Is it a good idea to buy tickets from a scalper?

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Baseball season is here and summer is among us! I recently went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game, and I broke every rule in the book “of deerkram” on buying tickets from a scalper.  To make a long story short I got bad seats for about a dollar off, on a rainy Pittsburgh night.  That is a horrible deal considering the Pirates rank #28 of 30 in attendance- Tickets are easy to come by. I have no idea what I was thinking going with the first scalper in sight.  I only spent $20 for two tickets to see a Major League Baseball game-but I was sitting with the peigons! The tickets were $11 at the box office. I paid $20 for two.

Before you even consider buying tickets from a scalper please remember what I am going to tell you. 

First!  Make sure scalping is legal where you live.  States such as: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina have either banned scalping, or have particular rules you must abide by(such as you may scalp tickets but only off arena or stadium property).  Police are worried about more important things at an event.  Most police look at scalping as they do jaywalking; it might be against the law some places-but who cares! 

If you want to get tickets from a scalper it isn’t always a bad idea!  But you have to do it right.  It’s very important to take a few measures to prevent getting ripped off.  Always make sure the ticket is real. I know you are laughing right now because this sounds like such a …duh!  However, ticket fraud is out there. You want to make sure you know what to look for to make sure the ticket is real.  There is not that much information on the internet provided for how to determine if a ticket is real or fake.  Here is what to look for:

The appearance is the key to it all!  If something looks weird of funny about the ticket-that is a bad sign. Never buy a ticket that was printed off of a computer.  There are tickets that you can buy online and print, and they are a great thing of convience.  As far as buying one from a scalper-no way!  Copy machines are 10 cents per copy at circle K!  Which leads us to barcodes- It's 2011, all tickets should have readable barcodes. Once its scanned once-that's it.  Duplicates are a dumb idea on the scalper's side of things-but you never know!

So barcode-we got that down also you never want to buy a ticket that doesn’t look colorful, or has no price on it,  these are all common on all tickets.  These days, all tickets are not torn at the stub, they are scanned. So no barcode is a dead give away for any college or pro sporting event.  
It is also a  great idea to keep the ticket prices per section memorized (or write the prices on your seating chart you will print out- we'll get to that in a minute) . 

A huge way to discover a fake is to check the back of the ticket.  The world feeds on advertising.  Every sporting event I’ve been to in the last 10 years has had an advertisement for something.  100% of the time the rules and regulations for www.ticketmaster.com tickets (and most other tickets). Look for the "rain out" policy or some event info on the back.

PNC Park seating chart

Once you know you are looking at a real ticket it is important to make sure you sit where you want to sit.  My biggest mistake was not reviewing the seating chart before the game.  I’ve always told myself when buying from a scalper know what sections are a no-go!  If you are reading this you obviously have a computer.  It is vital to print or write down the seating chart for your event.  A great website to use is http://www.seatingcharts.com/ . They have every stadium and arena you could imagine.  If you can’t find your event’s arena or stadium-well, that’s what google is for!  Once you know your section,  don’t assume you seats are as close as they seem. Some venues name their rows with double consanants, such as row A, followed by row AA, then row B, row BB, and so on…

Shop around.  Never go with the first guy you see selling tickets.  The “worst tickets guy” will be the first one to approach you as you exit your parking garage.  He is not the only one, walk further to see what other deals are ahead.  Most of the time the “I got too many tickets guy” (who ironically is usually next to a guy needing tickets) will be at the front gate trying to make one last ploy to get rid of the mass amount of tickets he has at a discounted rate.  Not to say where a scalper stands has to do with a good deal-but explore your options. The best deal you can hope for when buying tickets at the event is not from a scalper, from a fellow event attendee.  People that have an extra ticket or two, because their buddy couldn’t make it to the game, are in a hurry to get in their seat with a hot dog and a beer. 

Chances are, their friend that couldn’t make it already paid for the ticket and is willing to get whatever he can for it, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of their pregame.  These types of “scalpers” which are really just fellow consumers, will usually not hang around too long, you want to be somewhat early to find them

Never be on time. Either get there early and buy tickets from a tailgater, or arrive late if you don’t mind missing the start of your event.  If it’s the third inning of a baseball game, scalpers are extremely likely to be desperate to make something off the tickets they didn’t sell.  You can REALLY shop around then! (unless you are at a Yankee's game then you are outta luck!)  If it is an outdoor event, and happens to be couldy, use the possible rain as a bargaining method.  Remember scalpers' prices  are NEVER set in stone.  It is almost expected for you to talk them down.  Never pay the first offer, and unless it’s a sell out-never pay face value or above!  It never hurts to go the easy way and buy them at the ballpark.  Atleast check out your options. Use the scalper idea as an option.  Just don't look like a sucker and get ripped off!

I would like to take a moment to recognize the “lemonade guy” from Pittsburgh.  A man named Kenny Geidel.  He was notorious in Pittsburgh, and died this week. He was well known as the “lemonade guy” at local MLB,NHL,and NFL games,  you can find him in action on youtube.  He always made the ballpark exciting with his unmistakable voice screeching out “LEMONADE HERE.” 

The Pittsburgh Pengiuns, Pirates, and Steelers, have all released statements of condolences regarding his death.  It is great to see someone with a challenge in life overcome it and love their life and job.  The ballparks/area will truly not be the same without him. 

http://deerkram.blogspot.com/