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All Oprah has to do is mention the name of your product, and it sells out immediately.  It’s not at all surprising that tickets for her show are among the most difficult to acquire.

The good news is that like most TV shows, tickets for the Oprah Winfrey show are free.  You cannot buy them on the secondary market (like eBay or Stubhub) because they have your name on each ticket, and require photo ID for entrance.  Basically, they are non-transferable.

There are services that charge outrageous fees to basically dial the phone for you.  There is one that guarantees you will get tickets.  In exchange for them dialing the phone and getting through, they charge about $1000 for up to 4 tickets.

The only legitimate way to get tickets for Oprah is directly through her studio.  Oprah tapes August through November and January through June.  Currently no reservations are available for 2007.

Fans interested in attending a show must check her website everyday.  Once you get to the website, there will be information on if they are currently booking reservations.  If they are, there will be a phone number to call.  There is never advance notice as to when shows will be made available, although it is usually 30 - 60 days in advance.  

Here is the link you need to check for tickets: http://www.oprah.com/tows/program/tows_prog_getticks.jhtml

A few other small details:

• You must be 18 and have valid ID to attend a show. 
• You must wear business casual or nicer clothing.  No white or beige is allowed.  And sweaters are recommended.
• You can request up to 4 tickets for a show.
• You can only attend 1 show per season.
• Taping are twice per day, on weekdays only.
• No food is served or allowed, so eat plenty before you arrive.
• Shows take 3-4 hours to tape.
• You cannot request a specific show topic, so if you’re stalking Dr. Phil, this is not the place to do it!

There are no walk-ins or standbys, but the website sometimes has a link available for last minute tickets that are from cancellations.

Good luck!

Ticketmaster e-tickets, also know as “TicketFast” are becoming more popular every day with fans in the United States.  In simple terms, when you buy tickets from Ticketmaster, you are now given the option of having your tickets sent via snail mail (regular mail,) expedited mail (1, 2, or 3 day service,) or email.  

E-mailed tickets are extremely safe, especially directly from Ticketmaster.  If you choose the TicketFast option, you will receive your tickets within a few minutes via email as a PDF attachment.  You simply open the attachment, and print off your tickets on any printer.  If you do not have Adobe (the program required to open and read a FDF file) you can download it free from Adobe’s website. (The Ticketmaster email provides the link and instructions in the email they send.)

Each ticket requires one sheet of paper, and contains everything you see on a normal ticket, and then some.  It includes the stadium and event information, along with your name, Section, Row, and Seats.  Most e-tickets also contain a bar code so it can be easily scanned at the gate for admission to the event.

Using an e-ticket does not require any extra steps on event day.  You do not need to show ID, or exchange them for so called “hard” tickets.  You simply proceed to the gate and enter the event.

E-tickets have fees associated with them.  These fees are collected when you purchase tickets - not when you use the tickets.   They vary by event, but are usually $2-$5 per ticket.  This fee replaces your shipping costs, but does not replace all the other fees Ticketmaster adds.

Many Professional Sports teams now allow season ticket holders to convert “hard” tickets into e-tickets.  Let’s say you can’t make it to a game and want your friend from work to have your tickets.  You can simply log into your season ticket account on your team’s website.  You cancel your “hard tickets” and issue new e-tickets.   The process takes about 2-3 minutes, and usually costs between $2-$5 per ticket.  Some teams are free.  many teams allow you to forward your tickets to charity.

When converting tickets, it is important to remember that your old tickets are cancelled immediately and cannot be reactivated.  Also, I recommend having the new e-ticket sent directly you, not your friend.  That way you can forward it, and still have a copy in your email if something happens.  You can only forward tickets up until 2 hours before the event.

As for safety, I believe e-tickets are as safe, or safer than “hard” tickets.

For one, they can’t get lost in the mail.  Second, they arrive immediately in your inbox - so you know you have them, and you know where they are filed.  Third, if you misplace or damage the tickets you can simply reprint them.

Fans lose or damage tickets all the time!  They lose them at home.  They forget to take them when they fly to a weekend getaway.  They leave them in the car to get ruined by the sun.  Their dogs eat them.  They get lost in the mail.  All of these are correctable with a few clicks with e-tickets!

Good luck and please continue to send me questions.  Feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed or weekly newsletter.  Both will provide links to my articles and information about tickets going on sale in the near future.  Thanks!