Ebay tickets

[alvernon90]

My bad for misreading the actual words of the OP, but it seemed clear to me that the poster was looking to sell a ticket, not buy a ticket. My main point stands: if you are the seller and you are honest, there is no risk.

There is definitely risk in buying, yet people do it anyway. I agree that for the risk the discount should be deeper, but people bid up the prices anyway. Usually it's because they want short (one or two day) tickets that still allow them to park hop.

It is entirely possible that you could buy a ticket on eBay and get there to discover there are no days remaining, which means you won't be let in. You could discover that you've been sold lost or stolen tickets, in which case the police might get involved. But there is no way in the world that Disney will kick you out and call the cops BECAUSE AND ONLY BECAUSE you bought tickets on eBay. To recap the arguments that have played out here many times before:

1. Disney has no way of knowing the person using the ticket isn't the person that bought the ticket, since they don't check ID.

2. Even if they did, Disney has no way of proving that you bought the tickets rather than having a friend or family member give them to you.

3. If neither the buyer nor the seller reside in or are located in Florida at the time of the transaction, it's not illegal. That's a Florida-only law.

4. Disney is not in the business of ruining the vacations of their customers over technical violations of a license agreement.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by alvernon90
My bad for misreading the actual words of the OP, but it seemed clear to me that the poster was looking to sell a ticket, not buy a ticket. My main point stands: if you are the seller and you are honest, there is no risk.

I don't know if I even agree with that.

What happens to a seller if they get an email / phone call weeks later from a buyer who says "you told me there were 3 days left on the pass and there were only two." Neither party can definitively prove his/her position, so where does the truth lie?

I've seen posts from dozens of people who fail to understand how hopper days and plus features work on PHPs. Not that this necessarily applies to the OP, but even an eBay-er with the best of intentions may misrepresent the days remaining on a pass.

Misunderstandings aside, I still think even sellers are taking a risk. If a buyer ever reports that the ticket didn't work as described, whether the buyer is being honest or not, the seller is put in an awkward position of addressing the situation without any hard evidence to support either party.

I'll pay a couple bucks more to know my tickets will work.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I think it risky as, judging from the posts here, many people cannot remember how many days they have on their tickets and there is no way to check until you get there.

 

[sharonel]

Based on what everyone has said, I will probably try to sell remaining days on ebay. I plan to do it as soon as I return, so knowing the number of days left on the tickets won't be a problem. In fact if guest services can verify the remaining days before I leave, then I'll use that documentation, if provided, as backup for the potential buyer. The majority of buyers/sellers on ebay are honest - that's why the site works so well.

Saving the tickets isn't really an option - I live quite far away, so by the time I go on my next trip, I will have undoubtedly lost the tickets. I read somewhere that, similar to Disney Dollars, Disney actually counts on/hopes that these unused days are never used.

Personally, if the selling cost of the unused days is not over Disney prices, I see no issue with reselling something I paid for, but didn't have the opportunity to use.

 

[Geoff_M]

3. If neither the buyer nor the seller reside in or are located in Florida at the time of the transaction, it's not illegal. That's a Florida-only law.

alvernon90,

No one will argue with you that Disney has the means to detect the transfer of your basic Park Hoppers from one party to the next (assuming the tickets aren't stolen, lost, or such)... they don't. Nor are they likely to arrest my sister-in-law if she used one of my tickets. But I don't think your statement above is technically true. It's true that reselling theme park tickets is legal here in Michigan. But once I transport the transferred ticket into Florida's jurisdiction, I'm subject to their rules. The ticket would be subject to revocation and you may be subject to charges. For example, cross-bows (I believe) are illegal in Michigan unless the owner is handicapped. Going over the boarder into Indiana and purchasing one (where it may be legal) doesn't make it OK in the eyes of Michigan law to bring back into the state because it was legally purchased in Indiana.


sharonel,

There's an easy way to keep from losing the tickets. When we return, I mark on the tickets how many days and plus features are left on them, place them in an envelope, and then store them in our lockbox where we keep our house deed, car titles, birth certificates, and such

 

[sha_lyn]

sorry....double post

 

[sha_lyn]

I see no issue with reselling something I paid for, but didn't have the opportunity to use.

And there lies the problem.... You see nothing wrong with breaking WDW or Ebay policies (yes it is against E bay policy to sell a partially used ticket)... why even ask the question if you're hell bent on doing what you want no matter how immoral it is.

If you're only going to be there for 4 days, why buy 5 day hopper, that is unless your planning on selling them for more than they are worth so you can recover some of your money.

 

[SueM in MN]

Some of the recurring points have been:
-the law against selling partially used tickets is a Florida only law and only applies if the seller is in Florida.
-if it was illegal to resell partially used tickets, there wouldn't be so many listed on eBay.
-if it was illegal, eBay would stop the sales.

I thought I would just add what eBay lists on their website. First, on
eBay's policy page, there is a link to a Prohibited and Restricted Items page (I'm sorry, I can't provide a link to that because it pops up as a page without an address line, but there is a link from the policy page). They have to have links to tell people, for example, that it is prohibited to sell Body Parts, because some people have listed those. On the Contracts and Tickets page, it says,"Before listing an item on eBay, you should carefully read through any contracts that you have entered into that might limit your right to sell your item on eBay. Some items, such as airline tickets, have terms printed on them that may limit your ability to sell that item."
The back of WDW tickets does state it is non-transferrable and meant to be used by the same person for all days.

On that same page, it says that "eBay does not search for items that raise these types of issues...". So much for the idea that if it was illegal, eBay would remove the sales. Remember news stories about the people who were trying to sell parts from the shuttle tragedy and a man who tried to auction off his family recently. eBay took those off after there was a lot of news coverage.

Going back to "Restricted and Prohibited Items" and clicking on "Event Tickets" (which is another category for Disney tickets), there is a table that lists restrictions based on Location of Seller and the Location of Buyer. There is also a category in the table that lists Location of Event and has 2 possibilities Regulated Location (see list below) or Non-Regualted Location that apply to both the seller and the buyer.
Under Florida it says, "No more than face value plus $1. No sales of multi-day or multi-event tickets that have been used at least once for admission." The "Regulated Location" part of the table applies to both the seller's and buyer's locations.
And on eBay's FAQs page about tickets:
What if I live in one of the restricted ticket states, but I'm selling tickets to an event in a state where eBay has no
policy?

eBay's policies are based on where the event is located, not where the buyer and seller are located. If the event is in an area not
covered by eBay's policy, you may list the tickets on eBay without restrictions. However, you should ensure that your
transaction complies with all laws in your area.

 

[alvernon90]

I guess I should make clear that I am making a distinction between what is "illegal" and what is merely against corporate policy. If somebody in Michigan sells a partially-used Park Hopper to somebody else in Michigan, Disney is within their rights to revoke the tickets, but they can't call the cops, even if you are in Florida when the ticket is revoked.

The eBay policy is pretty clear, but as many people point out, the auctions go on all the time anyway. It's like the "nontransferrable" airline upgrade certificates that they sell, where you bid on an envelope and get the certificates as a free bonus: a simple loophole where eBay looks the other way.

Before selling a ticket, I'd be sure to watch some auctions for a few days to see how they go. To avoid a risk of somebody saying the tickets weren't what you said they were (a small risk that goes with selling absolutely anything on eBay), cancel the bids of anyone with negative feedback. The jerks are outed pretty quickly on eBay.

 

[Geoff_M]

alvernon90,

The advice you give is good, but there's lot of people that get burned buying from people with 100% positive feed back. There are a lot of good eBay accounts that get hacked. Look and see if the "too good to be true" item is in line with the other items that seller has sold in the past. If the seller's previous auctions are for stuffed animals, and all the sudden they offer a big ticket item with extrememly attractive terms, tread lightly and be suspecious. Also, there are small groups of cons will create eBay accounts, quickly list a bunch of items on eBay, buy from each other, and give each other good feedback. Once that's done, they'll throw out a laptop or piece of expensive camera equipment and use the bogus feedback to raise people's comfort levels with the baited hook listing.

 

[Flower4Pwr]

Ticket reselling is something I never thought was a big deal until I actually started having to deal with them.
Believe it or not Disney CAN and DOES take tickets away if you are not the original buyer. Just the other day we had someone come through and they TOLD me they had bought the tickets off the side of the road. Well, the tickets they had bought were military salute passes and have a persons name on them. If the ticket doesn't match we ask for picture ID and if the ID doesn't match up we take the tickets and tell the person "sorry but you've been scammed"
Obviously this isn't the case for all ticket types but if you insist on buying/selling on ebay you do it at your own risk. Disney has ways of blocking tickets which they don't hesitate to use. And don't believe for one minute they don't prosecute people who are scalping tickets because they do a lot more often then you think.
This is such a sour spot for me because I've only worked there for a month but I've had to turn away at least 20 families who bought tickets fron none disney approved methods. The family gets mad at me, the little kids are crying wondering why they can't go to Disney world, and it's just always so awful to watch.

So with that I just say "Caveat emptor"

 

[ear_poppin]

I just do not think its right to try and have one over on Disney.

We all go to Disney cause we love it....The ticket policy is clear...tickets are Non transferable....however you "dress" it up thats the rules.

If every one tries this scam and that scam especially in this economic climate prices will just increase or worse. Its just not worth it and I will go to Disney KNOWING that the ticket I have in my hand will work.

I love Disney sure its expensive thats what makes it special.

Denise.

 

[renessa]

Sharonel- I have recently seen where 4 day hoppers were available. I think it was on mousesavers...I'm sure someone can help me here. The seller may have been ticketmania, who is a seller of new disney passes. Then you wouldn't have to sell one day at a risk!! Ren

 

[sharonel]

Thanks - I'll check to see if they have the 4-day passes.

However, as the 'seller' I'm not the one who's at any potential risk & whoever would buy from me would be assured of the correct number of days being provided.

Yes, Disney policy says non-transferable and (non-refundable). However, this policy is unenforceable on ph tickets. In fact - every large family I've ever seen go into Disney certainly doesn't seem to keep track of which ticket went with which child or adult. Similarly, I've had friends who went on a Disney trip with a friend/boyfriend/husband/etc. and returned with a new friend/boyfriend/husband - on the same 'non-transferable' ticket. Most people that have replied seem to think it's okay to give a ticket to a family member, but reselling what you have paid for, at no 'markup' or scalping is not okay. What about the family member who buys your ticket? Too bad a lawyer wasn't on this DIS board - it would be interesting to know what the law is.

There are many examples of establishments that have "entering at your own risk", "we assume no liability", etc. clauses - however these do not hold up in court nor do they render the establishment free of liability.

I also think that loving Disney has nothing to do with this - obviously it is an amazing entertainment venue, but that doesn't nor shouldn't preclude the right of the individual who buys a ticket, can't use what he/she paid for, from recouping their costs by giving their ticket to someone else - whether on ebay or not.

 

[safetymom]

but that doesn't nor shouldn't preclude the right of the individual who buys a ticket, can't use what he/she paid for, from recouping their costs by giving their ticket to someone else - whether on ebay or not.

But the problem with EBay is that you aren't giving it to someone. You are selling it to them.

 

[tjkraz]

sharonel,

IMO, it's sad that you've gone to such an extent to justify your actions despite all of the evidence which suggests otherwise.

I'm not an attorney, so I can't speak to the issue of "enforcability". However this thread currently contains comments from an actual MK gate CM (Flower4Pwr) who tells stories of people being turned away at the gate. Others have quoted WDW ticket policy and eBay policy, clauses of which WOULD (not "might"...WOULD) be violated by reselling your passes.

Obviously nothing further that is said is going to have any impact on your decision. Just don't expect any sort of "stamp of approval" from most people on this board. Your decision is YOUR decision, and I suspect that few would step forward to condone your proposed course of action.

 

[MScott1851]

I HATE the fact that almost any question ever asked on these boards always develops into a gargantuan debate.

On one side, you have the "Well, I NEVER!!! group who gasp and cover their mouths at anything that even hints of impropriety, tsk-tsking all the while at anyone who would dare to mar their Disney utopia with something as lowly as outside food, used tickets, an off-site resort, or the like..Quotes such as "Yes, we know we mortgaged our third child, but Disney is expensive, and we will gladly fork over the $3000 for the three days so (insert trendy child's name here) could wear a Cinderella costume to dinner. The country club frowns on that, but she roamed free as a bird here!" Gee.. you would think that with that kind of money you could have your own section of WDW, away from the great unwashed.

The above group would have you believe that the other side are rude and loud families of six to eight, wearing Nascar tank tops, mullets, smoking cigarettes in the Haunted Mansion, staying at the Gator Inn. Gasp! And at meals, hordes of them take all the air conditioned seating and share a can of corn accompanied by a salad from the Pecos Bill Burger Fixin's Bar (couldn't resist!) They deign to buy their tickets off eBay or other ticket brokers, and rent cars from Thrifty or Payless or L&M. Their main goal is to get one over on Disney, darn corporate giant. The Man has been holding them down too long, and they're darned if they will let The Mouse do it too!


In reality, most of the people here just want a good value for their money. While my husband and I can certainly afford to do Disney first-class, we are also conservative, and look for ways to save money where we can and turn to the wealth of knowledge on these boards for suggestions on how to do it. While there are always exceptions to the rule, I don't think that the OP here, or most people who have ever asked a question such as the one here, were trying to purposely swindle Disney or anyone else out of money, property, etc. She asked a question wanting to know if anyone had done this or had problems, not every Tom, Dick, and Harry's opinion. On many threads like this, the topic never gets addressed because it immediately sparks mudslinging! And as much as I love these boards, it irks me that they are full of holier-than-thou posters who jump at the chance to point out other's mistakes, whether they be moral, ethical, or even grammatical slip-ups.

The bottom line is, live and let live people! Who cares who got what ticket where?!? When you are walking down Main Street, are you going to be worrying about who might have paid less than full price for their ticket, or about how you are going to embrace the magic and soak up enough to last til your next trip?




p.s. The above was not posted because I condone eBay ticket resales. I neither support nor condemn the OP for her actions. I just wanted to point out how childish these boards get at times. Take this post with a grain of salt, as it was written mostly tongue-in-cheek. I just feel like some people need foot-in-rear.

 

[safetymom]

The OP asked for opinions. That is exactly what they got. What I have seen in all the postings on this topic is people caring that nothing happened to ruin the Disney experience for someone.

I don't think any of us are that concerned wondering what the person next to us paid. Because in this case if you bought a ticket that didn't have any days on it they wouldn't be beside me in the park. They would be outside the gates.

 

[MScott1851]

Good point. However...too many people, both on the DIS and other boards overplay that card. It is possible to express concern without getting on a soapbox. Some people on here do it really well...and you can tell they are sincere. Others come across as self-righteous, and this is what I was trying to point out in my post. It is difficult to convey emotion in typed messages, but some people get downright nasty on some topics.

There is a difference in "you might want to be careful, I would hate for you to get there and your ticket not work" and "I would never dream of doing this! You should just pay full price like me!" That is the problem I have.

p.s. Again.. I HATE that I had to post this under an eBay debate. Above-mentioned Self Righteous Sallies often skim topics and often post without reading everything. I fully expect to see my picture on a flyer when I get to WDW tomorrow: "WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE! THIS WOMAN IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNDERGROUND EBAY TICKET RING, RESPONSIBLE FOR BILKING DISNEY OUT OF $2,500,000,000. PROCEED WITH CAUTION, SHE IS ARMED WITH QUICK AND CASUAL VOUCHERS FROM A CHEERLEADING COMPETITION EARLIER THIS YEAR AND WILL ALSO ORDER OFF THE CHILDREN'S MENU TRYING TO SAVE A BUCK!"

The Gestapo will escort me off the premises with me screaming, "I bought them at the Disney Store at Wolfchase Galleria! I still have the receipt!" Stay posted!

 

[tjkraz]

MScott1851,

I respect your opinion, but I think the one major issue that has kept this thread alive for several days now is the fact that the Original Poster is sustaining it.

This has historically been a very polarizing issue, and asking for feedback in the first place started the discussion. The 4-5 follow-up messages from the OP are keeping it alive.

Obviously people are selling passes on eBay. Obviously many of them work as described. But, frankly she seems to be seeking public approval, and I don't think such approval is forthcoming.

BTW, after I picked my jaw up off the table, I LOVED the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs of your post. However, as a former coworker used to say: I don't think you'll be nominated for Supreme Court Justice anytime soon!!!