What’s the right way to buy tickets from a scalper at the last minute?
We’re thinking of going to the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night. It’s much too late to buy our tickets online. Last time I went to MSG for a basketball game I got there late with no tickets and was tempted to buy from a scalper on the street. It seemed a little too risky. Shouldn’t be too hard for someone to print fake tickets and just walk away when we head into the arena.
Is that too paranoid? Are there any simple ways to know that you aren’t getting riped off?
Act like you don’t need/want them. Offer half face value. If they don’t bite, walk off. As the event draws neigh, the price comes down. Many other scalpers out there with tickets to haggle with.
I saw *Sir *Paul McCartney for $5 after the third song.
I went to the Big XII tourney on Thursday on scalped tix. Went a bit after game time and got 2x tickets at $20 each, which was much less than face. One was in the 3rd deck and the other was in the second, and the 3rd deck one had face at about $50. Ended up sitting in the 3rd level, because the 200s were club level and the person I was with couldn’t have gotten in there.
I think I could have gone lower to about $15, but I didn’t feel like haggling or hunting down another and the guy was friendly. Since I was expecting to pay about $30, it was all good.
I was in NY once, staying in the Philadelphia hotel right across form madison square garden and one morning we saw the electric advertising say The Who was going to play that very same evening. That night my dad went to get some tickets (from scalpers) and eventually found one (eventhough he paid for two, he can be really clumsy). I let him go since it was his youth sentiment You can find them just hanging around. Be sure to be careful though. Always make sure you see all the tickets and have your money ready in your pocket or something. This practice is illegal and they will use a scam if they can. In my dad’s case he showed him one ticket (saying he had one more in the envelop and as my dad was counting the money for the agreed price, someone came up to us yelling about what we were thinking we were doing, before he knew it he made the quick exchnage and it turned out there was no second ticket after all. Of course the guy walking up to us could have been a real undercover police man, but we decided it was probably an accomplice.
You’ll want to check your local laws I guess, but around here scalping isn’t illegal* and I have often bought tickets from a scalper within just a few feet of a uniformed officer.
The reason I buy scalped tickets is usually to get a deal on the event. So the trick to getting the lowest price is to be willing to walk away and talk to a different scalper, be willing to wait until 10 minutes after the event starts, and be willing to just give up and go watch the event from the local sports bar (if applicable). You have to really low ball them. Don’t be afraid to make them laugh. I have been told more than once to go screw myself because I was offering too little money.
If your goal is to get sold out tickets or hard to find tickets rather than cheap tickets, that that completely changes things and I don’t have any advice for you.
I have never had a problem with fake tickets but I suppose it could happen. The scalpers I have dealt with don’t seem like the type of people who would be sophisticated enough to print genuine looking box office tickets. I guess I wouldn’t buy the “print it yourself” style tickets from a scalper.
It is very possible they weren’t in it to scam anyone, but just took their opportunity when they noticed we were these crazy foreigners. I honestly can say neither me nor my father had any clue about the legality of buying the tickets from a scalper.
I do think we went to the ticket office first, but they were sold out; then we came across this guy offering the tickets. I’m not totally sure though.
This is definitely an increasing concern as cheap software and printers have made it easier to produce realistic-looking tickets. I’ve heard of problems mainly at big-ticket items like professional sports playoff games, where hundreds of dollars per ticket make it worthwhile for scammers to run the risks.
To protect yourself, take your time when buying tickets. Watch other transactions first. Get a feel for what real tickets look like. Always check the ticket for the correct date and time. Avoid guys with just a couple of tickets, beckoning you into a dark corner and trying to rush the transaction because “they’re afraid of the cops”. Those are the scammers.
StubhHub is fantastic, I could do commercials for them, just by being honest. But one shortcoming is that they don’t do last-minute. It would be neat if they could set up a deal with FedEx or something near the arena for last minute purchases, but they haven’t done that yet.
We decided to stay home and watch on TV. It worked out fine. We’ll watch the finals on TV also.
You can find them just hanging around. Be sure to be careful though. Always make sure you see all the tickets and have your money ready in your pocket or something. This practice is illegal and they will use a scam if they can. In my dad’s case he showed him one ticket (saying he had one more in the envelop and as my dad was counting the money for the agreed price, someone came up to us yelling about what we were thinking we were doing, before he knew it he made the quick exchnage and it turned out there was no second ticket after all. Of course the guy walking up to us could have been a real undercover police man, but we decided it was probably an accomplice.