Ticket vendors tackle online scalpers

Hannah Montana is coming to Rochester – if you haven’t heard. But if you want to catch her performance, you will probably be dishing out hundreds or thousands of dollars.

“I think the more people heard about the demand for tickets, the more it became a necessity to get the tickets,” said Jeff Calkins, the general manager of the Blue Cross Arena.

And according to one local ticket vendor, supply and demand is the problem.

“Is it fair? I don't know, but I don't know a better system to do it though,” said Don Jeffries, the president at the Rochester Broadway Theater League. “It's just a fair market and people are paying to see the shows."

But some scalpers may have an unfair advantage in this capitalistic system. Many of them are now getting their hands on automated programs that push them through online ticket sights faster than others.

“It seems whatever is put in place, the brokers are one step ahead of us,” Calkins said.

And ticket venues like the Blue Cross Arena are trying to stay ahead of the game. Hannah Montana tickets there were limited to four per person. Plus, if you purchased them at the arena, you had to have a credit card proving you live in the area. But that did not stop some scalpers.

“They're utilizing people in New York to use their credit cards to purchase tickets, so how we do that?,” asked Calking. “(We) go after the companies like the Pittsburgh company who tries to make short cuts.”