Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Isaacson aims to slash fees charged to consumers by ticket resellers

Isaacson aims to slash fees charged to consumers by ticket resellers

 State Rep. Mary Isaacson, D-Phila., is reaching across the aisle to cut costs for Pennsylvanians who buy event tickets through resellers.

Issacson joined her House colleague, Rep. Thomas Mehaffie, R-Dauphin, in a plan to introduce legislation that would cap extra fees at 5% for buyers and 5% for sellers, letting event goers save money while still allowing ticket resellers to profit.

According to the lawmakers, these fees can be as much as 55% on top of ticket costs and Isaacson cited the upcoming Superbowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs as an example of high ticket fees – some tickets had fees that were nearly $3,000 on top of the actual price of a ticket.

“These extremely high and arbitrary fees cause too many hardworking Pennsylvanians to be priced out of event tickets purchased through resellers,” Isaacson said.

“For example, in Philadelphia, we pride ourselves on celebrating our beloved sports and we will cheer on our beloved Eagles in the Superbowl this weekend. These outrageous fees have robbed dedicated fans from the opportunity to support the team in person.”

“Nobody is saying hardworking people can’t buy and sell tickets to events, particularly if they can’t attend those events, but we are saying there needs to be a reasonable limit on the fees an electronic middleman charges the buyers and sellers,” Mehaffie said.

Isaacson added that while companies deserve to make a profit, it should never be done by charging these fees on hardworking consumers who just want to enjoy a night at a concert or to cheer on their favorite sports teams.