Touts cash in on Oasis gig as tickets find way to eBay

Published on Saturday 14 May 2005 13:10

NEARLY ten per cent of tickets for tomorrow’s record-breaking Oasis concert in Edinburgh were bought through eBay.

Almost 250 briefs for the intimate Usher Hall show have been sold on the internet auction site at hugely inflated prices. But today the promoters admitted the touts who sold them would go unpunished.

Regular Music, who threatened to crack down on ticket touts who targeted the gig, said they were powerless to act against them.

That means hundreds of fans who have paid up to 400 for tickets will have no problems getting into the gig.

Regular Music held a meeting this week with its lawyers to discuss the possible action. The firm considered either asking to see the credit cards used to buy tickets when people arrived at the venue or withholding tickets and making fans collect them at the Usher Hall when they could ask to see ID.

But the organisers admitted defeat and said there was nothing they could do to stop the growing eBay trade.

All 2500 tickets for the surprise gig sold out in just 30 minutes last month, a record for the venue, but many were snapped up by specialist ticket touts.

Mark Mackie, director of Regular Music, said: "In the end there was nothing we could do.

"We tried to scare people and I think we achieved that because I’m sure more tickets would have appeared on eBay otherwise.

"But making people queue to get in the building didn’t make sense. Nevertheless, we would still warn people against buying tickets on eBay because there’s a good chance they won’t receive anything for their money."