We warned you. Though D.C. isn't expected to draw anywhere near the same amount of visitors as the previous inauguration, people are still charging crazy amounts for inauguration tickets on Craigslist and eBay. Even though tickets for the inauguration are supposed to be free, they're currently being sold on both sites for as much as $2,000 per ticket.
Tickets to President Obama's Jan. 21 swearing-in have been given to Congress, and they're to distribute them for free. Now, both the congressional offices and the Presidential Inaugural Committee are trying to intervene in this black market for tickets. They aren't succeeding.
On Wednesday, one anonymous seller bragged "These tix are going like hot cakes, and for FAR more than I am listing them for on here," on Craigslist. The same hustler was offering two seats for $4,000. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies handed out about 250,000 tickets for Congress to distribute—for free.
Though scalping the tickets isn't illegal, the committee's chairman Senator Chuck Schumer is encouraging Congress to distribute the tickets fairly and to discourage scalpers. Some members have already seen the tickets they were promised appear online.
The actual tickets aren't officially handed out until a few days before the inauguration, but there's really a black market for everything.
[via NY Daily News]
