Here’s my situation: last month, I made a horrible miscalculation. I snagged two floor seats to see Slipknot, System of a Down, Rammstein, Mudvayne and American Head Charge. My thinking was that the show would sell out, seeing that 2 of the bands had #1 CDs over the past month and a half, and three of them are pretty damn npopular. I had a commitment from a buddy to go.
Well, here it is 2 days before the show, it does not look like it’s going to sell out, and basically my buddy and another one both bailed out, I’m stuck going to the show by myself, and a need to dump one of the tix.
Particulars: ticket face value is $35 . . .I paid $43.50 including fees and s&h. My plan right now is to try and dump it on one of those seedy characters that hang out outside the arena looking to buy tickets then sell them for a quick profit. My guess is these arbiteurs are going to lowball me, $15-20 for the ticket, maybe worse. I have a drop dead walk away price in my mind, where to me it will be worth it just on priniciple to walk away and eat the ticket, with the hope that it will cause said scalper to move up. I do this with the understanding that these fellows need to make SOME money for their hard work, too.
Plan B is to simply go to the box office and discreetly see if any kid wants to pay face value of slightly below for the ticket. Since I’m not selling it for profit, hopefully if I get in trouble with the fuzz, I can just show my second ticket and explain my dilemna.
Any negotiating tips to offer? I am prepared to be verbally abused and rushed into a deal with these scalpers, so I need some ammunition!
Go to one and ask him what price he’d sell you a ticket. Presuming that’s above your walk away figure, offer to sell him your spare at that figure. He obviously won’t take that but may make you an offer. Then you are negotiating knowing his margin.
If you use this tactic, I’d be inclined to either take his best offer or walk. If you can’t agree on a price and go off to another scalper, #2 will probably work out what you’re doing and play lowball. Then if you go back to #1, he’ll pull the original offer and you’ll be bidding against yourself in a downward spiral.
I like your idea of hanging out by the box office, that usually works. I sold an extra ticket at a college football game this past weekend at face value by going to the Will Call window, and there were quite a few people holding up fingers.
Another thought: See if you can find an active email list or online message board for any of these bands and offer the ticket over one of those. I’ve sold and bought Jimmy Buffett tickets that way in the past.
One last suggestion: Get there early. The savvy buyers are going to be waiting til start time to buy – the price goes down as the start time approaches for the most part. But your regular concertgoer will just want to know that they have a ticket, so they’ll get there a bit earlier in order to make SURE of it and ease their mind. Especially since you have floor seats, you may find people more willing to buy from you.
Or heck, since you do have floor seats, find a girl to invite your treat. Nothing like a concert date!
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a concert but I seem to remember something in the fine print* on the ticket, about how it’s perfectly legal for the bearer to sell the ticket at face value. So I’d go the box office/will call route too.
*most concerts I’ve attended via tickets purchased through Ticket Master, with some from the venue itself. I think some allowed for you to even add a little onto the face vaule price, but I can’t remember the percentage.
It’s going to be very difficult to sell a single ticket in a reserved seating venue. A pair of seats is going to be much easier. (Not too many people go to see shows alone.)
I can think of two options. First, if you don’t want to go to the concert, go down and try to sell your tickets AS A PAIR either to scalpers or to someone waiting in line to buy tickets. You lose the time and effort of going down to the show but hopefully you won’t be out any cash.
If you want to go to the show, try to find a scalper with a single ticket and offer to sell him the pair and take the single seat off his hands. (Sometimes scalpers will have a single ticket – for example, if he they started out with four together and somebody bought three.)
I found myself in your situation ages ago. A friend cancelled at the last minute so I was trying to sell a single ticket and use the other one to see the show. A scalper also had a single ticket that was hard for him to sell. He bought one ticket (I think at face value) and traded me a slightly better seat for the other one. We both won, I got a better seat and he got a pair of seats together that he could re-sell.
I am not sure there is anything to be gained by having a drop dead price and walking away on principle, unless you are using it aas a negotiating tactic. Principle is a nice thing but I ma not sure what the principle is here.
Where are you located? I have seen jarbaby and several others salivate over Rammstein here on the boards. Take a Doper!
If that’s not a good logistical possibility, then I agree you’ll do much better by selling the pair. Also single tickets are typically easier to buy or you might even get someone to give you one. Try and find people at the ticket window or if resale of tickets is illegal in your jurisdiction, look for people just getting out of their cars, before they hit the main scalping section.
If you don’t want to do that, for sporting events I would just give my extra ticket to a cop or somebody and ask them to give it to someone who might need it (granted usually much lower face value than what you are talking about).
I am not a lawyer, but it is my understanding that in most juristdictions there is no law against re-selling the ticket at or below the face value. So I’m not closing this thread for legal reasons. I’m closing this thread because it’s in the wrong forum. Requests for tips go in IMHO.
