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Originally published December 21, 2009 at 5:22 PM | Page modified December 21, 2009 at 11:31 PM

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Ticket-resale site up for Vancouver Games

The long-awaited ticket-resale site managed by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Games is up and running.

By Ron Judd

Seattle Times staff columnist

The long-awaited ticket-resale site managed by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Games is up and running.

Fans looking to buy 2010 Games tickets from other fans can do so at VANOC's web site, www.vancouver2010.com. But there are a couple significant catches, especially for Americans.

Americans can purchase tickets, but not sell on the "fan-to-fan" site.However, if U.S. residents purchase a "fan-to-fan" ticket or tickets on the site and then wish to resell them, they can do so on the site, a VANOC spokesman said.

The service also comes with a price: VANOC will take its own 20-percent cut— 10 percent charged to the seller, 10 percent to the buyer — from tickets it has already sold once.

The opening ceremonies are Feb. 12, with closing ceremonies Feb. 28.

International visitors, including those from the U.S., will need to register for an account.

The ticket-trade site, managed by VANOC contractor Tickets.com, previously was open only to Canadians.

Other important details:

• There's no limit on the number of seats ticket holders can post for resale, nor is there a ceiling on asking price. Sellers can adjust their asking price or remove posted tickets at any time.

• If tickets do not sell by 24 hours before an event's start time, VANOC will cancel the posting and the tickets will remain in the seller's account.

The site also will allow dealing in tickets for the Paralympic Games. Because it is a major Olympic sponsor, Visa is the only accepted method of payment.

Prices are expected to be high initially, as sellers test the market. If you're serious about buying tickets, it might be better to wait.

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The site also includes a mechanism to donate tickets to community groups, with no fee for that service. The donation service is primarily a mechanism for sponsors and others with blocks of tickets that might go unused to donate them to charity. Previous Olympics have suffered from "empty-seat phenomenon" when sponsor tickets went unused.

The site, the first of its kind for an Olympics, is aimed to ensure full venues, and help guarantee that tickets come from authorized distributors.

Ron Judd: 206-464-8280 or at rjudd@seattletimes.com

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