Archive | 2009
Tickets are $$$$$ according to the newspaper
How often do you read a headline such as NBA finals tickets are selling for $12,500 each? Well this is a lie. This is what one person thinks their tickets are worth. A broker or an individual has posted the tickets at this price hoping to get a lucky sale. It’s not what they are selling for; it’s just the asking price. How often do they sell at this price? One in a thousand, maybe! I remember watching the NBA finals a couple years ago and seeing almost the whole row behind the bench being empty till half time. This is because the individual selling the tickets waited until then to give them to their employees. With the price so high at the beginning and no squeeze at the end all the big spenders had bought other tickets.
What does this mean to me? This is actually a good thing if you desperately want to attend this event. Why is it a good thing the newspaper and radio are advertising that major event tickets are selling for the price of a car?
By advertising the extreme top of the market the media outlets are scaring off most people who would actually enquire about the price of the ticket and find out some seats are affordable. With less people in the market for tickets the prices fall further and faster than they otherwise would have enabling you to pay less for what you were going to buy anyways.
Once again the lesson is to always buy directly from the person owning the tickets and never buy within the first 24 hours of an event being confirmed or the event going on sale.
So the show is sold out and everyone knows it, what now? The first thing you need to do is bookmark the web page for the event at the primary ticket provider. Occasionally they have tickets held back for the artist, media, labels, or other luminaries. If those people do not want the tickets they will often be released back to the primary ticketing provider. Sometimes you may find one ticket other times you may find 8 or more. Grab what you need and alert other people on Craigslist or message boards who have posted wanted messages to increase your karma.
Simultaneously with checking your bookmarks multiple times a day you need to be on Craigslist, eBay, and your preferred ticket broker website. With these three website at your disposal you need to gauge the supply against the amount of bidders on eBay, amount of wanted postings on Craigslist and the supply on the broker site of choice. Be aware that inventory may overlap between all three sales venues.
Now that you have an idea of what the market is doing you have to gauge the market. Here it is often just economics 101, supply and demand. If the band is getting hotter and hotter with more and more press and blogs covering the band the prices are soon to go up, so you should figure out what price you are willing to pay and buy. If there is not much buzz and the ticket market is stagnant hold off. I have seen people struggle to sell tickets under face for sold out club shows before.
The following are the going prices for No Doubt tickets for the next week at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine:
Friday Night Tickets:
$100 for a decent Loge Ticket
$150 for a good Loge Ticket
$200 for an Orchestra Ticket
$500 for a Pit Ticket
Saturday Night Tickets:
$90 for a Terrace Ticket
$150 for a decent Loge Ticket
$200 for an Orchestra Ticket
$400 for a Pit Ticket
$600 for a Great Orchestra Ticket
Sunday Night Tickets:
$90 for a Loge Ticket
$140 for an Orchestra Ticket
$200 for a Pit Ticket
$350 for a great Orchestra Ticket
Wednesday Night Tickets:
$100 for a Loge Ticket
$175 for an Orchestra Ticket
$250 for a Pit Ticket
$350 for a good Orchestra Ticket
Ticket Analyst Recommendation for No Doubt Tickets: If you just want to see No Doubt Wednesday should be the cheapest day for decent seats. Right now Loges are $90-$100 each. You should be able to pick up tickets for somewhere in the range of $70-$90 next week. Lawn tickets should run you no more than $40 also if you are just dying to go. If you are looking for a better seat or willing to spend around $200 a ticket Sunday night should get you something worth your money. If Saturday night is the only night you can go out, you are going to pay for the privilege. I recommend going on Wednesday if you can take Katy Perry or only want to see No Doubt. If you want to see Paramore too, then Sunday is your best bet.
Once again remember to only buy seats from people that have their tickets in hand. Most of these tickets are in the hands of brokers pretty close to the venue. When calling around to brokers ask if they have them in hand and can pick them up in the next 30 minutes even if you don’t plan on doing so. A lot of the broker tickets will also end up on Craigslist. Use these numbers as a guide for the most you should pay for tickets on Craigslist. Don’t hesitate to ask if they are a broker as you wanted to pay by credit card if you are concerned about authenticity on Craigslist. While these prices will generally trend down it is a free market so buy at a price you feel comfortable as conceivably the market can go up also.
These are your recommendations for buying No Doubt tickets for Irvine. Enjoy the show!!
The Killers Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: A lot of shows for The Killers. If you are interest in going it is one of the smaller venues they are playing in the area. Floor Tickets shouldn’t be more than $20 over face by the time the show gets here. If you want a seat try hard but the closest seats will probably in the $200-$300 range and falling dramatically a section or two over. As of Wednesday night there were still floor tickets for the fan club if you are willing to pay $7.50 over per ticket go join the fan club.
The Killers Presale Tickets Password: kroqdustland
Shaq’s Comedy Jam Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Does Shaq still have any pull around here?
The Faint Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: A great live band. Too bad their career trajectory has been downward instead of upwards. Two shows at the Fonda with Ladytron were not sold out I doubt they can sell out this Club on their own.
The Faint Presale Tickets Password: MACABRE
Esperanza Spalding Tickets
http://ticketsus.at/ticketanalyst?CTY=37&DURL=http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/090042FBE7DF8C4E?artistid=1128661&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=4
Fresh Air Tour-Brother Ali Tickets
Sonic Youth Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: No need to buy in advance here unless at the Glass House record store. Not close to selling the Wiltern and this is the same size venue.
Sonic Youth Presale Tickets Password: Eternal
Thursday Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Long time since we’ve seen these guys. If you want to go I’d buy ASAP but I can’t gurantee that it will even sell out. If it does sell out I wouldn’t expect to pay more than $50-$60 a ticket if you are still dying to go.
Trivium Tickets
AP Tour Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: With Mayday Parade and The Academy Is…. I would buy tickets early, If you miss out they are also playing in Los Angeles.
Regina Spektor Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Very hot at the El Rey, made people wonder if there were even tickets in Ticketmaster. People we not willing to pay more than $70-$80 in general at the El Rey which makes me doubt you should have to pay more than $100-$120 on the secondary maket for the best seats, closer to the show. Buy quickly or from her fan club if you want decent seats for “face value.”
Regina Spektor Presale Tickets Password: FAR
Monsters of Folk Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Not as Strong of a seller as The Yeah Yeah Yeahs last week. I wouldn’t expect a huge mark up come show time for the best seats. All bets are off if Pitchfork rates the CD highly though.
Monsters of Folk Presale Tickets Password: SAYPLEASE
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Tickets
Star Wars In Concert 10/1 Tickets
Star Wars in Concert 10/2 Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Buy looks like few seats on the secondary market. Great seats for Thursday still available on the Amex presale. If you want to go, buy now, if you wait there will be few tickets on the secondary market driving prices up if the show turns popular.
Family Force 5 Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: A band on the rise could be good. Will update if it is.
Family Force 5 Presale Tickets Password: 546616
Ryan Cabrera Tickets
Ryan Cabrera Presale Tickets Password: 546616
Colbie Callait Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: I’d say buy sooner than later. Had a popular song not too long ago. If she doesn’t have another one this will be the last time there is demand for her tickets.
Colbie Callait Presale Tickets Password: Colbie or 546616
Dolores O’Riordan Tickets
Dolores O’Riordan Presale Tickets Password: SEARCH AND 546616
The Dead Weather Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: If you wanted Floor seats for the Wiltern here’s your opportunity to pay “face value”
The Dead Weather Presale Tickets Password: HORE
Daniel Johnston Tickets
Daniel Johnston Presale Tickets Passoword: Devil
Star Wars in Concert Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Buy now if you want to go, may get expensive if it’s popular and no tickets on the secondary market.
The Mars Volta Tickets
TICKET ANALYST RECOMENDATION: Sell Out? Maybe? Try to get floors on the onsale otherwise enjoy the beautiful intimate venue from a seat.
So you had another engagement or just didn’t know the show was going on sale and now the show you want to go to is sold out, but you still want to go. What is the next step?
For small to midsize club shows the steps below will help you out. First you need to look at the market. Is it a small club show? Did it just sell out, but weeks after the on sale? Quick call the club that the show is at. Some clubs hold back tickets to sell out of the box office with little or no service fee. If the club is sold out too or doesn’t hold tickets you need to hit eBay and Craigslist hard before others realize the show is sold out. If you can find the right person who has an extra ticket or two before everyone is hounding them for a ticket you are likely to pay “face” value or less.
Do your Homework
Once you’ve determined where and when the tickets go on sale it’s time to do your home work. Homework?? To buy tickets? Yes, one reason brokers and scalpers get tickets is they know the ticket purchasing process. They buy tickets every week so they know how the process works. So go and practice, open your account at the website and have your credit card ready! You can lose tickets if you take too much time to purchase them. Just because the tickets are in your cart doesn’t mean the deal is done! Go through all the purchasing steps for different shows. When you get to the end just don’t click the purchase button.
This Concludes the Concert Ticket buying guide. If you missed out on tickets all is not lost. Often times tickets are available at or below face value close to the shows. Read my guide on how to buy concert tickets from brokers.
How To Buy Concert Tickets Step 1
How To Buy Concert Tickets Step 2
How To Buy Concert Tickets Step 3
How To Buy Concert Tickets Step 4
Determine Ticket Vendor
It’s hard to buy tickets if you don’t know where they are being sold and when. When the concert dates and venues are announced, determine where the tickets will be sold. Do they sell through Ticketmaster? Ticketweb? LiveNation.com? Check the website of the venue to see where to buy them. What time will the tickets go on sale? How much they will they cost? Can you afford them?
How to Buy Concert Tickets Step 1
How to Buy Concert Tickets Step 2-Have the Concert Ticket News Delivered to You
How to Buy Concert Tickets Step 3-Have Money to Buy the Concert Tickets
So You Think You Can Dance Tickets At Nokia Theatre LA Live
TICKET ANALYST RECOMMENDATION: If you want to go to this show, buy your tickets. It has been a good seller every year it has come to town. It is hard to get good seats at Nokia Theatre LA Live except way off to the side in the front Orchestra. If you know anyone with Premier Seats at Staples Center ask them to order for you as this is the best way to get good seats at Nokia. If you are looking for good seats and don’t have Premier tickets connections expect to spend $200-$400 for good seats. There will also be an auction starting on Saturday. This may be your best chance to get the best seats for the less than the secondary market pricing. Make sure you keep an eye on both and if the auction goes higher than the broker market stop bidding.
So You Think You Can Dance Presale Password: GETTIX or FOXTV
Save your Money
Are you always short on cash? If your favorite artist is coming out with new music, its time to start saving for that ticket and new CD. Don’t be that fan who goes to Craigslist, days before the concert, begging people to sell you a ticket at “face value”. If the show sells out and you didn’t have the money when it went on sale you aren’t as big as a fan as the person who does have money saved. If you insist on buying tickets for “face value” the on sale is your opportunity to purchase tickets for “face value”.
How to Buy Concert Tickets Step 1
How to Buy Concert Tickets Step 2-Have the Concert Ticket News Delivered to You
Hanson Tickets
-Playing with Hello Goodbye who had a little popularity a few years ago and played the Wiltern on their own. Hanson has been unable to sell out the House of Blues on their own lately and Club Nokia is 2x the size.
Hanson Tickets Presale Password: SOLE2009 and SATURDAY
Chuck Ragan and Jim Ward
Datarock Tickets
The Duke Spirit Tickets
-Good buzz here I’d buy sooner than later
World Party Tickets
-Going Old School here, played Spaceland on one of their more recent tours. Buy at the door to avoid service fees.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Tickets
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs Ticket Analysis HERE
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Presale Passwords: KROQBLITZ or ZERO
Alejandro Fernández Tickets
-not a huge seller buy now if you get something good otherwise buy on the secondary market the week of the show
Alejandro Fernández Tickets Presale Password: DANCE Citi password: 546616
Marilyn Manson Tickets
-You shouldn’t have any problem picking up these tickets especially with two shows in the IE and OC. With Slayer he barely sold enough tickets to fill both places combined last week at San Manuel
Billy Talent Tickets
Raveonettes Tickets
Raveonettes Tickets Presale Password: ravescontrol
Bill Maher Tickets
-Want a good seat try the presale if you don’t get it try the onsale. Take what you can get never a HOT ticket.
Bill Maher Tickets Presale Password: REALTIME
Marilyn Manson Tickets
-You shouldn’t have any problem picking up these tickets especially with two shows in the IE and OC. With Slayer he barely sold enough tickets to fill both places combined last week at San Manuel
Marilyn Manson Tickets Presale Password: HIGHENDLOW
The Mars Volta Tickets
-This show will likely sell out eventually, get to the Palladium box office sooner than later.
Hanson Tickets
-Playing with Hello Goodbye should make this a decent show. Will update if tickets sell quickly
Hanson Tickets Presale Password: SOLE2009
CocoRosie Tickets
Joshua Radin Tickets
Joshua Radin Tickets Presale Password: TREES
Raveonettes Tickets
Raveonettes Tickets Presale Password: ravescontrol
David Cook Tickets
David Cook Tickets Presale Password: COMEBACKTOME
Billy Talent Tickets
Anita Baker Tickets
-Been an OK seller at the Bowl in years past. Prices will be high to start on the secondary market. It is tough to get good tickets at Nokia Theatre LA Live. Wait out the high prices at the beginning on the secondary market if you must have the best.
Echo & the Bunnymen Tickets
-Seems quite a large place for them. Same advice as Anita Baker.
Echo & the Bunnymen Tickets Presale Password: OCEANRAIN
So You Think You Can Dance Tickets
-So You Think You Can Dance ticket Analysis HERE
So You Think You Can Dance Presale Passwords: GETTIX and FOXTV
The Art Laboe Show Live Tickets with Zapp
Benji Hughes Tickets
Nebula Tickets
Telefon Tel Aviv Tickets
Amy Millan Tickets
Tiger Army Tickets
http://ticketsus.at/ticketanalyst?CTY=37&DURL=http://www.ticketmaster.com/Tiger-Army-tickets/artist/712366
-The first show is a SLOW seller and now a second show means tickets should be EASY to come by up until at least a week before the show if not at the show. Go to the Palladium to buy with no service fees
Laura Pausini Tickets
Billy Squier Tickets
Don’t miss my continuing series on How to Buy Concert Tickets.
How To Buy Concert Tickets Part 1
How To Buy Concert Tickets Part 2
How To Buy Concert Tickets Part 3
