AC/DC ALIVE AND KICKING WORLD TOUR

AUSSIE rockers AC/DC know better than anyone that there's a flip side to the words of their blockbuster hit Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

In this case, three decades on, it's the dirty deeds of the new generation of scalpers who have left the supergroup's fans paying a high price.

As the internet turns scalping into a multi-million dollar business, the ticket hyenas are now a sharper, more organised breed than the old rough-hewn rorters once found spruiking fistfuls of tickets outside the SCG, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Today, multiple high-limit credit cards are used to buy tickets in bulk before the scalpers set up shop online.

And that means too many tour ac dc fans hoping to nab reasonably priced concert tickets this week weren't getting anything dirt cheap.

If the promoter and ticketek cared about scalpers, they'd do something about it. This has been going on forever, so they obviously don't give 2 bits about the scalpers or th...

Murray of sydney
It's a situation that has left Suzanne Daley-Carr, from concert industry body Live Performance Australia, seeing red.

"There are always going to be certain elements who will take advantage of hot tickets ... and we witnessed that this week with AC/DC," she said.

The escalating row over consumer protection for fans between the entertainment industry and online auction sites such as eBay is now getting close to a declaration of war. But they are already old enemies.

In 2006, a court ruled in favour of eBay after it argued promoters of The Big Day Out breached the Trade Practices Act by banning tickets sold at auctions for inflated prices.

The industry argues online auctions leave fans exposed, while sites like eBay say promoters should ensure responsible, manageable sale of tickets.

"The industry doesn't support the role eBay plays in the secondary market as far as we are concerned," Ms Daley-Carr said.

ac tour co-promoter Michael Chugg was horrified to learn some scalpers were setting up shop on eBay two weeks before tickets went on sale.

He said: "Not a single ticket had been printed."

Meanwhile, fans have been paying up to six times the original sale price to see the legendary bad boys of Aussie rock. But eBay spokesman Daniel Feiler denied eBay was responsible for the inflated prices.

"It's extraordinary that promoters don't make sure the genuine fans get tickets in the first place," he said.

A big part of the problem is consumer rights. The industry maintains eBay can't guarantee consumers anything, including refunds.

"By using eBay, you are risking your rights, your money and paying far more," Ms Daley-Carr said.

However, eBay boasts about its unique ratings for customer behaviour and a secure payment system Feiler said gave customers more safeguards than buying tickets from "the bloke down the pub".

Mr Chugg sees a legitimate exception for the resale market: reselling tickets that can't be used because of genuine, unforeseen circumstances - "redistribution, not profiteering".

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