Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   United States (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/)
-   -   Is ebay.com the best for sold out NYC Theater tickets? (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/is-ebay-com-the-best-for-sold-out-nyc-theater-tickets-265804/)

Martha Oct 14th, 2002 08:41 AM

Is ebay.com the best for sold out NYC Theater tickets?
 
I just found out that I can go on a quick trip to NYC and would love to see the play HAIRSPRAY. The performances all show "sold out"....Several years ago I did similar and got good seats through ebay.com. Is this still the best site? I know there are ticket brokers (scalpers) but their prices are beyond rediculous. I'm expecting to pay more than face value. Thanks, Martha

Larry Oct 14th, 2002 12:25 PM

Certainly no expert on Theater tickets but I am an avid ebayer. I've bought NBA tickets on ebay several times before and never had a problem.

x Oct 14th, 2002 07:29 PM

I had a horrible experience buying tickets over ebay. The scalper would not list the exact seat numbers and never emailed them to me as promised. He ended up being very difficult. There is stubhub.com. Try that or recycler.com (that is the best if they have the tickets you want) - or find a local ticket broker/scalper. Also, sometimes you can get tickets in NY.

Bev Oct 15th, 2002 06:48 AM

So sorry to hear about your experience! We purchased tickets to The Producers in NYC on ebay.com with no problem. I paid $15 to have them FedEx'd to us in California as we were leaving within the week. I do think it is important to check for any negative feedback against the seller. The seller I purchased from had sold hundreds of items with not one negative remark. I know that I had tickets for the Lion King in Los Angeles that I sold on ebay. My husband had to have emergency surgery and it broke my heart to have to sell our tickets at the last minute after purchasing them many months earlier. They were in the 4th row center orchestra. The buyer got a GREAT deal, but on the other hand...I needed to unload them quick to recoup my cost.Good Luck and I hope your find your tickets. Bev

Bill Oct 15th, 2002 07:06 AM

I'll be selling some Hairspray tickets on eBay in a month or two, so I've been monitoring it fairly closely. (We had to cancel our early-January trip to NYC, and I'm going to wait a while before selling the tickets.) <BR><BR>There are plenty of tickets being sold, so be picky. If the seller doesn't list the seat number, assume they're on the far side of the theater. If they don't answer your e-mail inquiries, don't bid. And always look at the seller's feedback. A few negatives among many positives shouldn't disuade you, but a few negatives among a low total number of ratings (or a seller with no ratings of any kind) should make you very cautious). <BR><BR>I've also seen people on eBay soliciting to BUY Hairspray tickets (set up in the "sale" format, but asking interested sellers to e-mail him). I'll bet the eBay folks don't like it a bit, but there they are.<BR><BR>Some sellers have inserted a phot of the actual tickets. I think I may do that when I sell mine.

Stacey Oct 15th, 2002 07:39 AM

We went to NYC in late August and I bought 2 good front row mezzanine tickets for Hairspray on ebay. I paid $240. for the pair which was pretty good price in my opinion. The play was fabulous, very upbeat, high energy. Don't miss it if you have your heart set on it. If I were you, I'd go to ebay and buy tickets before arriving in NYC...otherwise you'll probably get shut out. Stacey

Fred Oct 15th, 2002 08:54 PM

IMO. Yes...it's the best selection.

x Oct 15th, 2002 09:56 PM

Bill, yes def. put a photo of your tickets up so people know you have them in hand. A lot of the professional scalpers don't really have the tickets - they will buy them from someone else if they get a high enough bid. I say look at recycler.com or stubhub if you're not a scalper to see about selling your tickets there first. Also, in my case I thought I was safe because the guy had a lot of positive feedback and only a few negative posts. But now I know because of the way ebay works, if you have a high-pressure sales guy (and professional scalpers usually are) then you can bet there are more negative comments that never made it to the site. Is it worth the hassle and potential ramifications as the seller can find out personal info about you at that point? <BR><BR>Of course you don't buy if the seller won't email you but in my case the guy emailed me back after I had put in a "buy it now" saying he did not have the seat numbers but would email them the next day. The tickets were listed very high, close to the buy it now price so there is no auction involved, no real loss to him. The next day he did not email the seat numbers even though I emailed again. Finally I emailed suggesting we just call this a draw (and that's when the nasty emails from him began). One telling sign was he had no mailing address and no phone number on his email to me. DON'T BUY SCALPER TICKETS UNLESS THEY HAVE A TELEPHONE NUMBER and preferably an address as well.

Tom Oct 16th, 2002 06:02 AM

So happy to have read this post. I too have purchased theater and sporting event tickets on ebay but they ALWAYS listed the seat number (I wouldn't take a chance otherwise). Are the 2 sites you mentioned (stubhub.com and recycler.com) better sites for selling tickets? I may have 2 Laker tickets to sell and want to go where I can generally do the best as a seller. I believe I've seen stubhub.com as a seller on ebay before. Appreciate your opinions, not familiar with the sites you mentioned.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 05:15 PM.