WASHINGTON (AP) — Tickets to President Barack Obama's inauguration are supposed to be free, but they're being peddled on eBay and Craigslist for up to $2,000 apiece.
Congressional offices and the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which are both distributing tickets to inaugural events, are trying to clamp down on the black market. So far, their efforts haven't stopped online entrepreneurs.
"These tix are going like hot cakes, and for FAR more than I am listing them for on here," boasted one anonymous seller in a post Wednesday on the website Craigslist.
The seller, who did not return an email from The Associated Press, offered two seats to the Jan. 21 swearing-in at the Capitol for $4,000. Those tickets are supposed to be free from congressional offices. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies issued some 250,000 for lawmakers to dole out however they see fit.
Although tickets for the swearing-in ceremony are free, some other inaugural events charge admission.
The presidential committee is sold out of $25 tickets to the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and $60 tickets to one of its two inaugural balls. (Tickets to a second ball, for members of the armed services, are being distributed for free.) The committee says it's contacting ticket brokers and websites where tickets are being sold and asking that they be alerted to scalping efforts.
Even with the warnings, the Internet marketplace is thriving.Online ads on sites like Craigslist, eBay and StubHub offered ticket packages Wednesday for upward of $4,000 to presidential committee events.
The seller, who didn't reply to an AP inquiry, said in the ad she also would take cash.
Before her halftime performance Feb. 3 at Super Bowl XLVII, she’ll be singing the national anthem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony Jan. 21 on the Capitol steps in Washington, D.C.
