resale price.
Automation is used to outpace regular buyers. Secondly, scalpers focus on quantity. The more tickets they buy, the fewer remain available. This artificially creates scarcity, driving up both demand and price.
Advantages of Ticket Scalping
Statistics show that up to 30% of tickets are sold on the secondary market. Here are the main reasons why this earning strategy is so popular:
High profitability. Tickets for highly anticipated events can be resold at a considerable premium. Because such tickets are hard to obtain, people are willing to pay several times the regular price to attend events like the Super Bowl, Eurovision, or the Champions League final.
Easy to start. Ticket scalping does not require significant startup capital or extensive preparation.
Flexibility. It can be a side hustle rather than a full-time job, as it doesn’t require much time and effort.
Accessibility. In the past, scalpers resold tickets outside event venues just before the event. Now, anyone can access tickets and audiences from anywhere in the world.
Ticket Scalping Bots
Most tasks related to ticket scalping can be automated. Different types of scripts can be used at various stages of the ticket scalping process:
Scrapers gather information from web pages about tickets, prices, and price changes.
Bots for finding hidden pages look for yet unpublished websites where tickets will be sold to buy them first.
Account creation scripts automate profile registrations on target platforms to enable bulk ticket purchases.
Captcha bypass bots automatically fill in required fields to quickly pass website security checks.
Snipers instantly purchase tickets as soon as they become available, increasing demand and price.
Is Ticket Scalping Legal
The legality of ticket scalping depends on the country. In some regions, it is completely banned, while in others, restrictions apply only to certain industries.
Region;Legality of ticket scalping
EU;Scalper bots for ticket scalping are banned.
USA;Using ticket scalping software is prohibited. In New York, Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Massachusetts, scalping requires a special license. In New York, tickets cannot be sold above face value near event venues.
UK;Ticket scalping for footbal games is banned unless specifically authorized by the match organizer. Bots for bulk ticket scalping for any event are also prohibited.
Japan;Ticket scalping is banned under the "Act on Ensuring the Proper Distribution of Show and Event Tickets by Prohibiting the Unauthorized Resale of Specified Show and Event Tickets.”
Canada;Scalping tickets above face value is illegal in Quebec. In other regions, it is allowed if proper documentation and taxes are filed.
Australia;Scalping tickets with a markup above 10% is banned for major events.
Russia;Tickets cannot be resold more than once or above face value.
How to Scalp Tickets Online
Here’s how to choose the most profitable events, quickly purchase tickets, and safely resell them at a higher price.
Choose popular events
Look for events on Google Trends, social media, or ticket-selling platforms. Pay attention to event frequency. For example, if an artist hasn’t performed in a long time, tickets will sell out quickly at a higher margin. However, if a singer is visiting the same city for the second time this year, demand may not be as high.
Analyze website protections and prepare accounts
Many services limit the number of tickets a single user can buy and require registration or identity verification. Check these restrictions in advance and create accounts accordingly. Fill in all necessary details and link payment cards.
Track official sales start dates
Use scrapers to collect information about ticket presale and public release dates. The earlier you buy a ticket, the lower the price, meaning you can earn more from the price difference.
Automate Your Ticket Purchases
Write scripts that will purchase tickets immediately after their release. If necessary, connect services that will automatically bypass CAPTCHAs.
Choose Ticket Platforms Carefully
Study the rules and restrictions of ticket-selling websites. Pay attention to security measures in place and the platform’s audience. Good starting points include StubHub, SeatGeek, or Viagogo.
Set Reasonable Prices
Analyze how much your competitors are selling tickets for. You can set a higher price, but don’t increase it too much. This can not only reduce demand but also lead to account bans on ticket purchasing platforms
Optimize Your Offers
Keep ticket descriptions concise. Include the full event name, address, venue, date, and time. Don’t forget to highlight perks like VIP access or backstage entry if your tickets include such benefits.
Promote Your Offers
Use all available channels to spread the word about your offer: share listings on social media, post on forums, and use aggregators.
Ticket Scalping Risks
In some cases, ticket scalping can lead to negative consequences. Be aware of potential sanctions:
From the government. Ticket scalping may be illegal in the country where the event takes place. Breaking the law can result in fines.
From ticket-selling services. They may ban you for multi-accounting or using scalper bots.
From ticket resale platforms. Many prohibit excessive price markups or fake ticket listings. Violating their policies can lead to account bans.
How an Anti-Detect Browser Helps with Ticket Scalping
We have compiled 10 common mistakes affiliate marketers make when using Octo Browser
Scaling up profits requires mass registration of accounts on ticket-selling platforms. However, many sites combat ticket scalping by blocking profiles for multi-accounting. To detect whether accounts belong to the same person, they use digital fingerprinting, a combination of dozens of device parameters from operating system version and browser settings to installed fonts, extensions, and screen resolution.
An anti-detect browser such as Octo can help you avoid bans by allowing you to create multiple virtual profiles with different fingerprints. These profiles appear as separate users for websites and ticket selling platforms. In practice, this means significantly reduced risks of being banned for multi-accounting.
Additionally, Octo Browser helps with:
Protecting against IP-based tracking. Assign different proxies to each profile so anti-fraud systems don’t link your accounts by a single IP address. You can purchase residential proxies from verified providers directly in Octo Browser.
Increasing account trustworthiness. Use the built-in Cookie Robot to “prep” profiles before purchasing tickets. The Robot will automatically collect tracking pixels from specified web pages, so you don’t have to do it manually.
Speeding up processes. Automate repetitive tasks such as account registration and offer creation by writing scripts and integrating them via API.
Conclusion
To make money with ticket scalping, you need to buy event tickets quickly and in bulk. Scripts can help you automate ticket purchases as soon as they go on sale, while scaling your ticket scalping operation requires registering multiple accounts on ticket-selling platforms. The safest way to do this is by using an anti-detect browser for multi-accounting like Octo together with reliable proxies. Octo can help you create multiple profiles with unique digital fingerprints, ensuring that websites perceive each account as a separate user and don’t block them for multi-accounting.