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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!

You log into Ticketmaster…and you see that it is sold out just a few short minutes after the tickets went on sale. Don’t be discouraged! Tickets for concerts, sporting events, Broadway shows, and other major events are never actually sold out.

Take advantage of the following and you may be able to buy tickets for a sold out event, even after the screen reads – “Tickets no longer available.”

• Single tickets are often left unsold. Even if you can’t get a pair, you can often buy two single tickets that are fairly close, or even piggyback (like seat 1 in Row 17 and seat 1 in Row 18.)
• Large blocks of tickets are held back for friends, family, local radio stations, marketing contests, VIPs, etc. These tickets are released usually 2-3 days prior to the event.
• Handicap seating is held back for every event, and can only be purchased by someone with a qualifying disability (needing a wheelchair, etc.) These seats are released a couple of hours before the event, all the way up to the event actual start time. (Keep in mind you cannot buy directly from Ticketmaster all the way up to event time – so 2 hours prior to the event, the only place tickets may be available is at the box office located on site.)
• Buyers who violate published ticket limits usually have their ticket orders cancelled and released back into the pool. This happens during routine maintenance the day of the ticket sale or Monday for weekend “on sales.”
• If you are just a few minutes into the “on sale” for an event, and you get the “Tickets no longer available” message, you should keep trying. Many inexperienced or indecisive buyers may have beaten you into the system, but had their tickets released back if they failed to complete the purchase in 2 minutes.

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!