Post a link vin.

"It makes me wonder what the point of buying tickets in advance is."

Laurieco, wait until you see the queue for those that didn't pre buy!!

ky: I had to look in my travel file. The number is 011-39-055-294-883 from the US and 055-294-883 in Italy.

The last time I used it, there was no fee, but someone told me they've added one. I can't verify that. However, there still is no prepay AFAIK. You book a timed ticket, show up and pay for your ticket, and go in. If you're a no-show, there's no charge for the ticket. (If there is a fee, I'm guessing they added it because they were getting a lot of no-shows.)

>>>>The Uffizi's site says the tickets are €8.00 plus a €4.00 per ticket booking fee. But when I try to order online, it is showing a price of €16.50 per ticket and it is not clear if that includes the booking fee.<<<<

That does include the booking fee. Found this on the event page.

***Ticket prices

Full Price: € 12,50
Reduced: € 6,25
Hours
Tuesday – Sunday
8.15 am – 6.50 pm;
last tickets sold at 6.05 pm
Closed Mondays and 1 May***

vin - I misunderstood your post. I thought you meant you knew a cost free number to call from the US. Here's the info about calling (they don't make the info easy to find).

****Tickets and Booking
How can I buy tickets?

Tickets can be purchased directly at the ticket offices of the museums that are part of the Polo Museale Fiorentino. For some museums the ticket can be purchased online. On the website, select the museum you wish to visit and consult the section Info, where you will find all the necessary information for visiting the museums of the Polo Museale Fiorentino. Alternatively, you can consult the Opening hours section, which specifies which museums offer the option of buying tickets online. Otherwise you can phone 055 294883.

How can I book the visit?

Booking is not obligatory, but it is recommended for some of the museums of the Polo Museale Fiorentino, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery.

To make the booking, you can phone Firenze Musei on 055 294883, or you can book online on the Firenze Musei website.

The cost of booking varies depending on the museum. For information about ticket prices and the cost of booking select the museum you wish to visit and consult the section Info****

If anyone uses the phone number, please report back if you were charged (or didn't have to pay until entry) and whether a booking fee was charged.

Well, I may have really overpaid for the Last Supper tickets, but at least I know we will get to see it. A €21.00 booking fee per ticket. That's steep!

ky: Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear about it.

>>>A €21.00 booking fee per ticket. That's steep!<<<

Maybe not. There is also a tour fee (audioguide? - it's 3.50€). Your price might include the audioguide. You pretty much have to pay market price for this as tickets on the official site are so limited.

>>>What is odd is that they have row and seat numbers! I have no idea what that is all about.<<<

The seat ID is a widget that you can activate the service (by a link on the booking engine), log in from either your Facebook or Linkedin. Then you can see any if any of your friends (that also activated the widget) will be attending the event also.

We have been to the Uffizi and have had our hotel book the tickets for us; on a couple of occasions we paid the hotel directly and a couple of times they simply made a timed entrance reservation slot for us and we went to the ticket window and completed the transaction.

I just found this old post. I just purchased tickets for the Uffizi at b-tickets praying that the website was legit. I feel relieved now after reading the above comments. We paid 34 euros for two people. I think it includes an exhibit, but I'm not sure. It's all an adventure! Thanks for the comment about arriving early to pick up our tickets.