mgdriver

For hard-to-get tickets (sports) should I go with a ticket broker or take a chance and look for a game-day scalper in a state where scalping is legal?? Play it safe for big bucks or take a chance and get a real deal....Any with suggestions?

mrwunrfl

A state where scalping is legal? Where would that be? I think it it legal in many places to resell a ticket at face value. Not that it matters much if it is legal or not.

But if it is a hard-to-get ticket then the scalpers will be a-scalpin'. You could get a real deal at the game or you could find that there is nobody selling, or not selling at a reasonable price. If you are a crazy fanatic then you will pay ... or a crazy fan will get the ticket.

You asked: broker or scalper? My reply is: neither of the above. Go to E-bay.

Lex1

Make sure the ticket you buy is genuine. The scalper may be gone after he sells you those tickets. You bear the same risk buying on ebay.

J62

I use 3rd party brokers like stubhub.com frequently and have always been satisfied. They have a full guarantee that the tickets are valid.

GoTravel

I thought scalping was legal in New Jersey.

Go through a reputable broker. At least then you have some recourse.

TC

Have you checked EBay? I've often gotten great last minute tickets at less than face value for pro games.

gmoney

Scalping is also legal in Florida now. They just changed the law this year.

nytraveler

Scalping is selling tickets at illegal prices. In New York you're allowed to sell tickets at - I believe - up to 45% more than face value. More than that is scalping.

Many other states don;t have these laws. In which case - there is no "saclping" just very high prices. The on-line ticket brokers are perfectly legal - in the states in which they are situated - so they're not really scalpers. (They would have to be selling either in New York or at the venue - at prices 45% + - to be scalpers).

So - I don;t know how you're differentiating between the two. Unless you're asking if you should use the event's official ticket broker or a another on-line seller. Which is a silly question. Why pay higher prices if you don;t have to?

If by scalpers you mean the people who hang around the venue just before the time of the event - they're not scalpers either - unless they're selling at illegal prices - just semi-dodgy people who are selling tickets thay may or may not be real. And IMHO I would never use them - since sometimes the tickets are fake - and it can be very hard to tell.

mrwunrfl

I think it is pretty common to refer to the guys selling tickets outside the stadium as scalpers whether or not they are offering the tix at an illegal price. Call them street brokers to differentiate them from the broker companies (office brokers?). In both cases, the ticket is being resold.

imo, you are not taking much of a chance in buying from a street broker for normal games. Not when it is an actual paper ticket (and not an e-ticket). Field box seats to Red Sox home games are hard to get but people are not out there counterfeiting them. The guys selling tickets on the street have a business going and you will usually find them in the same place game after game. They buy the tickets at (generally) less than face value and sell them for fv or higher.

The tickets get scanned now, not torn, so it is impossible to tell if a ticket has been used. I'm not sure how a street broker would come into posession of a cancelled (scanned) ticket, but it would not be in their interest in reselling it. They have a risk in ripping off the wrong person. That would be bad for business in the long run.

JJ5

I only know my area, but be extremely careful because counterfeit tickets abound by us outside the stadium/ballpark/concert hall etc.

You would be shocked in the digital age how absolutely real the fakers are now. I saw some myself this week that were confirmed fakes- right AFTER a Bears Game. We could not tell them from the real thing. And they had "worked" too- as these people were in the stadium and then realized that they had the duplicate of someone else's already occupied seat. After talking with the people, and viewing their tickets, they just walked around the entire game.

So if it is play off game, I think you are taking a huge chance by getting them in the street, myself. You might be refused at the gate by scanner too.

JJ5

I was told that they are sharp enough to have something added to the digital fake that defers the "scanner" duplicate alarm. I'm not a techie, but with the junk that comes in with huge firewalls/programs to stop it, I can believe it.

mrwunrfl

One time I ordered tickets to a baseball game and they never arrived. I called and they sent replacement tickets. At the game, an usher came by with two fans holding tickets to my seats. He asked me to go with him so that the issue could be sorted out. I refused because I had the replacement tix that, according to their policy, were the correct tickets for the seats. He understood that and left us to enjoy the game. I don't know what happened to the other people nor how they got their tix. The team may have screwed up and sold them twice or the originals may have been stolen. That was a few years ago. Two years ago I went to a game in Phoenix and realized that I left the ticket at home. They printed me a new ticket right there. My point is that duplicate tickets do get printed on purpose.

Yes, of course, you are taking a risk by buying a ticket from a scalper. If you don't want to accept any risk then don't do it.

Miss_Maple

I know of a person who sold their Ryder Cup tickets along with a pen for an specified amount above the regular pass price. It was a very expensive pen but the buyers were happy to receive the complimentary tickets.