Getting the Best Ticket Deal Possible

For people that love going to live events it is critical to understand the process for purchasing tickets, and the ways to get the best pricing possible on any ticket you are looking for. There are many ways to find discount pricing on tickets, and there are also things that you should always be on the look-out for when you are purchasing tickets from a place other than the venue that is hosting the event.

How to get a Bargain on Your Next Ticket Purchase

Everyone loves a bargain, and if you can get tickets at low prices then that can help add to the enjoyment of the event. There are some great ways for you to get discounts on tickets for your favourite upcoming events, and some of those ways can be a lot of fun.

  • To try and get the best bargain possible on tickets to an upcoming event, you can try to win tickets in a contest or on the radio if it is a concert.
  • Most live events offer local radio stations a block of tickets to give away for upcoming events, and the radio stations usually give these tickets away in an easy-to-follow and organized fashion.
  • It may seem like a long shot, and you should not use this as your only way to get event tickets, but never underestimate the power of being that next caller to win free event tickets.
  • Radio stations are a great way to get discount tickets beyond trying to win free tickets on the air.
  • Many radio stations offer VIP fan clubs on their website that you can sign up for and become notified of any ticket pricing specials the station may be offering for upcoming events. You would be surprised at the excellent deals the local radio stations get on tickets for upcoming events.
  • If you are trying to get a discount on tickets for a live music performance, try signing up for the performer’s internet fan club.
  • Many performers offer discounts to registered members of their fan club for tickets on upcoming live events. All you need to do is sign up on their website, and then wait for an email notification of special ticket pricing.
  • Some online fan clubs also offer the option of pre-sale tickets, which allows you to purchase tickets from a special website prior to their actual advertised sale date. You might not save any money off the face value of the ticket, but you can be assured of getting a ticket for its retail price and avoid paying more from another ticket source.
  • In many cases the best price you will find for a ticket is the face value when tickets go on sale at the box office or on the internet. Be certain to find out when tickets go on sale, and then try to be there to get tickets before they sell-out.
  • When an event advertises as being sold out, it is not always completely sold out. In some cases promoters will hold back blocks of tickets for promotional events or for band VIPs. It is also possible that the promoter decided to open up seats with less than appealing views of the stage, but these tickets are sold at a discount because of their viewing angle. You can sometimes find a great deal on tickets if you stay in regular contact with the box office.
  • The closer it gets to the time of the event, the higher the ticket prices go from alternate ticketing sources. However, if you manage to find an alternate ticketing source that has tickets only minutes before show time then they may be willing to sell you tickets at significant discount to avoid being stuck with those tickets. This only works with alternate ticketing sources as those sources need to sell the tickets they have to make any profit. The venue will be selling tickets at face value right up to show time, but you may be able to find a great deal from an alternate ticketing source.

How to Spot a Fake Ticket

Buying tickets from alternate ticketing sources can be a risk. It can be difficult to tell when you are buying a genuine ticket, and when you are being sold a fake. There are a few things you can do to insure that you are buying a good ticket, and it pays to be vigilant even if the alternate ticketing source is trying to rush you into a deal.

  • Always check the event name, venue, and date on a ticket before you purchase it from an alternate ticketing source.
  • This is especially true for tickets to sporting events where the home team plays many games throughout the season. Make sure that the ticket you are buying is for the event you are trying to see.
  • It always helps to be familiar with the venue you are purchasing tickets for, so that you can tell if a seating assignment on a ticket makes sense or not.
  • If you see a seating assignment that looks odd for a venue you are familiar with, then walk away from that ticket purchase.
  • If you are unfamiliar with a venue, then try to have a seating chart with you so that you can check the seating assignment on the ticket with the seating chart of the venue.
  • If the ticket you are looking at does not seem to be a familiar format with the tickets you are used to seeing for the event or the venue, then consider finding a different ticketing source. This is helpful for sporting events where the team’s tickets have a format you may be familiar with, and this will help you spot a ticket that seems out of place.
  • Make sure the ticket has a barcode on it, and check the back for terms and conditions as well. Many times a fake ticket will either not have a bar code on it, or the bar code will be all zeros. Be on the watch for fake bar codes.
  • Most concert tickets have a hologram image on the back, or they have the terms and conditions of the sale printed on the back of the ticket. If neither of these is on the back of the ticket, then walk away from the sale.
  • Look for typographical errors or missing information on the front of the ticket to check and see if it is real or a fake. The ticket should include important information like the price of the ticket, the name of the event, a website for the event, and the name of the ticketing entity. If any of this information is missing then the ticket could be a fake. Also look for obvious typographical errors, such as a misspelling of the event name or the venue name. Keep in mind that sometimes strange abbreviations are used on real tickets for this information, so you may want to make yourself as familiar with the wording practices of the ticketing entity before you purchase tickets.

Getting the Best from the Primary Ticket Market

It is sometimes less stressful to buy tickets for events from the primary ticket providers in the industry, but even when you buy from the primary providers you can still get some great deals. Whether you are purchasing from Ticketmaster, the venue, or the artists themselves you can always find great prices on tickets for live events.

  • One of the largest ticketing entities in England is Ticketmaster, and you can find them conveniently at http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Ticketmaster is a very large company that is one of the first choices for handling the ticketing of major events all over the country. But even large companies like Ticketmaster offer some great pricing deals.
  • One of the ways that Ticketmaster can help you get a deal on your ticket purchase, is by helping you find live events that you may want to see that are lower priced tickets than other events. Ticketmaster’s website offers several guides that you can use to find events that you would be interested in seeing, and at prices that are significantly lower than other major events.
  • Ticketmaster is sometimes allowed to do pre-sale of tickets for selected events, and this is a great way for you to get tickets before the public does at face value. When an event sells out, face value suddenly becomes quite a bargain. When you join up with the Ticketmaster website, you are kept well informed of pre-sale tickets and any other ticket discounts that they offer.
  • Ticketmaster is constantly offering discounts on popular tickets, and great ticket deals on the most current and fast-selling events. The way to stay informed is to sign-up for the Ticketmaster newsletter, and use it to find discounts on the events that you want to see.
  • Sometimes the performers offer excellent ticketing deals for their upcoming events directly from their website.
  • This practice is becoming more common as the internet becomes the primary way that people do business. In some cases you can buy discounted tickets directly from the artist, or they will supply you with a special code that you can use at a site like Ticketmaster to get discounts on your tickets.
  • The best way to stay informed of these discounts is to register with the performer’s website, and then keep an eye out for notices in your email.
  • One of the things that people forget is that service charges can sometimes vary depending on where you buy your ticket from.
  • Even if an event is ticketed through Ticketmaster, you still have the chance to purchase tickets at a lower cost directly from the venue.
  • In many cases, the venue does not apply the same ticketing fees that the online providers charge. So even though you would wind up getting a Ticketmaster ticket from the venue, you may bypass some of the ticketing fees that Ticketmaster would normally charge.
  • You can try this with authorized ticketing outlets as well. In some cases, Ticketmaster outlets may not charge the same fees that Ticketmaster does and this can help you to get a discount on your ticket price compared to if you purchased directly from Ticketmaster.

    • Using the Secondary Ticket Market to get a Good Deal on Tickets

    In your search for a good value on an event ticket, you may wind up trying some of the other ticketing websites such as Seatwave.com. While these sites can seem to be lifesavers when you really need a good deal on a ticket, it is a good idea to be very careful when purchasing tickets this way.

    • Buying tickets from online auction sites used to be a very risky venture, but eBay has implemented several policies that make it a little safer to purchase tickets online.
    • The eBay rating system is an excellent way to protect yourself. If a seller has a history of credible transactions, then you can purchase tickets from them with confidence. A seller with a history of problems with ticket sales, or no history at all, may be a seller you want to avoid.
    • If you can find a reliable source on eBay, then you can probably find some excellent deals on event tickets.
    • Unless you already have a positive history using Craigslist to purchase tickets, then you may want to avoid using Craigslist as a secondary source for tickets.
    • Sites like Seatwave.com and Viagogo.com are usually reliable sources for event tickets, but even with a seemingly legitimate website you still want to remain vigilant.
    • In many cases, the listings on these kinds of sites can contain inaccurate information. The prices for the tickets may be posted incorrectly, or the availability of the tickets may be different than the posted numbers. Always check with the supplier before finalising your ticket purchase.
    • Make sure you are purchasing tickets that exist, and not trying to reserve the right to buy tickets as the website gets them. Sometimes the secondary sites do not have availability on event tickets, but they will still take reservation orders. Make sure you can cancel a reservation order if you manage to find tickets before the website gets them. In some cases, these sites require a non-refundable deposit to reserve the right to buy tickets when they become available. Know the rules of the website before you make your purchase.
    • Secondary websites are sometimes websites that buy tickets from other people and sell them, or they are a website that hooks up ticket buyers with ticket sellers. A website that hooks up buyers and sellers can be risky, and the website itself will usually absolve itself of that risk when you register. So be careful when buying from another person on a secondary ticketing website, and also be sure you understand the refund rules if you find out that you received a fake ticket.
    • One of the more frustrating things about secondary ticketing websites is the time frame they use to charge your credit card for the purchase. This may seem minor, but if you are waiting for a charge to hit your card and it seems to take a very long time then this can get frustrating. It can also get frustrating when you make your purchase and your tickets do not show up for a long period of time, and your card is not charged either. You start to wonder if you have tickets coming at all, and this can make anyone anxious as the event date approaches. Make sure you read the rules on how the website charges your card, and be certain that you are comfortable with these rules before doing business.

    Ten of the Most Expensive Event Tickets of All Time

    Event tickets can seem expensive these days, but there are some event tickets that hold the all-time record for being the most expensive ever. In some cases it is the context in which the tickets were being sold that made them expensive, in other cases they are just some really expensive tickets.

    The Jacksons World Tour – 1984

    • This was the tour that broke the $20.00 USD per ticket barrier, and back in 1984 it was unheard of to pay $20.00 USD for a concert ticket.
    • This was one of the most publicized tours of its time, and it was heavily promoted by boxing promoter Don King.

    Barbara Streisand in Australia – 2000

    • Streisand is known for pricing her concert tickets extremely high, but for this tour a single front row ticket went for $1,530.00 USD.
    • Streisand performed two concerts on this tour; one in Sydney and one in Melbourne.

    Super Bowl XLII – 2009

    • The most recent Super Bowl of the National Football League boasted the highest ticket prices of all-time for the event. The ticket prices for Super Bowl XLII ranged from $2,500.00 USD for a single ticket, to an average of $21,000.00 USD per seat to sit in a luxury box. One 18-seat luxury suite cost over $300,000.00 USD in ticket sales alone.

    BCS National Championship of College Football – 2009

    • Tickets for the most recent BCS college football championship game started at $575.00 USD per ticket. On average, fans were paying up to $1,100.00 USD per ticket to see the championship game.

    Madonna World Tour – 2006

    • Madonna has charged some pretty high ticket prices in the past, and she follows a trend of more established acts asking for hundreds of dollars for a concert ticket. Madonna was asking $375.00 USD for a premium concert ticket on her 2006 world tour. Luckily for Madonna fans, the standard seating was not quite that expensive.

    Denver Center Theatre Company’s Presentation of “Tantalus” - 2009

    • “Tantalus” is a group of plays depicting various events of the Trojan Wars that will be presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company in Denver, Colorado. Tickets for this stage epic will top out at $300.00 USD each. You get your money’s worth though as the entire production runs for 15 hours.

    Led Zeppelin Reunion Tour – 2007

    • While we are trying to stay away from auctioned off tickets, this one seemed appropriate to include as it stands as the single highest price ever paid for a pair of auctioned concert tickets. In 2007, some Led Zeppelin fan paid $164,929.00 USD for a pair of tickets to see the band on their reunion tour. Thankfully, the proceeds of the auction were donated to charity.

    Coldplay – 2008

    • This seemed significant because Coldplay is a relatively new band compared to the other acts that were charging similar ticket prices in 2008. For their 2008 world tour, Coldplay charged an average of $217.00 USD per ticket. This put the band in the company of major international entertainment powerhouses such as The Police, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna.

    Inauguration of President Barack Obama – 2009

    • If an American citizen wanted to see the first African-American president sworn in live, all they had to do was request tickets from their congressional representative and they would have received the tickets for free. But even with free tickets, it was reported that tickets for the Obama Inauguration were selling for as high as $20,000.00 USD each on ticket brokering websites around the world. There were reports of tickets selling for $40,000.00 USD each, but these could not be confirmed.

    World Series Between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays – 2008

    • In Philadelphia, the city was hoping for a World Series champion after nearly 30-year drought. They were so hungry for a champion that the Phillies were able to charge $150.00 USD on average for a ticket to the World Series that year. The higher priced seats were $225.00 USD each, and the bleacher seats were on sale for an astronomical $125.00 USD each.