This past weekend waiting outside the Xcel to watch my Wild beat up on the Blues I was watching the scalpers work the corner. It’s legal in St.Paul so they all hang out by the main enterance.
I was wondering how skilled they need to be to make sure they had no left over tickets by the time the puck dropped. I was well inside by that time but wondered if there are some good deals to be had if you wait them out and don’t mind missing several minutes of an opening period.
Are these guys anxious to sell by that time? Is it worth my time to hang out to find a hot deal and if not go across the street and watch at the bar?
My son-in-law and I were late for a St. Louis Rams game as kickoff already happened. We scored a couple of $100 tickets on the 40 yard line for $10 each. I guess that the $10 was better than nothing.
As far as your Wild goes… 
The Rams have been so bad that at kickoff time scalpers literally give tickets away.
Of course, season ticket holders do the same.
I think scalpers realize there may very well be tickets left when the game starts. They just need to make their money on tickets sold well before the game. That’s when they’re selling the best seats in the house that go for a premium.
It’s the same for online brokers, who are basically just scalpers on the internet. I waited until after the first game of an NCAA tournament session this past weekend and got tickets for less than half of face value. I’m sure stubhub made their money on the tickets they sold prior to that game.
I was tailgating at a Braves baseball game with a friend when a scalper came up asking if we had any tickets to sell. My friend said, “No; but I know someone who does…” and then introduced the scalper to another scalper that had approached us in the last five minutes trying to SELL us tickets.
We were able to add a new catchphrase to our group’s lexicon: “Real fuckin’ funny, college boy!”
The timing of it worked out so perfectly. It was pretty darn funny.
Not legal here, so they hang out ten yards away from the entrance.
I don’t know if you’d call StubHub “scalpers,” but for LA Kings events here, they will sell tickets up to an hour after start time (which is very convenient for me, as I live close to Staples Center). Prices tend to plummet once the puck has dropped. I can watch the first period on TV, get cheap tickets and then go see the other two-thirds of the game in person.
As I mentioned in post #4, StubHub is a ticket broker, which is basically an online scalper.
Sorry – missed the second half of your post.
My son and I were going to hang out outside the park during a playoff game in 2012, and a scalper approached us in the 4th inning and offered us tickets for half price. I suspected they weren’t legit, so he agreed to let my son go through the turnstile before I paid. The police converged after my son went through, and asked how much I paid for the tickets. I honestly replied, " no money changed hands." The cop told me to enjoy the game, and the scalper gave me the thumbs up for saying exactly what I needed to say to keep him from getting arrested. And we got to see Jayson Werth hit a walk off home run to win the game.
Former ticket scalper here:
By the time the game starts, I’ve already made my money back and then some. So by that time, I’m just looking to dump them. (Heck, most of the time I’ve already made my money back before I even arrive at the venue.)
So yeah, it’s worth waiting if you don’t mind missing part of the game.
This is especially true for sporting events.
Ya think?
LOL, I meant to convey that you wont get as big of a discount at concert events as you would sports.
Prices can stay high but then fall off a cliff & then boom all the scalpers are gone. Those tix they wanted $75 a piece a few minutes ago, they’ve eaten & gone home because it’s not worth hanging around for the off chance of getting $5 or $10 a piece.
Back in the 70s a buddy of mine would go to the Rose Bowl buy a ticket, sell it buy another, sell it
Lather, rinse repeat then he would buy one last ticket after kickoff (cheap) pocket some spare $ and watch the game.
I used to do that all the time when I was a teenager. I’d go up to Rangers stadium with $10 in my pocket and leave with a hundred or more. Opening day was the best.