Scalpers Jack Up Ticket Prices for Blake Shelton’s Sold Out Oklahoma Benefit Show

No good deed goes unpunished, apparently. Blake Shelton staged his 'Healing in the Heartland' benefit show for the victims of the tornado that struck Moore, Okla. on May 20 in record time. Naturally, took just minutes for the show to sell out... and even less time for some wrongdoers to miss the purpose of the charity event completely.

Scalpers scooped up a bulk of tickets to the event, set for Wednesday night (May 29) at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, selling them on eBay and Craigslist for nearly 10 times the face value and making it harder for those who want to help victims to attend.

The 'Healing in the Heartland' show was booked with the singular goal of raising money for those who are hurting following the tragedy. The concert features A-list performers, including Oklahomans Reba McEntire and Vince Gill, among others. Obviously, for scalpers to make a profit off the fact that it sold out and that tickets are coveted is disheartening.

Initial reports indicated that the show sold out in a less than a minute. Updated reports say it took 12 minutes to sell out, which is still incredibly impressive. Some victims have been so busy recovering from the tragedy and cleaning up the mess the tornado left behind that they only learned recently learned about the concert. By then, it was too late to buy tickets at cost.

"Well, now that is wrong, that is way wrong. That is really not the Oklahoma spirit we have," tornado victim Terry Heiskill says, referring to scalpers that have driven up the price of tickets.

"I hate scalping, but it's a fact of life, it's a fact of our industry," Chesapeake Arena sales director Tim Linville adds. "Like I said, people be really careful of who you give your money to."

Most businesses run on a profit and loss model, but this is one case where scalpers should not profit from the loss that Oklahomans have experienced. The artists aren't profiting from the show -- why should a scalper?

'Healing in the Heartland' will be broadcast live on NBC at 9PM ET Wednesday evening. It will be a telethon, so those not in attendance can still phone in their donations.