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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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EBay Bans Inaugural Ticket Sales

Pressure from Congress over scalpers, counterfeit invitations

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(Newser) – EBay and StubHub have removed offers for tickets to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama from their websites. Tickets to the inauguration, a free but invitation-only event, have been offered for as much as $7,500, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some 240,000 people will attend the event outside the US Capitol January 20.    

The decision came after a meeting between eBay executives and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Officials were concerned that some, if not all, of the offers were scams. No tickets offered on the sites have been distributed. Inauguration tickets are usually distributed by members of Congress and administration officials.

Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, threatened to introduce legislation to make selling inaugural tickets a misdemeanor.
Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, threatened to introduce legislation to make selling inaugural tickets a misdemeanor.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
President-elect Barack Obama. EBay has banned ticket sales to his historic inaugural ceremony from its sites.
President-elect Barack Obama. EBay has banned ticket sales to his historic inaugural ceremony from its sites.   (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
Workers build the presidential inauguration reviewing stand in front of the White House.
Workers build the presidential inauguration reviewing stand in front of the White House.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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EBay sites ban inaugural tickets
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eBay • Dianne Feinstein • StubHub • inauguration • tickets • President Obama • Inauguration Day • U.S. Capitol • Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies

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