American winner takes all

Chapter 223 "Tulip Incident" (22)

The majority of ticket sales channels in the United States are telephone sales. Fans can choose the seats and ticket prices they want by calling the team, stadium, or third-party ticket sales channels, and pay by credit card.

The second step is to sell tickets by mail, fill in the booking form, select the venue and seats, and then pay by check.

After that, go to offline viewing points and agent stores to purchase tickets.

Ticket brokers like Ashkenazy rely on the sales channels of viewing points and agents.

"Imagine, when a middle-aged man takes his whole family out to watch a football match on the weekend, only to find that all the tickets at the point of sale have been sold out, and someone happens to come over to sell him tickets, how will he choose?" Ashkenazy described Showing the ticket sales scene.

"It seems that you often squat in front of the stadium." Ethan said.

"No, standing guard at the entrance of the stadium is just the bottom of the food chain. They are worker bees, making money with their legs and feet. We are predators, making money with investment." As Ashkenazy was talking, the phone rang.

"...Sugar Bowl private room? I have to ask for you and will get back to you later." Ashkenazy hung up the phone.

"The person who called me was another ticket agent and we had a very close liaison with each other. From time to time we had to scalp each other's tickets."

In front of Ethan, Ashkenazy called another person, and in this way, Ashkenazy finally found the box ticket he needed for his next home.

"The location is very good, in the middle of the west side of the stands, directly above the rostrum, so the price will be a bit more expensive... Very good, the old way of trading. After you get the ticket, transfer the money." Ashkenazy hung up the phone.

"After finding the ticket, confirm the price with the other party. If we can negotiate, we will let the other party mail and deliver the goods directly. Although I only made a few phone calls, it still did not affect the commission I earned of 30 US dollars." Ashken Nazi put down his phone.

"This kind of work is indeed very profitable, but the disadvantage is that the quantity is small. If you want to sell 45000 tickets this way, you will have to hire at least a hundred people. Or you are willing to lower the price slightly and sell the tickets in bulk. Go, I know a few big customers, they are scattered throughout the south, and they can be digested completely."

"You can talk to them, but the price can't be lowered." Ethan shook his head.

"In that case, I can't guarantee the success rate." Ashkenazy shook his head.

"This ticket price is too high, Ethan O'Connor. It's close to the price of the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl. If you are a football fan, why don't you spend an extra 10 dollars to go to the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl?" You can also take a trip." Ashkenazy tried to persuade Ethan.

"Because, this is the best bowl game of the year. With the best players in the country, the best team, if I were a fan, let alone $10, I would pay $20 more, even $50 more for the Independence Bowl Tickets." Ethan felt that Ashkenazy did not really realize the "gold content" of Alabama fans.

To bring that in, this is the Super Bowl for Alabama fans.

·
December 12th.There are still 15 days until the official start of the Independence Bowl.

As the oldest local community in Shreveport, the Highland Historic District jointly funded the expansion of the Independence Stadium with the local GOV in 1980. The Independence Bowl game also came into being and became part of the local community.Now some of the residents who live here already feel how special this year's Independence Bowl will be...

A middle-aged woman was driving her son, who was in middle school, to the dental clinic to remove the braces his son was wearing.When she saw the endless queue on the roadside, she couldn't help but sigh:

“Jesus, don’t these people work?”

She even saw someone setting up a tent on the roadside and queuing up here day and night just to buy a few tickets.

"Mom, that's the Alabama Crimson Tide, the best college football team in the country. Louisiana was beaten to disgrace this year!" The son, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was lying on the window, his breath hitting the glass window. A mist of water spread out, and his eyes were full of yearning.

"Hey, Tommy, your father was once a member of the Louisiana Tigers. You can only support the Louisiana Tigers in your life." The middle-aged woman mentioned in particular.

At this time, the vehicle has reached the front of the queue, which is the official ticket office of the Independence Stadium.

"I want...100 pictures!" A haggard young man had been waiting since 03:30 last night. He stood in the shivering cold wind for more than twelve hours, and finally it was his turn. Buy tickets.

The conductor glanced up at him to make sure he wasn't talking nonsense.

The conductor discovered that the man was dressed in dirty clothes. He was only wearing a single coat in the middle of winter, and his exposed forearms were covered with dense pinholes.

He was obviously a drug addict who would avoid anyone he met on the roadside.

What magic does the Alabama Crimson Tide have that makes these people who would give up everything for a little flour also spend a lot of money to watch the game?
This is not the first "weird fan" that the ticket seller has met. Scavengers, tattooed gangsters, drug addicts, and almost all marginalized people in the city have become "Alabama fans."

"Do you want 100 tickets?" The conductor confirmed again.

"Yes, you heard me right, I just want 100 bills? Are you afraid that I can't afford the money?" The man took out a wad of bills from his pocket and placed them at the window.

"Give me the ticket quickly!" he urged a little irritably, and you could see his purple and black gums when he spoke.

"Sorry sir, according to regulations, this year's Independence Bowl can only sell a maximum of two tickets per person at the official ticket window." The ticket seller explained patiently.

"Two tickets? Are you kidding me? Believe it or not, I've ruined your place. Give me the tickets!" The man pounded the table, but when he saw the gun on the waist of the security guard next to him, he immediately gave in and took it. After buying two tickets, he slipped away obediently.

He turned around and gave the ticket and the wad of bills in his hand to a bald Mexican man standing on the roadside smoking and wearing a leather jacket not far away. "Each person is limited to two purchases, but I've been waiting here for a full twelve hours. I'm almost freezing." Du Chong said tremblingly, rubbing his hands uneasily and grinning in hope. Men can pay themselves a few dollars more.

"A ticket is only 5 dollars, take the money and get out!" The hirer raised his fist and quickly scared the poisonous insects away, and then another ticket buyer came in front of him.

This is the real situation of long queues. In fact, starting from the front desk, this area has been occupied by most scalpers. They hire people to queue up and resell the tickets purchased from offline retail stores to nearby third parties.You can get a price difference ranging from ten dollars to thirty dollars per ticket.

At the same time, a group of Alabamians, speaking English with a thick Southern accent, were swarming into a second-hand store in the Highlands Historic District, sifting through the game tickets in the window.

Tickets in the middle of the stands at the Independence Bowl are selling for as high as $120 today, and tickets in the first row are even as high as $160.

"These tickets are really too expensive." A middle-aged man with a beard said. It can be seen from the maroon clothes worn by this group of people that this person is the "Alabama core fan" in Ethan's mouth.

This group of people started calling the Alabama Crimson Tide and the stadium ticket hotline to purchase tickets as soon as the news of the Independence Bowl was announced, but were told that the tickets through the telephone sales channels had been sold out.

As a result, this group of unwilling fans had no choice but to drive to Louisiana and Shreveport together, preparing to buy tickets on site.

As a result, the facts surprised them again. The long queue at the stadium ticket office stretched for several miles!Just when these people were at their wits' end, they saw a roadside shop with a sign selling cash tickets, and then they walked in.

“It’s such a huge price to catch up with this year’s Rose Bowl,” said another fan.

They are all Alabama Crimson Tide season ticket holders, watch a lot of games, and are very price sensitive.

Such a high price has already caught up with some season tickets in inferior locations.

The bearded man who spoke first took out his credit card and asked for ten tickets in one breath.

"Why do you want so many tickets?" My companion was a little confused.

"Nowadays, game tickets are expensive but not marketable. When I return to Alabama and resell these tickets, the money I earn can not only cover the cost of watching the game, but also make a small extra profit!" Luo Shihu thought in his mind. very clear.

After his reminder, everyone suddenly became enlightened and took out their credit cards one after another.

All he had to do was shout: shut up and take my money!

Such a hot sales scene naturally made the shop owner smile from ear to ear.

In a matter of moments, these Alabamians had cleared out his inventory!
After the fans left, the store owner immediately called a certain number.

About half an hour later, a middle-aged man and a young man walked into the store, it was Ashkenazy and his nephew.

"Today's latest price is two dollars higher than yesterday." Ashkenazy shrugged.

The shop owner thought for a moment and finally decided to buy it, and he wanted to buy up all the remaining tickets for Ashkenazy today.

"Sorry, there are only the last 200 pieces left today." Ashkenazy shook his head.

When he walked out of the second-hand store, Ashkenazy counted the banknotes in his hands, but his expression could not be called very happy.

"Nephew, have you ever heard of the tulip incident in the Netherlands in the mid-[-]th century?" Ashkenazy said meaningfully, looking at the long queue not far away.

"No." The nephew shook his head.

"I hope we won't make the same mistake again." Ashkenazy shook his head.

All the tickets were sold out by [-]pm yesterday, and today it was a full two hours early.

The unexpected boom in sales did not please Ashkenazy.

As agreed, after completing the day's tasks, he called Ethan.

"As long as you follow my rules, there will be no problems..."

"Don't worry, I strictly followed your instructions and sold them at the price you gave me, without adding a cent more." Ashkenazy said repeatedly.

Ashkenazy then asked where Ethan was now.

"I'm at the Hilton in Shreveport...the Independence Bowl press conference is coming up!" Ethan mentioned on the phone.

(End of this chapter)