KEY POINTS:
League ambassador and Mad Butcher Peter Leitch is furious legitimate fans have missed out on warriors tickets because scalpers are selling them for inflated prices on Trade Me.
Leitch said the scalpers are "low life mongrels" and said if he ever meets one, he will "spit in their face".
He said he has had people crying to him because they have missed out.
However, online scalpers are set to continue to benefit from the Warriors' success.
The remaining 15,000 tickets for the Warriors' playoff match against the Eels at Mt Smart Stadium were snapped up in less than an hour yesterday morning.
And equally as fast were the auctions that were posted on Trade Me, selling the tickets to the Warriors' first finals appearance since 2002 at even higher prices shortly after the legitimate sales closed.
Trade Me said today it will not remove Warriors tickets.
TradeMe manager of trust and safety Dean Winter said the terms and conditions of the tickets do not prevent them from being on-sold.
He said a recent online poll showed 85 per cent of respondents wanted tickets to be available and no laws are being broken.
This morning there were more than 100 auctions on Trade Me, selling the tickets with excuses ranging from "someone else bought one for me" to "a workmate doesn't want them".
One punter has posted a "buy now" price of $400 for two premium covered tickets, a near 300 per cent mark up on the $110 he would have paid for them.
His posting drew the online wrath of some who felt ripped off but the man said he was trying to raise money to pay another online scalper $500 for a ticket to the Justin Timberlake concert.
More than 29,000 people will be at the stadium on Friday night and about 5000 temporary seats have been brought in to cater for the huge demand.
Ticketek New Zealand general manager Brendon Bainbridge said the online demand for the tickets was greater than that for the Rolling Stones' concerts held here last year.
"At any one time we had 4000 people trying to get tickets," he said.
"It's a cliche but you really did have to be fast or you'd be last."
The Warriors, who have lost giant winger Manu Vatuvei to injury but are buoyed by the return of Ruben Wiki, go in to the match as $1.72 favourites at the TAB against the Eels, who are paying $2.07.
The Eels will come to Mt Smart in a confident mood - although this has been played down by captain Nathan Cayless - after they bashed the Brisbane Broncos 68-22 on Sunday.
- with NEWSTALK ZB
