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Let's just do a thought experiment, then. Suppose the upfront price of a Pokemon card pack is $1 billion per pack. Do you think there would still be scalpers?
Yes. At that point we'd call them investors, but yes. Buying charizards is lower time preference, but it's pretty much the same behaviour. The scalper in this case is the guy who would have bought whole boxes of cards early on.
I'm surprised that you think there'd still be a market at all at those prices.
I spoke of inequality at first. If the prices go up of course wealthier people will still buy the tickets.
Anyway, my only point is that if upfront prices go up, the number of scalpers and line-waiters should go down. I think my reasoning is pretty sound, but If you disagree, I don't really have time to convince you.
I feel the same way in the other direction. Maybe the lines get blurred between line stander and scalper but I think the behaviour would be pretty locked in.
Scalpers are a different behaviour group from the line standers. Scalpers will always exist and aim to buy as many tickets as they can move, the line stander is someone paid by one person to get a ticket. And if they start to behave like scalpers, the lines get even more blurred. I still think higher prices wouldn't curtail the behaviour. This is also ignoring that the well to do procure their tickets from the companies they work for, etc