Senator Wants Ban on Sales of Obama Inauguration Tix

Dianne Feinstein Asks eBay, Craigslist Not to Facilitate Scalping

Just a week after he was elected president, America's president-elect is a popular fellow in the auction culture. All things Barack Obama are finding their way to eBay and other sites as collectors are looking to cash-in on Obama Mania. Amidst the global economic downturn, it ought to be encouraging for world leaders to see consumers willing to engage in free market economic activity. Yet a California lawmaker is seeking to put a halt to some of it.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is crafting legislation that would ban the sale of tickets to Mr. Obama's inauguration in January and is said to be asking eBay and Craigslist for help after seeing bidders offering thousands of dollars for them on the 'net, according to Bloomberg.

Feinstein told Bloomberg that her office had heard reports that tickets were going for more than $40,000 each.

"This is unconscionable and must not be allowed," she said in a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg News.

What so upsets Feinstein is that tickets for the inauguration are free and usually distributed to congressional offices for distribution on a first-come, first-served basis. Her bill would charge those caught selling the tickets with a misdemeanor and a fine. The Senate meets next week for a lame-duck session where the bill could be introduced.

The Bloomberg story reports that someone paid $21,716 for a pair on eBay-owned StubHub.com, although the average price was $1,419. Four tickets are being offered today on the site for $5,350 each.

"This inauguration will be the major civic event of our time, and these tickets are supposed to be free for the people," Feinstein said in a statement. "Nobody should have to pay for their tickets."

She proposes that those given tickets be made to show a photo i.d. when they pick them up so illegal sales could be tracked.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

For now, be wary of anyone claiming to have tickets to the January 20th inauguration. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies issued a statement urging skepticism on the part of those seeking tickets to the event.

"Any Web site or ticket broker claiming that they have inaugural tickets is simply not telling the truth," Howard Gantman, the committee's staff director, said in a statement. "We urge the public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism."

ATR would like to offer the following advise to anyone looking to profit from the sale of these historic presidential momentos: If you actually do come into possession of some, keep them and DON'T GO TO THE INAUGURATION! Then wait about 25 years. Can you imagine what a serious collector will be willing to pay for, say, a pair of unused, unredeemed, mint condition tickets to the historic inauguration of America's first black president on the silver anniversary of the occasion? Let's just say that it could re-define the notion of economic stimulus.