Maybe the ticket market is ripe for some structural changes where wholesalers become an integral part of the value chain but I don't seriously think that this is the way to go by competing directly with retail consumers by denying them access to these tickets.
You are correct. His point would be along the lines of "There is obviously value surplus left over in the current pricing or else the ticket-reseller would not be able to have a profitable business".
The ethics of competing directly with retail consumers by denying them access to the tickets was not a consideration. Clearly their WTP was higher than the venue's/event's pricing, so they see no problem with this.
At least that was my interpretation of the situation. From a business-person's perspective it all seems reasonable enough. From a consumer's perspective it stinks to high heaven and seems like something that should be illegal.