Tiffany

We will be going to NYC in a couple of weeks for 4 nights. Unfortunately, I kind of put off obtaining theater tickets until today. I was getting pretty discouraged looking at telecharge and ticketmaster until I read a posting on Fodors about checking with ebay.com. Although I had always heard of this web site, today was my first day experiencing it. I was in shock! Any type of theater ticket you might want, for any date, any price range is probably on ebay (from best seats to last row). I'm thrilled that the 2 transactions I had today went so smooth. They take credit cards and in my case, I saw exactly the tickets I was purchasing. I got 8 great tickets (actually 2 shows/4 each) and couldn't be any more pleased. Just in case you're like me and getting discouraged finding tickets, try it. (I can see why people have called this site adicting, anything you could want in your life is probably there! I'm going to try to find a Lladro figurine for MIL's Xmas there next! Good Luck and Happy Holidays! Tiffany

Dan

Hi Tiffany - I too have discovered that eBay is a great place to get theater tickets! I had bough other items there for years, but for some reason, it never occurred to me to look for tickets until someone here mentioned it. Just remember, check the feedback of the buyer before you place your bid - you want to make sure you are buying from someone reputable.

Kenny

Thanks for the suggestion. I too am having difficulty and appreciate your input. I'm exploring any options at this point. Thanks.

Gracie

I too bought my tickets to see the Christmas Spectacular on ebay. Another word of advise....I almost missed buying these tickets because initially, the ad said (2) tickets....when reading the description it said "if you need 2 more, email me because I also have two next to these". Since I needed 4 tickets total, I almost let these slip by. I've noticed that several sellers have more than the tickets actually mentioned, they just list them in pairs. If you need more than 2 tickets...read the full description, you'll find many sellers that have more than just the two they're selling. Worked out great for our family!

Postal

I've had great luck with Ebay, but be sure to carefully check the feedback of the seller. Yahoo Auctions did absolutely nothing for me when one of the sellers on their auction site (supposedly a reputable dealer) never sent me my product.

Susan

My one and only experience trying to buy something on e-bay was not encouraging. I was looking for a specific toy my son wants for xmas. I found it listed -- that day was the last day of the auction, with 3 hours left, and there was not one bid on the item.

I bid the minimum amount, and was notified via email that I had been outbid by one dollar and did I want to counter bid?

Now, the amount of money here is not the point (we're talking 5$ range). It just struck me as mighty suspicious that with no other bidders and that close to the end of the sale there would be a counter bid. I took it to be the seller trying to jack up the price, and declined to counter bid.

Does this sound like what was going on, or was I being hyper cynical?

Patrick

I just looked through a lot of the tickets, but found it is far too early to find anything for May, when I'm looking. But I was amazed at the number of ads which don't give specific seat numbers. Terms like "front orchestra seating" or "center orchestra" really doesn't tell me much. Front orchestra could be the very front row, or could be the extreme sides with horrible views. Center orchestra could be the last row. And there sure are a lot of tickets for front row orchestra, which are generally horrible seats as nearly all the shows are doing built up stages, and often you can't even see the feet on stage (rather important for dance numbers), and lose sight of the actors altogether when they move upstage. I'd suggest you make sure you know what specific seats you are actually getting.

Owen O'Neill

Susan - there are many folks who literally sit at their screen and watch at the very end of the auction to get higher bids in. There is also an online service that uses fee based "sniping" software. It allows you to place a maximum bid amount that you're willing to pay and then it automatically places it for you just before the end of the auction - even faster and cloer to the final moment than you could do it yourself. I share your skepticism about Ebay but then again.... I swear by Priceline for hotel rooms and many folks think I'm crazy (for other reasons as well, I suppose).

Emily

Good point Patrick - what I would do is if there was an auction you were interested in, and the seat numbers weren't listed, e-mail the buyer (via the "ask seller a question" feature and ask for the specific seat numbers for the tickets. Try to do this before the final hours of the auction so the seller has time to respond. If they can't (or won't) supply the numbers, move on to the next group of tickets. I'm looking for some tickets for March and I think I'm a little early too (but I'll keep checking anyway!)

To Susan ([email protected]): No, I don't think the seller was trying to rip you off (although I do see how it could appear that way) I sell a lot on eBay and MANY times I do not get bids on my items until the last minutes of the auction; it is very possible that you were legitimately out-bid. People wait until the last minute to place a bid hoping to pick up a bargain. Next time, if there is an item you want, place a bid that is in the maximum amount you are willing to spend. If the opening bid is $10 and you place a $25 bid, the bid price will only be $10. Your $25 dollar bid will increase ONLY if you are bid against. If you are outbid for the $25, that should be ok, because that was the maximum you were winning to spend anyway. Sounds confusing but once you bid a few times it makes sense!

I think it's great that we can get tickets on eBay without paying the Tcketmaster/Telecharge fees. I wanted to make sure we had tickets for "Dance of the Vampires" in March and wanted "cheapie seats" because we will try to see 4-5 shows while in town, so I gave in and bought them on Ticketmaster and paid the extra $25+ in fees for four tickets. YUCK. But a least I know we have our Friday evening seats and money left to spend on other productions. eBay here I come.

Marcie

Unfortunately, we're one of those that has had to cancel our upcoming trip to NYC over New Years due to medical reasons. (we usually visit NYC 2 times a year). We LOVE the theater and had purchased great, front and center tickets to both Dance of the Vampires and Man of La Mancha what seems like months ago in order to get the best available. Now that we've had to cancel, I've put both sets of tickets on ebay. Not trying to make money, but just trying to recoup some of the money we're already out. There are others like me who for whatever reason have a change of plans. I've bought tickets on ebay before as well but I would NEVER consider buying any seats unless I knew the specific row and seat number. Like Patrick said, you could end up with lousy seats. On both of the auctions I have now, I've included the exact seats and even a seating chart so you can see exactly what you're purchasing. For any others looking to buy tickets, if you're not familiar with the theater, check out the seating charts first. I've always done this and never gone wrong.It really is a good source for both selling and purchasing any product you could dream of! If the item is a "straight" auction, then the bidding doesn't usually get too much action until the very end. I've had items that I've sold that got no bids until the last hour and then had as many as 10 bids!

Ann

I was just in NY and a friend showed me a great way to get cheap theater tickets without waiting in line at TKTS. Right across the street from TKTS is the New York visitor's center. If you go to the round desk in the center and ask what shows they have coupons for, they'll take out a notebook and you can see what's available. With coupon in hand, go to the theater and buy tickets at half price or less. I got tickets for Metamorphosis for $35 for the next day while the sign in the lobby said all seats were $75. Better than standing in line at TKTS and you don't have to wait for the last day. Just another suggestion.