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If you are wondering why tickets sold out in 5 minutes for your favorite artist, it is likely that many tickets were sold during a “presale.”  It’s true! While you click on the tiny button waiting for Ticketmaster to return anything - even a pair in nosebleeds - die hard fans and Ticket Brokers are relaxing at the beach. 

They bought their tickets yesterday.

 

Next time you want a hot ticket, consider the following:

• Most big sellout concerts offer some type of presale.  The artists try to make it sound like it is all about letting fans get access first, but that is hardly the case.  Most concert presales are open to buyers in two distinct groups.  First, members of the artist’s fan club – usually at a cost of $19 - $49 annually.  The second group includes buyers who have bought a specific product like Pepsi or customers who have an America Express Card.  Either way, fans who are in these groups are often emailed a password that allows them to buy tickets anywhere from an hour to a few days before the general public.  A recent example would be Hannah Montana.  Fan club members had access to a presale for this massive sellout.

• Sports teams often have presales as well.  These presales are usually open to fans that are on the waiting list for season tickets.  Most professional sports teams collect some type of deposit (usually $100 per seat.) This is a free loan for the team, and in theory rewards the fans that are most loyal - people who are waiting to invest $1000’s a year for tickets.  As with concerts, fans that are on the list, get a password for the presale.  A recent example would be the New England Patriots.  Anyone on the waiting list could buy 5 game packages prior to the general public long before the average fan even knew tickets were on sale.

Possible disadvantages to Presale Passwords:

• Presale passwords do not guarantee you tickets.  Most concerts only sell 20-30% of the tickets for an event through a presale.  So being a card member, drinking Pepsi, and subscribing to Hannah’s weekly advice via newsletter may not get you a seat.  If you don’t get seats for some reason (presale allotment sells out) then a refund is usually given when requested.

• Presale passwords usually limit the seating locations available for purchase.  For example, in a concert scenario, it may only allow you to buy Rows 11-20 on the floor and upper level seats.  In the case of the Patriots, presale buyers could only buy SRO (Standing Room Only Tickets.)  Who would want to stand at a Pats game? $50 SRO tickets for the upcoming Steelers at Patriots game have a market value of $400-$500 a pair. 

A few last words of advice on buying tickets through a Presale:

• Always sign up for free information on your favorite artists, teams, venues, and events through both Ticketmaster and the artist / team website.

• Every team and Concert handles things differently.  Some fan clubs are free.  Some waiting lists are free.  A few minutes of reasearch can save you hundreds of dollars and a ton of disappointment.

• As soon as a tour or event is announced, do some research.  Message boards, chat rooms, general searches online, and the artist / team websites will tell you if there is a presale, and what you have to do to qualify.

• Last, many times the passwords are generic like “HannahFan” or “WaitingList.”  If that’s the case, you can easily get the info from another fan.  If it’s not generic, there are also numerous places to buy the password for a few dollars.  Try eBay as well as fan specific message boards.  For those interested in selling tickets, you can purchase memberships to websites that buy and distribute passwords for big events.

Hope this helps!  Feel free to visit my blog for more information on buying the best seats at the lowest possible price.  Subscribe to my feed and make sure you get updates on tickets going on sale across the country.  Good luck!

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 at 6:22 pm and is filed under Buying Strategy, Ticketmaster. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.