Star Wars Scalpers Go Online

From TIME Digital: Many auctions include photos of first-day tickets

By Nathaniel Wice Friday, May 14, 1999
    • MovieFone relaunched its site earlier this week, boasting in a press release on Tuesday that it was "Just in Time for Release of Star Wars: Episode 1." But ready it was not.

    The next day -- one week before opening -- advance Phantom Menace tickets went on sale at 3 p.m. EDT. Both the MovieFone Web site and 777-FILM phone system promptly buckled under the crush of fanatics. MovieFone put out another press release Wednesday blaming local phone companies for phone errors that greeted callers with the un-Force-like recording "all circuits are busy." MORE >>