Banned Live 8 Ticket Sellers Find New Home

Philadelphia, PA June 17, 2005 — Early Wednesday morning, amid controversy and speculation, the online auction website eBay removed all auction listings for London Live 8 concert tickets, yet within a few hours TicketAuction.net, a specialty auction site dedicated to the resale of event tickets, announced they were gladly accepting listings for the show, under certain conditions.

An original solution to the controversy over the resale of Live 8 tickets was for eBay to donate their listing fees in order to not profit off of a charity event. Ticket Auction also has special restrictions on charitable events. Ticket Auction announced that they will also donate all of their profits after expenses to the Live 8 Charitable Foundation.

In a statement on their website, TicketAuction.net explained why they felt the auctions were valid citing the legality of the sale and stated that the resale of tickets will only lead to more donations and exposure for the live 8 charity. Faced with the possibility of fake tickets and bids, the website claims that they will require sellers to provide proof of a ticket confirmation in combination with already stringent fraud safeguards including the recommended use of an escrow service.

The star studded London show includes performers such as U2, Paul McCartney, a newly reunited Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Madonna and REM. Geldof's July 2nd concert used a text message lottery to give out the 75,000 pairs of tickets in hopes that rather than raising money (like the 1985 Live Aid), the 2005 concerts would increase awareness of African poverty and subsequently influence leaders during the G8 summit.

The two-day G8 summit starts in Scotland a few days after the concerts occur. More than 2 million text messages were sent by people hoping to get tickets. Demand for the few available seats is very strong.

Ticket Auction Inc is an online auction website specializing in the resale of high demand and premium event tickets. A recent review of Ticket-Auction.net showed over twenty thousand other event ticket auctions currently running.