[upstatedoc]

So there's a group coming to town over the summer that most likely will be a quick sell-out. Tickets do not go on sale by the venue until next saturday but if you go on the 3rd party ticket selling websites you can purchase tickets? And the mark up is ridiculous. Any frequent concert goers with helpful advice? Buy tickets now at hefty mark up or wait till saturday and hope I score?

[kevinbahnz]

I should've came on here to get advice on the taylor swift tour. I wanted to be closer to the stage so I bought Pit tickets for me and my 6 yr old daughter. This is my first time ever going to a concert so I didn't know they were standing tickets, So i had to call them and cancel the tickets only for higher priced tickets.

[Stage1]

I guess it all depends how much you want to go. Id say wait til they are released by the venue. If you cant get them direct, then go 3rd party and hopefully they drop a few bucks once the market is more saturated

[M_Six]

Concert tickets have become a huge scam. The resellers are basically legal scalpers. We used to call the ticket office at a venue near where we lived and order tickets for all the summer's concerts in one shot. They'd come in the mail a few days later. Then Ticketmaster and the other scalpers took over and prices skyrocketed and tix became very hard to obtain. I know someone who paid $750 per ticket for 4 tix to see the Eagles. I was like, "WTF? $3k to see a band?"

I guess if you have that kind of money to blow. FWP for sure.

[Whostheboss]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Concert tickets have become a huge scam. The resellers are basically legal scalpers. We used to call the ticket office at a venue near where we lived and order tickets for all the summer's concerts in one shot. They'd come in the mail a few days later. Then Ticketmaster and the other scalpers took over and prices skyrocketed and tix became very hard to obtain. I know someone who paid $750 per ticket for 4 tix to see the Eagles. I was like, "WTF? $3k to see a band?"

I guess if you have that kind of money to blow. FWP for sure.

[Billup]

I can't think of anyone or anything I'd like to go that cost that much. Ever.


Hockey games are $60 for good seats.

[Whostheboss]

Jay Z and Bey tickets were starting at $250 ~ $300 and it sold out in seconds! Damn!
Anyway, to OP, i'll wait to Saturday.

[UncleWede]

We paid $150/pair of Eagle tickets at the Honda Center. Damn scoreboard kept getting in the way. I didn't dare go get a beer, the vertigo was too bad and not sure my heart would get me back up the stairs.

[KingOfJericho]

I've been to roughly 140 concerts so I will opine here. First question is do you have an Amex? If so, you can usually get presale tickets. Also, if you google "presale code" or alike, you can often get the code and the seats will be good. I am also on the LiveNation email distribution which can also get you presales.

Presales are also typically only 24hrs early so I'm not sure how they're getting these tickets so far in advance of the general release.

My wife wanted to see Coldplay (yawn) a couple of years ago so I got the presale code and was a little surprised that they kept putting us in the back left corner of the Barclays Center (Brooklyn). It made no sense to me until the encore when the band popped up three rows behind us and played the entire encore basically on our laps. It was amazing and I went home a fucking hero.

The bottom line is that if all else fails, you can still get good seats by being on the ticketmaster website as they go on sale. It's really not that hard and these things usually don't sell out *that* quickly.

[grimlock]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

I've been to roughly 140 concerts

How's your hearing?

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by grimlock

How's your hearing?

WHAT???????


(It's very good, actually - I had a physical a few weeks ago)

[NEFARIOUS]

I've only been to "music festivals", never been to a concert. But please, do share details so that I can pop my concert cherry, folks.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by NEFARIOUS

I've only been to "music festivals", never been to a concert. But please, do share details so that I can pop my concert cherry, folks.

1. Pick band you want to see.

2. Check band's website for tour dates and on sale dates.

3. Buy tickets for said date.

4. Go to concert.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by Billup

Hockey games are $60 for good seats.

NHL games and define good seats? I've been an NHL season ticket holder for 9 years straight, sit upper section but center ice and pay $41 a seat with my "long term" discount. Playoff and cup games escalate like mad(paid 325 a seat for Stanley cup finals in 07 same seats).

To OP purchase throw venue, those markups by agencies are crazy. I have a ticket master account and they are pretty good about advance notice for events like ones you have purchased in the past. Still prices are crazy, I got a presale notice for Steve Miller this summer for $75 a seat, really Steve Miller?

[Billup]

Originally Posted by Bobble

NHL games and define good seats? I've been an NHL season ticket holder for 9 years straight, sit upper section but center ice and pay $41 a seat with my "long term" discount. Playoff and cup games escalate like mad(paid 325 a seat for Stanley cup finals in 07 same seats).

I usually look around and buy tickets second hand. I've gotten center ice lower deck for as low as $75 a seat before. I just bought two upper deck center ice tickets to Canes vs. Wings for $23 each in row B just behind the railing.

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Presales are also typically only 24hrs early so I'm not sure how they're getting these tickets so far in advance of the general release.

Depending on the concert it could be something similar to what scalpers do for sports games: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...ickets/385044/

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by Billup

I usually look around and buy tickets second hand. I've gotten center ice lower deck for as low as $75 a seat before. I just bought two upper deck center ice tickets to Canes vs. Wings for $23 each in row B just behind the railing.

Do the Canes not draw well? Was at a Checkers game years ago the place was pretty empty. That's amazing for a Wings game they usually travel well and that would be below face value at least for Ducks tickets. I'm exactly center ice, penalty box side row G, first row after the markup(markup first 6 rows upper level). Good seats can see whole sheet. I sell about 25% of mine regular season and half of the playoffs(not Cup finals if they make it), usually allows me to recoup almost 60% of the cost of the tickets but I sell the games people want to see Hawks, Wings, Bruins etc.. Every game is on TV so I see them anyway.

[Billup]

I'll be honest, I was paying higher when I was attending Wings games, but the revenue is there. I've noticed hockey fans here in NC are mostly out of towners, not many get involved in hockey out here, and the Canes just moved to PNC arena in Raleigh not too long ago, so it's still relatively new.

I'm going to say that unless it nears playoffs that the Canes probably don't bring in hefty amounts of crowds like I'm used to.

[John 070]

I apparently was one of the few who got Grateful Dead tickets online. Got 0 through mail order.

If I had a lot of spare time, I'd ask my friends how to build a bot, because they are like a DCT^10. Meaning, there's no way you can log in and click anything faster than a BOT.

Everyone is telling me to sell my tix, but I'd rather go to the shows. Not sure what they are today, but I was hearing $5k on stub hub for pit seats.

Concerts and sports are for 1%'ers.
p.s. just checked and prices have softened considerably, $386 for obstructed view, and $2,200 for pit. On the day of, nothing was under $900 and pit was $5k. remember, what a buyer is willing, and can, pay are completely different...

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by John 070

Concerts and sports are for 1%'ers.

True. Back in the early 90's there was a venue near us (Great Woods in Mansfield, MA) that had lawn seats, covered seats, and "Inner Circle" seats (first 15 or so rows). The prices for all concerts went $25/$35/$55 respectively and you could call their ticket office and order any concert playing that season right there. This was for Buffet, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, etc. Then TicketMaster got involved and it all went to hell. The first time I had to buy Buffet tix at a storefront I waited in line for hours and was the third person in the door when they opened. I got to the counter maybe 5 minutes after the tix went on sale and all they had left were Thursday night lawn seats. The Fri and Sat shows were already sold out. That was the last concert at that venue I attended.

Monsters of Rock concerts in Germany were pretty cheap back in the 80's, too. Great bands and a killer party atmosphere.

[monkeybingo]

140 concerts x avg $100 = 14000..