HOUSTON – The free tickets for rapper Kayne West's service at Lakewood Church on Sunday were claimed within minutes after they were posted online Saturday morning. As with other major concerts and events, soon after, tickets began appearing on resale websites like eBay and Craigslist for as high as $500.
Lakewood Church warned that the tickets are “non-transferrable,” in a statement earlier in the week.
"In regards to tickets being sold on StubHub, all of the tickets are non-transferable. Lakewood wants to warn everyone that all tickets posted on StubHub or any other ticketing sites are fraud."
The church also said any tickets that are not from Ticketmaster will be considered fraudulent.
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That, of course, hasn't stopped people from posting the tickets for resale. So how are they flouting the church's rules?
One listing posted on Craigslist offers two tickets to the service for $200. The seller wrote, "These are mobile tickets so not printable or transferrable. After purchase I will send you my Ticketmaster login information, you will need to download the Ticketmaster app and sign in to load the tickets (sic)."
Another seller on Craigslist wrote, "I will even meet at event lineup to ensure entry with Ticketmaster mobile tickets!"
West will perform at Lakewood Church at the 7 p.m. service on Sunday. For people with tickets, doors open at 5:30 p.m.
There is no word yet on how Lakewood Church plans to curb such tactics.
This story was originally published by our sister station in Houston, KPRC.