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Last summer, the soaring resale ticket prices of Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour left many people stunned that Swifties would pay so much for a single show. It’s tough to put the hype into words. Now, not sure how to describe a hardcore fan of the Blue Jays vs. Dodgers clash, but let’s say they went through a situation much like the Taylor Swift ticket madness. Not long after World Series tickets went on sale, resale prices skyrocketed. It was only natural for the Blue Jays fans to express their concern. As they did so, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would review the issue. As game 1 heads to Rogers Center on Friday, the home tickets sold out fast by Tuesday, with resale prices reaching thousands of dollars. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad “My personal opinion … they’re gouging the people. When you have one player in the market that controls the tickets, that’s not right for the people.” Ford said on Wednesday, right outside his office at the legislature. Then, Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But it’s worth noting that earlier in 2019, the Ford government removed a law from the previous Liberal administration that had capped ticket resale prices at 50% above the original cost. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Now, NDP Leader Marit Stiles believes the government should reinstate the cap. “We asked for this when it came to the Taylor Swift concert. We need the government to take action.” Ticket sales issues were also a big story with Taylor Swift’s concerts last year. Just as the face value tickets sold out, the resales went for many times their original price. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports The previous Liberal government created a law to stop “scalper bots.” Apparently, those were some computer programs that bought large numbers of tickets in seconds. They created this law after an outcry from citizens about missing out on tickets for the Tragically Hip’s farewell tour in 2016. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The Liberals called on the government on Wednesday to reinstate their law. “Doug Ford needs to learn that actions have consequences. Doug Ford needs to learn that actions have consequences.” Rob Cerjanec, a tourism, culture, and sport critic, wrote in his statement. However, that’ll solve only one issue because right now, Toronto police are also warning Blue Jays nation to be cautious when buying World Series tickets as scammers look to exploit demand with fake or duplicate sales. Blue Jays fans need to watch out for fake World Series tickets If the resale ticket issue wasn’t chaotic enough, scammers are now trying to capitalize on the high demand for Blue Jays tickets. In a public notice released on Wednesday, Toronto police stated that big sporting events often attract fraudsters who try to trick fans with fake tickets, merchandise, and hotel deals. They cautioned the Blue Jays fans that scammers are likely to pose as legitimate sellers on social media, classified websites, or fake ticketing platforms. They will offer fake, duplicated, or nonexistent tickets. The seller will disappear once the payment passes through. At the end, it leaves the buyers without tickets and out of their hard-earned money. All buyers were advised to be cautious of warning signs, such as unusually cheap tickets, sellers who rush you to buy, and links from untrusted sources online. The fans were also warned not to pay outside trusted ticket platforms. Most importantly, they should avoid sharing images of their tickets, since they could be copied.
