Tell your best ticket scalping stories here

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

This thread is not for the misguided people who think that reselling a ticket at a value higher than face value is akin to murder, rape, or child abuse. Rather it's for everyone else.

So one time there was a show that was a bit out of my price range. Speculating that the show would sell out, I bought four tickets, with the intention of inflating the resale price on two of them in order to defray the cost of the two we were using. It worked.

Another time a friend couldn't go to a sold out show, so we sold the friend's ticket at an inflated price.

Another time I bought a ticket to a show which then sold out. This was before the artist's new album was released. I then heard the new album, and wasn't so keen on it. So I sold my ticket for a profit.

Judging by the number of responses I got to each of my listings and by the popularity of each of the shows, I would say I probably could have received quite a bit more than my asking price. But all in all I was happy with what I got, and didn't feel like a total price gouger.

Also, recently, I responded to an ad and bought a Pogues ticket from a guy for $20...much lower than face value. That was very cool, first time seeing the Pogues, because they were finally in a price range I was comfortable with.

God bless Craigslist, you know?

Anybody else have any stories of sales or purchases, hopefully not as boring as mine?

[sweetcell]

there was this one time, i had an extra ticket and i sold it above face.

then there was this other time i paid above for a show that will remain mysteriously nameless.

and i once bought a ticket outside the 930 for less than face (show not important).

there, my stories are just about as boring as yours  

[sweetcell]

guess my point is, these aren't really stories

[sonickteam2]

[bearman🐻]

There was the time my sister was hellbent on seeing Bon Jovi at the United Center in CHicago and there wasn't a ticket to be had ANYWHERE. It was one of those weird shows where people were actually buying up the scalped tickets. So she dragged me to the venue and I spied two guys looking a little uncertain. I asked them if they had tickets and they said yes, but they bought them through a scalper and paid $400 a pop. I offered $75 to them for each ticket ($25 under what would have been face value) and for some reason they said yes. So my sister and I bought the guys drinks and enjoyed our 10th row seats.

[kosmo vinyl]

i've only bought tickets over face value a couple times outside a venue, only a couple of other times did i consider trying my luck outside a show i.e. a U2 show with the Waterboys as the opener...

think i earned karma points for once selling a hot weezer ticket at face value.

my best ticket scalping story revolves around a outlet near where i lived once.. where a ticket scalper often paid several people to stand in line for him in order to get tickets to resale, who if memory serves correctly was also doing the actually selling once you got to the front of the line.  i also saw him once on another occasion again behind the counter trying to figure out upcoming shows.  morale of the story is that this outlet eventually had their ability to sell tickets revoked, because they were selling too many tickets.

[nkotb]

Not really a story about me scalping, but entertaining nonetheless.

A bunch of years back, when Weezer were making their comeback (but hadn't released the Green Album yet), they were playing a cheap show at AU.  For some reason, a few friends and I slept on getting tickets (cue snarky Rhett comment   ), and it sold out.  

We showed up at AU anyway, hoping to buy tickets.  The first (and only) person we talked to said she had two tickets for sale, and asked how much money I had on me.  I asked how much they were, and she repeated "Well , how much do you have on you?"  We pretty much told her to fuck off and went lookign for other tickets.

After a while, no one was selling for face value, so we were about to leave.  I decided, just for shits and giggles, to walk up to the will call window and ask for my tickets.  If nothing else, I figured pretending to be pissed that we didn't have our tickets would be funny.  

As soon as I asked, the woman walked away to look, and after five minutes, called me into the office.  I was a little worried she was busting me, but when I walked in, they handed me three vouchers for admittance to the show.  

I gave them my credit card number, but they never charged it.  Pretty good show too...this was back when they still played songs from Pinkerton.

[kosmo vinyl]

i also once got scalped at the box office... paid $25 US for a $25 Canadian ticket, but it was for Sloan so in end entirely worth it, but still...

[Venerable Bede]

there was an article on slate once (that i can't find) about an economist taking his daughter to a concert...he was late in getting tickets, so they showed up at the venue and was considering an offer from a scalper for two tickets in the upper deck at the arena for like $150 each. . .they bought them, but the father kept noticing that the ticket office window would open every so often, so they waited and waited, and finally the ticket office window opened again, and he went up and came away with 2 tickets up front at face value. 

being an economist, the father's immediate thought was to re-sell those tickets at even higher prices (being closer to the stage) to recover their initial costs of purchasing the tickets from the scalper- after all, they already have tickets, what does it matter where the seats are......but, being a father and all, he ended up keeping the front of the house the tickets.

as for my own personal story. . .well, i'll wait for vansmack, if he chooses, to share his playoff story then i'll share how i ripped that story off to get my friend into a cubs playoff game at nearly face value.

[vansmack]

I was in the parking lot for U2 at Anaheim Stadium once (circa 1992) and had planned on listening to the show from my jeep with some beers on a glorious fall night in Orange County.  It was the last night of the US portion of the Zoo TV outdoor tour.

I met some friends and we were listening to the opener (Public Enemy) when these two late teens guys came up to us offering us tickets for twice face value.  My buddy was a junior cop and flashed his junior cop badge at the kids and told them to empty their pockets.  He said "normally, we book you, take you down town and confiscate your cash, but I'm going to let you guys off easy."  He pretended to rip the tickets in half (but only ripped the receipt), put the tickets in his back pocket and told them to get there cash and get off the premises.

We took the tickets and went into the show.

I've never paid more than face for tickets, nor have I ever sold for more than face.  Generally, if it's a seated show where I'm sitting next to the ticket seller, I buy them a beer or two for being cool.  Generally, if I'm selling, I sell to hot chicks or young folks who look scared.

[sonickteam2]

ok, so no one on here has ever actually paid a scalper high prices for tickets?  

[vansmack]

well, i'll wait for vansmack, if he chooses, to share his playoff story then i'll share how i ripped that story off to get my friend into a cubs playoff game at nearly face value.

Haha - the one in Anaheim?  That used to be memorialized here on the old  board.

So Ticketmaster gave me Confirmation code for two tickets to the Angels first trip to the World Series but oversold the tickets due to a computer glitch of some sort.  they pulled my tickets.   I fought with them for a week, but already had a plane ticket and wouldn't dream of missing the game, so I went to the box office day of the game hoping for a ticket.  It ended up proving fruitless so I decided that I had no choice but to scalp.

I found a family who had an extra ticket and asked them how much.  While we were negotiating, I told them the TM story, how I had flown out from DC because I refused to miss the game and had to see my Angels.  The guy wasn't really budging but his wife felt so bad for me that she wanted him to give it to me.  I refused, paid face and bought him beers the whole game because I could sense he was fuming.  After the first couple beers, he started coming around because he could see I was such a big fan and he didn't have to leave his seat.

[sonickteam2]

  well, then i'll go first

  I feel like a total oddball here!  I have bought Red Sox / Orioles tickets from scalpers dozens of times.  Usually for a bit more than face, never really too much.  Though I did pay $150 a seat for outfield seats to see Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homerun (and he hit it like 3 sections to my right).  I paid $400 a ticket to see the Packers in Lambeau Field. I bought scalped tickets to see Lollapalooza when i was like 15.   I paid a bit more than face value for the Radiohead show in Jersey last year.  There have been a few other times i paid a good chunk of change to be in the very very front, too.

   In fact, i just bought tickets last week from a scalper for the Frozen Four games in DC this week.

   I have also sold some tickets too.  Some for more than face value.  I havent in about 5 years because it really takes time and the money you make, $50 here and there isnt worth it for me.

  

[Venerable Bede]

well, i'll wait for vansmack, if he chooses, to share his playoff story then i'll share how i ripped that story off to get my friend into a cubs playoff game at nearly face value.

Haha - the one in Anaheim?  That used to be memorialized here on the old  board.

So Ticketmaster gave me Confirmation code for two tickets to the Angels first trip to the World Series but oversold the tickets due to a computer glitch of some sort.  they pulled my tickets.   I fought with them for a week, but already had a plane ticket and wouldn't dream of missing the game, so I went to the box office day of the game hoping for a ticket.  It ended up proving fruitless so I decided that I had no choice but to scalp.

I found a family who had an extra ticket and asked them how much.  While we were negotiating, I told them the TM story, how I had flown out from DC because I refused to miss the game and had to see my Angels.  The guy wasn't really budging but his wife felt so bad for me that she wanted him to give it to me.  I refused, paid face and bought him beers the whole game because I could sense he was fuming.  After the first couple beers, he started coming around because he could see I was such a big fan and he didn't have to leave his seat.

replace angels with cubs, family with drunk asian guy hanging out at murphys pub across the street from centerfield and huge angels fan to just a friend who wanted to see the game and it's the same.....i might add that it was a great game....

the last time i remember paying above face value to a scalper was for a september giants game in 2001; barry bonds was very good for scalpers that year.

[xneverwherex]

I had tix to Explosions in the Sky that I ended up not being able to use. I sold them to some guy who was dying to go - for a bit more than face. He even bought me a bunch of drinks for just agreeing to meet with him a few weeks before to give him the tix.

I had tix to some other show that I sold for extremely high. The guy was cool and it was one of his favorite bands. We ended up dating for quite a while and the sex alone was worth the price.

Most tix I sell for face or close to it. I sell alot to co-workers and being that im in a lawfirm you cant sell tix for more than face. I got really screwed when I had a bunch of Coldplay tix that friends couldnt use and could barely sell. I ended up with someone who paid a bit more for them, but the hassle to meet with him was so not worth it.

The only show I was considering paying a fortune to was Morrissey at The Bowery.