Official 2013 Inaugural Ball Sells Out Before the Sale

People hoping to attend one of President Obama's two official Inaugural balls woke up Monday morning to find out that they are likely out of luck.

The Washington Post reported Monday that the tickets sold through Ticketmaster sold out before they even went on sale, blaming the error on a "computer glitch at Ticketmaster."

The official Inaugural Committee's Facebook page had nearly 400 messages Monday afternoon from people irate about the incident.

"Make this Ticketmaster thing right or lose a lot of volunteers for the festivities," wrote one woman named Barbara.

A woman named Judy wrote: "This should have been a fair process in which all who were selected had a chance at the public tickets. I took off work to be home Monday just so I would not miss the chance to purchase tickets. I am so disappointed that I was told to watch for them on Monday and then they show up a few hours later on Sunday. I made plans to attend the inauguration already and wanted so much to attend this ball. I feel cheated."

Here's the official word from the inaugural committee, on their Web site:

"Americans from across the country have been invited to share in the inaugural celebration at The Inaugural Ball on January 21, 2013, a unified celebration for all Americans that will span every hall of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Presidential Inaugural Committee has made a limited number of tickets for The Inaugural Ball available online to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. Unfortunately, due to overwhelming demand, tickets are no longer available. To learn more about how you can get involved in other Inauguration weekend events, visit: http://action.2013pic.org/The-Inauguration."

Some "scalped" tickets—for official balls, the parade and even the swearing-in ceremony—may be finding their way for sale online. On Craigslist, people are seeking out tickets to Inaugural balls and to the parade.

One person on Craigslist was trying to trade four parade tickets plus $150 cash for one Inaugural ball ticket. Another ticket-holder is selling four parade tickets for $4,000.

A Web site called Stagefront is selling official Inaugural ball tickets for $1,500 per ticket.

Too pricey? You could always try winning tickets from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.