Comment
Getting ahead, thanks to the scalpers
By Liu Fei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-18 09:12
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With the Spring Festival approaching, train tickets will once again be the most sought-after commodity for many and, no doubt, there will be lots of "hard blows" from the police against ticket scalpers. But will tickets be easier to get, once all the scalpers are gone? Perhaps.
The first time I turned to a scalper was after I stood in a queue outside a ticket office for three hours, but waited in vain. The second time I took a train ride. I was scared when I saw swarms of people in the grand ticket hall. I decided to use a ticket scalper. The third time, I called the scalper instead. While I waited for delivery, I sipped coffee and finished translation for a publishing house, earning 450 yuan. Interestingly, buying tickets from scalpers created 350 yuan of wealth for me.
As Nobel laureate Paul Krugman pointed out, scalping corrected the artificially low ticket box price and put it back into the hands of the market. Market force works much more cleverly than other arbitrary mechanisms (guanxi or luck) and it raises efficiency. Time saved from the line could be used for the greater good.
Of course, the price is currently fixed for a reason. The ticket price for such things as sports events are artificially low for a long-term reason - that is to keep the fan base made up of not-so-rich fans.
The price of train tickets in China must meet the needs of the underprivileged or social turbulence would loom large.
But while ticket offices in train stations could continue to sell the tickets at face value, satisfying the need of the migrant workers or anyone who is willing to line up for a cheap ticket, people able to use the time spent in the line-up more productively should be allowed to dial an 800 number for quick delivery.
The legitimization of scalping - or creation of ticket brokerages as they should be called - will change people's customary mindset. You don't have to try your luck at the ticket office every time before picking up the phone. Just dial the number. It's nice and easy.
