Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

USA and Canada (April 1 - June 4, 2009). Special concert for fans in NYC (February 19). Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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mildandhazy
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 4:09 am

Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by mildandhazy »

I am trying to book 3 tickets to the Mnpls show. It looks like as of today (2/28), I can't book on Amex options anymore (whatever that was) and now there is only AEG/Venue and Friends & Family. Am I eligible being a normal fan to get these? I don't really get what these mean. And this is on ticketmaster. But then when I look at stubhub, it looks like I can start buying, but I have to buy in lots of 2, 4, 6, which doesn't help me. But I'm tempted to buy 4 and try and find someone to take my other ticket. Anyways, can someone tell me when I can buy tickets? And where I should be these tickets? And I don't know what all these options mean. thanks.
patri
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:21 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by patri »

StubHub is a broker- they buy tix and sell them for inflated prices.
I believe- from Jarkko's thread in the beginning of this list- Public sale of these tickets start on Monday - I think 10 am local time- no passwords needed- as long as there are tickets.

go to the thread I mentioned- click on your city. Right now you can buy really great seats there if you can afford the $550. or so price each- if not- check first thing -10 am is first thing- on monday-
good luck

pat
blue_94_trooper
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:50 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by blue_94_trooper »

patri wrote:StubHub is a broker- they buy tix and sell them for inflated prices.
StubHub is not a broker. They are a facilitator for consumer to consumer ticket sales. For an exhorbitant fee (15% to the seller, 10% to the buyer) they mitigate the risk of selling tickets to strangers.
patri
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:21 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by patri »

"broker Definition
broker - definition of broker - An individual or firm which acts as an intermediary between a buyer and seller, usually charging a commission."

: )
blue_94_trooper
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:50 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by blue_94_trooper »

patri wrote:StubHub is a broker- they buy tix and sell them for inflated prices.
They don't buy or sell anything. They broker deals, they are not ticket brokers. We can argue the semantics but your post implied that StubHub was setting the prices which is not correct.
mildandhazy
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 4:09 am

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by mildandhazy »

Are the tix on Stubhub going to be more expensive then buying through ticketmaster for general public? From what I am hearing on here, everyone got a pretty good deal (in my eyes) through ticketmaster...if you react quickly.
patri
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:21 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by patri »

for high demand tickets- Stubhub- will be more expensive than TM- TM is the place the tickets came from- so unless someone wants to sell their ticket at a loss- stubhub will be higher.
I agree- looking at the prices tickets are going for lately- these tickets are being sold on TM at or close to the standard rates- and I have to admit- thanks to Jarkko- it was a lot easier to get my ticket to LC than it was for Springsteen.
patri
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:21 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by patri »

and to blue_94_trooper -
I apoligize- I believe we have different definations of "broker" that is all........
enjoy the show!!!
blue_94_trooper
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:50 pm

Re: Buying Ticket Jargon - HELP

Post by blue_94_trooper »

mildandhazy wrote:Are the tix on Stubhub going to be more expensive then buying through ticketmaster for general public? From what I am hearing on here, everyone got a pretty good deal (in my eyes) through ticketmaster...if you react quickly.
patri wrote: TM is the place the tickets came from.

As Patri says, TicketMaster is the primary seller of the tickets (save for a few venues that have a different contract, e.g. The Academy of Music w/ TicketPhiladelphia). Any other source is a secondary market where they are being resold either by individuals (eBay, StubHub, CraigsList) or by commercial ticket brokers. The secondary sources will almost always be more expensive with the rare exception being tickets that remain unsold at the last minute.

If you strike out on TickeMaster, now is not the time to buy from another source. The days immediately following a sell-out often find the highest prices as people get frantic when they don't get tickets in the initial sale. THen they tend to drop and just before the date of the show they might climb again or they might plummet depending on the supply & demand.

If all else fails two last minute opportunities sometimes present themselves. Promoters typically hold back some tickets for promotional purposes. If any of these tickets are going to go unused they will typically pop up on TicketMaster the morning of, or the morning before the show. Often these are very good seats.

Also, a show such as this which (to be brutally honest) attracts an older crowd, will often find availability outside the night of the show. Obviously a show like the one at the Beacon, which appeared at the time to be a one-off, is an exception. But whenever you have an event attracting a large number of middle-age people you get lots of people who have to cancel at the last minute, e.g. Bob had to fly to Chicago to lay off 400 people, Jim had to meet with his divorce lawyer, Bill & Carol's babysitter caught the flu, etc. People will bring their spares with the thought of getting their money back but in reality have no interest in standing outside hawking those tickets and will often take whatever they can get. This is especially effective if you are only looking for single tickets.

At older-demographic, arena shows there are often so many spares floating around you can get in for free without too much effort.
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