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Hey Yoda! Got tickets?
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May 18, 1999: 7:04 p.m. ET
Scalpers take to the Net to peddle tickets to 'Star Wars' premier
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Psst! Buddy, got $4 million for a "Phantom Menace" ticket?
Wednesday's premier of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" is just a few hours away and some might think the desire for tickets to the mega-event is getting a little out of hand.
"Keep your eyes peeled for ticket scalpers!"
Sure, people have quit their jobs to camp out in front of theaters, but, hey, they're just showing their devotion, right?
The online auction site eBay (EBAY) has bids for roughly 300 tickets to the George Lucas fantasy film, but the one that might cause heads to turn -- and possibly explode like the Death Star -- is the one with an asking price of $4,000,225.
Four million bucks? What would Princess Leia say? Well, we know what she'd probably say, we just can't repeat it.
"I'm sure no one will bid for it," said Dave Desvousges of Minneapolis, the man behind the prodigious price tag. "But who knows? Someone like Bill Gates might be hanging around eBay. …"
Desvousges said he's already made about $3,000 selling "Phantom Menace" tickets, as he and a couple of friends bought tickets at such places at the Mall of America (no relation to Darth Maul, we trust).
Now, it was time for a little fun. So he went to eBay and made his multi-million dollar pitch, which also includes the message, "I will be your date to this show. I am hot!"
"I've a bunch of e-mails," Desvousges said. "Some ask is this a joke, while others say 'what a stupid @!#& you are.' "
"You sure you don't have an extra ticket?"
Tom Shubert of Calabasas, Calif., was offering his tickets on eBay for the slightly more down-to-earth price of $40 for two, but as of Wednesday afternoon, he had yet to receive a bid.
"I'm kind of surprised," said Shubert, a computer consultant. "I really expected more interest."
Desvousges, for one, isn't terribly surprised, noting that "the hard core people who really wanted tickets already have them."
"I can see it definitely dying out," he said. "We got the most money off the tickets about 10 minutes after we bought them."
Shubert, who also is attending a 12:01 a.m. showing of the film, noted that some of the early reviews have been unenthusiastic. He said he probably will sell his extra tickets at the theater. A first time ticket entrepreneur, Shubert said he got some angry responses from acquaintances who objected to his capitalistic ways.
"Everyone has a chance to wait in line," he said. "It's like anything else. It's how our economy works. It's not like it's exploiting the right to life, the way some people did after the earthquake. Nobody needs to see 'Star Wars.' "
Shubert said he is keeping his fingers crossed about issues surrounding ticket-scalping laws. A spokeswoman for the California Attorney General's office said the statutes vary depending on the municipality.
"I want my ticket and I want it now!"
Kevin Pursglove, eBay's senior communications director, said the company will close down any auction that violates real world laws.
As far as the "Phantom Menace" mania, Pursglove said that while it's unusual to see so many movie tickets being sold on the cyber-block, anything connected with "Star Wars" is bound to sell.
"You'll find about 23,000 'Star Wars' items for sale year 'round," he said. "The 'Star Wars' craze continues."
Now if $4 million is a bit high for you and you're not one for online bidding, you can try the classified sections of local newspapers.
A call Tuesday to a number listed in the Dallas Morning News advertising "Phantom Menace" tickets was answered by a either a very small child or a really young Jedi knight.
"I'm watching television," the youngster said, before signing off.
May the Force be with you, kid.
---by staff writer Rob Lenihan
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