If you have ever had a concert or show that you contemplated attending and were unable to do so because of your inability to buy tickets to the event, a ticket broker may have been the cause of your problem. Because of the way in which a ticket broker operates, it is quite common for the best seats to an event to already be taken.

This is because the ticket broker typically hires outside individuals to do the ticket purchasing for him. On a particular day, when tickets to a certain entertainment event first go on sale, those who work for the ticket broker will obtain seats before anyone else can. Once the seats are purchased, they are gone to be offered at a higher price.

Because of this kind of activity, a certain amount of state regulation exists relating to the offering of event tickets for an amount of greater than face value, and each state possesses its own set of rules. Some states go so far as to stipulate that a ticket broker is banned from establishing a business in their state. The only difficulty with this regulatory approach is that the Internet makes it very easy to run a business across state lines.

Selling tickets to an entertainment event for greater than face value bases itself on the law of supply and demand. For any given event, there are only so many tickets available. Because the demand for "choice seats" can outstrip the supply, the value of those "choice seats" increases, and this is where the ticket broker comes into play. The most popular seats to an event will be available – for a typical price often significantly more than face value. Logistical aspects also come into play here, because in theory the event promoter only cares to issue as many tickets as can realistically be sold. Issuing any more tickets is a waste of money.

The debate rages on whether ticket brokers should even be allowed to do what they do. Ticket brokers will always claim that they have a right to do business and are merely taking advantage of "the market." The problem is they aren't in actual fact "doing anything." No service is truthfully being provided. Ticket brokers are solely taking advantage of the workings of the event ticket marketplace rather than providing honest service to it.

To assess the worthiness of ticket brokers in the entertainment event ticket market, a person should ask themselves what the event ticket market would be like if there were no ticket brokers.