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Scalpers team up with students for easy money

SOME ticket scalpers at the World Expo site are now hiring high school and college students on summer vocation to line up for reservation tickets to popular pavilions and sell them for profit.

Some students even started the business themselves on shopping websites, including Taobao.com, to sell reservation tickets from 100 yuan (US$15) to 600 yuan each, depending on the popularity of the pavilion.

A ticket scalper, surnamed Gao, charged 600 yuan for bringing visitors to the Saudi Arab Pavilion via its VIP channel. He worked at home contacting customers while the students at the Expo site would lead visitors to the pavilion.

Gao said he paid each student 100 yuan for one deal and he could make about 10 deals every day.

"The students are lining up for the job to make fast money," said Gao. He earned the lion's share of 500 yuan for each deal because he said he was playing the key role of winning customers online, bargaining with them and fixing the deal.

He said he could gain VIP access to the Saudi Arab Pavilion easily because he knew some staff workers at the pavilion. But he refused to give their names.

A security guard patrolling around the pavilion said the business was illegal but it was hard for them to tell scalpers and their student collaborators from other visitors.



 

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