The Buckeyes are undefeated and returning to Ohio Stadium to take on Michigan this year, which means ticket prices for this weekend’s game are on the rise.

The minimum asking price for OSU-Michigan tickets has risen to about $200.

The bidding on four tickets in section 15C has reached $1,450 on eBay; the bidding on a pair of tickets in section 27A has reached $610.

One hopeful person is asking for $4,000 on eBay for a pair of tickets in section 19D . No one has bid on the tickets yet.

Eilleen Kula, a graduate student in industrial engineering, said her friend was selling a pair of tickets for $500.

“She doesn’t want to sell them to a student because she feels guilty about asking for so much,” Kula said.

Alat Hamad, a sophomore in political science, disagrees. He said any enthusiastic fan would pay $200-$300, regardless of their status as alumnus, parent, or student.

High ticket prices mean demand is high, and ticket counterfeiting is one result of that demand.

“When you get a high-profile game, that’s when you’ll normally see counterfeits,” University Police Chief Ron Michalec said.

Michalec said University Police usually receive four or five reports of stolen tickets per game, along with several people who are not sure if the tickets they purchased are genuine.

So far this year there have been no reports of counterfeit tickets, Michalec said. He cautioned that it could happen at any time, however.

Buyers, sellers, and holders of OSU-Michigan tickets will want to make sure the tickets are not stolen or counterfeit.

“If we see anybody that has them, then we immediately will confiscate them and charge (the person) with criminal simulation,” Michalec said.

The difficult part for University Police will be in determining if tickets are stolen. They look no different from other tickets, and there are no indicators of ownership on the tickets themselves.

On the other hand, Michalec said, security measures on the tickets make identifying counterfeits much easier.

“You will not have the hologram on it, that’s not been duplicated as of yet,” he said.

The best way to ensure tickets are genuine, Michalec said, is to buy them from reputable sources.

“I’d rather be buying either from the university itself or from somebody that I knew had purchased a ticket legitimately, like a friend,” he said. “I don’t think I’d ever go to a scalper and buy tickets.”

If ticket buyers go to scalpers, they should keep one thing in mind: apart from the sanctions on stolen or counterfeit tickets, there are no rules about how scalpers go about buying and selling tickets.

“As far as scalpers are concerned, as long as they don’t go into the street, as long as they sell them from the sidewalk, they can sell and buy all day long,” Michalec said. “You can sell tickets for any price.”

The only other restriction mentioned by Michalec was that scalpers must be licensed by the City of Columbus as a vendor.

Michalec said counterfeit tickets will probably always be a problem.

“I don’t know if (ticket fraud) will ever go away,” he said. “I’m sure there are people who will try to counterfeit no matter what.”