Ebay tickets

[sharonel]

I would like to know who has used ebay tickets successfully.

I am thinking of buying a 5-day Park Hopper Plus (even though I may only be there for four days) and would like to sell the 'remaining' day on ebay if/when necessary. Has anyone purchased a 'partial' park hopper on ebay? Have you had any problems?



Sharon

 

[sha_lyn]

At least one DIS'er has purchased tickets on E bay and it turned out they did not have any days left on them.

Also WDW official policy is that WDW tickets are non transferable, and it is against Fl law to sell partially used tickets.Ticket FAQ

 

[dsanner106]

That being said, you are of course, able to take the risk, small as it is, that your tickets will not be honored. I am really curious as to the florida law on resale of partially used tickets. I have never heard of it. Of course it would not apply to anyone outside of florida, but still I am curious.

 

[kilee]

If it were illegal they would stop the sale of them on ebay. Do you know there are thousands of things you can't sell on ebay due to various state and trademark laws. There are hundreds of aucitons shut down a day on ebay because they item can't be sold. However, they have an section in which there are pages of DIsney tickets. So, I am sure they are legal to sell.

I would do a search on here, there have been many threads about this topic. Personally, I think the prices on ebay end up going for as much as a brand new ticket so keep that in mind. I have actually seen 4day park hoppers go for $250-300. You could get them cheaper than that.

 

[4greatboys]

If you put your remaining day on ebay it would prob sell, especially if you had some good feedback. I personally would never buy those on e-bay just because there is no way to know if there are days left or not. But I do know others have, some with good luck and some with bad.

 

[sharonel]

Thanks - I did check out the WDW FAQ's and you're right - it does say that the tickets are non-transferable and have to be used by the same individual. Per their text:

"Please note that all multi-day Walt Disney World® Theme Park Tickets are nontransferable and must be used by the same person on any and all days. The person that uses the ticket for the very first time must use the ticket for its entirety. Any tickets that are transferred in violation of this restriction are invalid for admission."

However - I don't see how they can know who used that ticket in the first place so I wouldn't think it can really be an enforceable rule.

 

[Safari Steve]

Selling partially used tickets is illegal. I have seen people removed from the park and Orange County Sherriff's BOLO reports on sellers/scammers.

Those tickets might look like a good deal, but if you spend any money at all on them and then have to buy tickets at the park anyhow, you have not saved anything at all.

 

[safetymom]

Why not hold on to the ticket? They are good forever.

 

[dan-tot]

If the practice is illegal then why are there little stands all over orlando selling disney tickets among other tickets? There is no way they can tell who bought the ticket and who is using it. It is right if a ticket is used you can't bring another person in on the same ticket. If you want to use it at MK and then later on you have a friend that wants to go to AK then they can use the ticket since they do not check hand stamps at the gates anyway. You can e-mail the seller and tell him to give you the ticket number then you can call disney and ask how many days are left on the ticket. Then you will know if it is a good ticket or not. The tansfer of tickets being illegal might be to disney but not to the police. If they are coming down on someone they are coming down on a big dealer. Disney only uses these scare tactics because they want you to buy new tickets. So please don't let alot of rummer? save you some money. Disney is sticking it to us enough so be frugel in thought.


Dan-tot

 

[SueM in MN]

Disney used to have a phone number you could call with the number off the back of the ticket and they could tell you how many days were still unused on it. They stopped doing that at least 2 years ago as one way to cut down on the selling of partially used tickets.
With the number on the back of the ticket (or reading the magnetic strip from the ticket), Guest Services can access information they have saved on their computer about that ticket, including when it was purchased, how many days were used, when they were used and how many days remain. It is true that they can't tell who used the ticket, but they can tell what credit card was used to purchase it and any other information they gathered when it was bought.
And, about those stands all over. If you walk by, they will ask if you need tickets. If you say you already have tickets, they will ask if you want to sell yours. This has happened to us numerous times. What kind of guarantee do they have that the tickets have any days on them when they buy them off of someone who happens to walk by?
Even if they only prosecute the "big dealers", if you have a ticket that is no good when you go to use it, you will still be standing there with no ticket and no money. Disney will not refund money that you paid to a "big dealer".
People get around the law on ebay by how they list the tickets. There used to be a lot of "We had a great time at Disney, but we only used up 3 days on our 5 day park hoppers." When ebay started cracking down on that, the listings changed to "2 day park hopper". On some pof them, their picture clearly shows a 5 day hopper.

 

[safetymom]

dan-tot , if you feel Disney is sticking it to you then you are free not to go to the parks.

I live in PA and every so often see stories on the news of folks that bought tickets from these people and when they got to the gate they were confiscated by Disney. They then had to buy tickets at the gate or didn't get to go.

I would hate to see someone spend their hard earned or saved money and find out that they were taken because they didn't have days left or something else was wrong with the tickets.

Buyer beware when buying tickets outside the normal channels.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by dan-tot
If the practice is illegal then why are there little stands all over orlando selling disney tickets among other tickets? There is no way they can tell who bought the ticket and who is using it. It is right if a ticket is used you can't bring another person in on the same ticket. If you want to use it at MK and then later on you have a friend that wants to go to AK then they can use the ticket since they do not check hand stamps at the gates anyway. You can e-mail the seller and tell him to give you the ticket number then you can call disney and ask how many days are left on the ticket. Then you will know if it is a good ticket or not. The tansfer of tickets being illegal might be to disney but not to the police. If they are coming down on someone they are coming down on a big dealer. Disney only uses these scare tactics because they want you to buy new tickets. So please don't let alot of rummer? save you some money. Disney is sticking it to us enough so be frugel in thought.


Dan-tot

Your post has a lot of misinformation in it. First, there is NO number to call to find out about the days available or left on a pass, second they most certainly do check for hand stamps, you might not notice but, they do check with the aid of a black light placed where the average person will not see it. If the CM does not see it on the first pass of the person, they will ask to see the appropriate hand and will pass the light over it.
The fact that people are dealing does not make it legal or right.
Disney is not sticking it to us, they are in business to make money. As stated before, you don't have to go if you feel that way, but, when you buy the ticket you do enter into a contract with Disney.
In reality, Disney does not check to see if Mary used the pass for three days and then gave the remaining two to John, that is not their real issue. The issue is the unauthorized resale of tickets.

 

[sha_lyn]

I've searched high and low for the story of the DIS'er who was badly "burned" by an ebay seller. I'll try to tell it as best as I remember it. It's here on the Dis somewhere but I'm having no luck finding it.

She purchased several tickets that were advertised as unused hoppers (don't remeber how many days). The story the seller gave was that thye purchased all the tickets up front (from WDW)for a big vacation with another family and the other family backed out. The seller was over seas and said thye would never get the chance to use the tickets. The buyer found out at the gate that the tickets had no dasy left on then, but had a few plus options. The seller first claimed that they must have accientally sent their families tickets instead of the unused ones. Then the story changed to they bought them in orlando at what they thought was a legal seller. (humm is hte other family didn't come why would they have bought the tickets for them once arriving in Orlando).

Anyway last I remember the buying was still trying to find a way to recover thier money. I believe they were "out" close to $1000

 

[Safari Steve]

If you happen to have a WDW ticket in your posession, I invite you to take it out, turn it over, and read. Admission media is nontransferrable, non-refundable, revocable property of the Walt Disney Company. People sell knock-off merchandise, bootleg tapes, and worthless passes (I recall once seeing "tickets" to a character greeting being sold) on E-bay and on the street. None of those are legal, yet they do exist.

If you are leasing a car from GM, you can not sell that car to someone else.
Disney owes you nothing that you haven't payed Disney for.

 

[Geoff_M]

If it were illegal they would stop the sale of them on ebay. Do you know there are thousands of things you can't sell on ebay due to various state and trademark laws. There are hundreds of aucitons shut down a day on ebay because they item can't be sold. However, they have an section in which there are pages of DIsney tickets. So, I am sure they are legal to sell.

The only laws I've ever seen eBay enforce are FEDERAL statutes (i.e. trademarks, cave formations, cultural artifacts). Many state laws contradict one another and would be darn near impossible to police. It's perfectly legal to re-sell a WDW ticket here in Michigan... but not in Florida. If it's legal to sell in 49 states, but illegal in one, what should eBay do? Ban all sales in all states for that item?

Ironically, it's amazing how many WDW tickets I see go for near "gate" price. So for a small savings, these people are taking a risk that they'll get tickets that are worthless... or none at all. That's not a very attractive risk/benefit equation for me.

 

[sharonel]

"...every so often see stories on the news of folks that bought tickets from these people and when they got to the gate they were confiscated by Disney. "

Whether it's ebay or whether you give your remaining 'days' to a family member - I don't see how Disney can confiscate a ticket when they don't know who the original person was that used them.

 

[alvernon90]

The original post talked about selling partially used tickets on eBay, so any mention of a risk of getting scammed is out of place here. Unless the OP is a scam artist, there is zero risk that anyone will get ripped off: the seller will accurately represent the number of days on the ticket and the buyer will pay up front before the tickets are sent.

Moreover, it is the buyer who assumes all the risk that Disney will take away the tickets and deny admission, so the OP has no risk there either. Not that there really is a risk, since Disney has absolutely no way of knowing whether a park hopper was purchased on eBay, nor do they care (the case is different with annual passes, which is why they use the biometrics.)

If one person on these boards can document an actual case of Disney saying, "Sure, these park hoppers are valid but you purchased them partially used on eBay so we are confiscating them and kicking you out of the park and calling the police," I will eat my shoe.

Whether selling partially used tickets is legal, ethical, or moral is a debate that rages here constantly with no resolution in sight. However, the OP was asking about the viability of the plan to use a pass and sell the remaining days, and the clear answer to that is: no problem, go for it if you want.

 

[sha_lyn]

If one person on these boards can document an actual case of Disney saying, "Sure, these park hoppers are valid but you purchased them partially used on eBay so we are confiscating them and kicking you out of the park and calling the police," I will eat my shoe.

You better get some salt for your shoe because Steve has already posted that he has seen tickets confiscated and the sheriffs office called. He would know, since he is a CM who is now (or was last I knew) working the front gate at MK.

Whether selling partially used tickets is legal, ethical, or moral is a debate that rages here constantly with no resolution in sight. However, the OP was asking about the viability of the plan to use a pass and sell the remaining days, and the clear answer to that is: no problem, go for it if you want.

Clear as mud that is. Fl law is clear selling particially used park tickets in against the law. WDW policy is clear... Tickets must be used by the same person on any and all days(.Not to mention the offical WDW site which has already been quoted and linked to)... If you chose to not pay attenetion to them thats your problem, but don't say the answer is clear that selling used tickets is OK.
Lets see who do you think would know more about WDW ticket policies you or Steve, Fl law and WDW.

 

[Geoff_M]

The original post talked about selling partially used tickets on eBay, so any mention of a risk of getting scammed is out of place here.

alvernon90,

The OP queried us this: "Has anyone purchased a 'partial' park hopper on ebay? Have you had any problems?" So it's perfectly appropriate here.


After I posted my first comment on this thread I went back and searched on completed WDW ticket auctions on eBay. As a prime example of the low beneft-to-risk ratio of buying tickets on eBay, someone recently paid over $470 to save ~10% on two 5 day PHP tickets. Personally, putting $470 at risk to save $56 doesn't make sense to me.

 

[jgates]

The post I remember reading was in the Budget Board area - maybe near the beginning of the summer - it was long and extensive and told a very sad tale - seems like these people even ended up sitting at the police station for awhile and I can't remember if it was because the tickets were reported stolen or what the exact story was.

I would not be comfy doing it unless I knew the seller. I know the gal I went to Disney with 2 years ago still has one day left on a kids pass - would I buy it from her? Yes, if I needed it. But an unknown quantity on Ebay? Probably not - note I say probably - not definitely. Read the ratings extensively for the seller. Ask them 'telling questions' like -when did you purchase, when did you travel etc - stuff they should feel comfy in telling you. You get the idea.