billski
Active member
Just out of curiosity, any legal types know the exact legal aspects of resale of lift tickets? Just because a business makes a policy does not make it legally true. For example, what if publishers starting putting fine print on a book that it could not be resold (not an on par example as one is an item and the other is a service, but you get the jist). Lots of times business say you can't do something when in fact they do not have any legal ground to stand on. Just curious if the law backs this up when it comes to resale of lift tickets after they have been purchased or transfer of lift tickets at the same price.
I fully understand if site administration feels that there is a legal issue here and does not want AZ allowing black market trading going on. It seems that the law would support the ski areas claim on this item, I just wanted clarification regarding my question above.
This policy would be more respectable if it was explicitly being set forth as liability protection for AZ and not allowing illegal black market trading versus industry insiders setting an agenda based on good relations (which it appears to me). You have to wonder if that is a slippery slope, perhaps criticism of industry insiders who post here will be not allowed either eventually and so on down that line.
ACE covers itself by making ticket purchasers sign a ticket agreement (done by an attorney) wherein the purchaser agrees to abide by the rules of each specific marketing entity. This puts the onus of responsibility upon the ticket holder and for the most part obviates the need for the club to "police" these things. Greg has chosen a more broad-sweeping restriction, which is, in effect, the policing of the policy.
AZ is a different type of entity than a club, which can impose specific control over it's membership. eBay as a model, makes you sign a form before you begin transactions. Of course as a for-profit entity, it can afford to police, by trolling for illegal activities. We can't expect Greg to do that.
Another aspect to consider is the penalties and their enforcement. If you read further along on the waivers, you see a citation that the prohibition is enforcible by state-specific general laws, under "theft of service" statute. I don't have the vouchers before me, so I can't quote specfically. So Steve, to answer your question, they do seem to be consistent with prevailing law and do appear to be punishable.
Enforcement is another matter. Two people selling tickets in a resort parking lot is just as illegal as the ticket hawker on the street during Red Sox game day selling above face value. Both are illegal. So are ticket brokers(don't get me going.) However, most enforcement efforts are not well funded, so most often, they will "cherry-pick" where they get the biggest bang. Posting illegal transactions on a forum as broad and public as AZ is tantamount to putting a "kick me" sign on your back and would inevitably taint the reputation of the forum.
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