The dynamics of the Future
An article in the Washington Post today makes the interesting observation that because of the Internet, ticket prices to events have quietly shifted into a dynamic pricing model.
The Internet is very good at creating efficient markets--EBay is the most visible manifestation of that. Tickets are a natural for market adjustment and that's happened in a number of ways. First off, scalpers have moved online and become respectable. I'd noticed that since I occasionally buy tickets that way myself, but hadn't generalized from the experience. However, for the last few years, I could always get a ticket to a Broadway show, no matter how sold out it was, if I was willing to pay a premium.
The Post article points out that the promoters of sporting events and rock concerts are starting to auction off the best tickets on the Internet. That would seem to be an inevitable outcome, although it's usually not possible for the same company to run a primary and a secondary market for any commodity, because the price isn't allowed to freely fluctuate in the secondary market the way it ought to, usually because of hidden consideration seeking to prop up the primary.
I imagine that there'll be more of these dynamic pricing models popping up, as people get more used to the superficially unfair aspect of it.
How about:
- Charging more for the pre-Christmas purchase of the hottest toys?
- Decreasing the screens for movie releases and adjusting the pricing--Charge more when the film is popular and gradually drop the ticket price as sales drop off
- Allowing students with lesser academic records to attend prestigious schools, but pay more?
Posted on October 06, 2006
