Ticket prices are destroying the World Cup, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup on resale market

Key Points:

• A group of men in central North Carolina regularly gather outside Walmart early in the morning to buy up collectible cards and trending toys like Needohs, which they then resell online at significant markups for profit.
• Needohs, popular sensory cubes among children, have become scarce in stores, leading to adult resellers buying entire stocks and flipping them at 300-400% higher prices on platforms like Walmart.com.
• While reselling toys and cards is frustrating but relatively harmless, the practice has become more insidious in sports, where ticket scalpers drive up prices for major events, making it difficult for average fans to afford attending games.
• The upcoming FIFA World Cup, NBA Finals, and NHL Stanley Cup Finals are all experiencing issues with resellers buying large quantities of tickets, often immediately after release, and then selling them at exorbitant prices.
• FIFA’s dynamic pricing for the World Cup has sparked criticism for limiting access to wealthy fans, and attempts to release public tickets have been undermined by quick buyouts by resellers who then list them on secondary markets.