Absurd Open-Market Forces in the US: Ohtani Effect Leads to Soaring Dodgers Ticket Prices and Empty Ballpark Seats

Published in Sankei Shimbun
(Japan) on 3 May 2024
by Kiyoshi Ouchi (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Patricia Simoni.
One thing that bewilders me in the U.S. is the power of the “free market.”

For instance, when purchasing an airline ticket, prices fluctuate drastically because of supply and demand. For one business trip, I had to buy another ticket because my flight was canceled, and the price had jumped to five times the original rate, so I reluctantly changed my plans to a trip by train. Because there was no fault on my part as a customer, I felt, “This is absurd.”

Even in professional sports, tickets for popular teams have become expensive. In the case of the Dodgers, a Major League Baseball team, since Shohei Ohtani and other players joined the team, it was reported that prices on major ticket sales websites had just about doubled since the previous season.

A few days ago, I attended a game between the local team and the Dodgers in Washington, D.C., and sure enough, the ticket prices were considerably higher than the base price. The empty seats in the stadium were conspicuous. At that time, I thought, “Such a misplacement of priorities.”

Right now, this is an era where all kinds of tickets are purchased online. According to U.S. media, it appears that the optimal price for the seller is calculated by algorithms based on supply and demand data.

Reasonable prices will please more customers. Free market forces do not necessarily meet modest expectations on the customers' side. Again and again, I shake my head in bewilderment and say “This is absurd!”


米国の不条理な市場原理 大谷効果でドジャースのチケット高騰も球場には空席

米国で戸惑うことの一つに、「市場原理」の強力さがある。

例えば航空券は購入時点の需要と供給で大きく価格が変動する。ある出張時、予約した便が欠航となったのでチケットを買い直そうとしたら、価格が5倍にはね上がっていて、やむなく鉄道に切り替えたことがあった。利用者側に何の非もないだけに「こんなの理不尽だ」と感じたものだ。

プロスポーツでも、人気チームのチケットは高値となる。大リーグ・ドジャースの場合、今季から大谷翔平選手らが加入した効果で、大手販売サイトでの価格が前季の約2倍に高騰したとの報道もあった。

先日、ワシントンで行われた地元チームとドジャースの試合を観戦したのだが、チケットはやはり基本価格よりかなり高め。スタジアムは空席が目立った。この時は「こんなの本末転倒だ」と思った。

今や、どんなチケットもオンライン購入の時代。米メディアによると、需給データから一定の計算方法(アルゴリズム)で売り手側にとっての最適価格が決まる仕組みらしい。

手ごろな価格でより多くの客を楽しませる。そんな消費者側のささやかな期待に、市場原理は必ずしも応えてくれない。「こんなの不条理だ」と首をかしげることもしばしばだ。(大内清)
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