Tom Petty Tickets - Reasonable Prices?
April 4, 2013 10:40 AM Subscribe
How can I get reasonably-priced tickets for a Tom Petty show at the Beacon in NYC May 20-26?
So I was excited to find some tickets on StubHub for one of the Tom Petty shows at Beacon Theatre in NYC May 20-26. But then I found that they had already gone on sale a few weeks ago and appear to be sold out...
Looking at StubHub, the market seems to be charging anywhere from 3-30 times face value. Is there a website where I can make an offer for tickets? I'm OK paying a markup, but I don't want to pay $400 for a $100 ticket... Do I have any other options?
So I was excited to find some tickets on StubHub for one of the Tom Petty shows at Beacon Theatre in NYC May 20-26. But then I found that they had already gone on sale a few weeks ago and appear to be sold out...
Looking at StubHub, the market seems to be charging anywhere from 3-30 times face value. Is there a website where I can make an offer for tickets? I'm OK paying a markup, but I don't want to pay $400 for a $100 ticket... Do I have any other options?
Craigslist? You can subscribe to an RSS feed for the search if you don't find anything right away.
posted by payoto at 10:54 AM on April 4, 2013
posted by payoto at 10:54 AM on April 4, 2013
You can also set a price alert within Stubhub so that you can get a notification when desirable seats show up in your price range.
posted by kellyk801 at 11:12 AM on April 4, 2013
posted by kellyk801 at 11:12 AM on April 4, 2013
I tried to buy these the day they went on sale last week. By the time I got to Ticketmaster, the only tickets left were the $400 VIP ones. Now there are some on Stubhub going for more than $7,000. There was a fan pre-sale, but you had to pay $40 to join the fan club, and it's too late anyway. (You can still join the fan club, but the pre-sale is over. There might be another ticket lottery. It's possible.)
I'd say it might be a good idea to wait a few weeks, even a month, and see if prices come down somewhat on the resale market. My money is on nobody buying tickets for $7,000 a pair. (There are some crappy seats listed for reasonable-ish prices on Stubhub, if you care more about getting any seats than about getting good ones.)
You might also follow TP's Twitter feed so you'll hear about giveaways and contests. There was one (over now) where you had to write a TPATH-themed haiku to win. Hopefully there will be other contests between now and May 20.
posted by brina at 11:25 AM on April 4, 2013
I'd say it might be a good idea to wait a few weeks, even a month, and see if prices come down somewhat on the resale market. My money is on nobody buying tickets for $7,000 a pair. (There are some crappy seats listed for reasonable-ish prices on Stubhub, if you care more about getting any seats than about getting good ones.)
You might also follow TP's Twitter feed so you'll hear about giveaways and contests. There was one (over now) where you had to write a TPATH-themed haiku to win. Hopefully there will be other contests between now and May 20.
posted by brina at 11:25 AM on April 4, 2013
I had the same experience as Brina. I live on the UWS, so my plan is just to head down to the theater before show time, and see what's floating around. And also to check Craigslist as the dates draw near.
posted by kimdog at 11:28 AM on April 4, 2013
posted by kimdog at 11:28 AM on April 4, 2013
Right now, on StubHub, the seats are posted by professional ticket brokers and probably by Live Nation or whomever is promoting the shows themselves scalping their own seats. The guy who bought two for his buddy and his buddy's girlfriend has not been told that they can't come yet. About a week before the show those seats will start showing up. Then, prices will start to drop.
Another possibility is going to the box office early, s couple of hours early on show night and asking if there are any returns. That is where you will get good seats that Live Nation or whomever promotes the show could not scalp themselves on StubHub. Even if you buy seats early, go up to the box office and ask if you can trade up or improve your seats. Often, they will simply trade seats.
It is my experience, and it is a vast experience, that the prices you are seeing now on StubHub will not last. They are artificially high posted by brokers and he house.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:04 PM on April 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
Another possibility is going to the box office early, s couple of hours early on show night and asking if there are any returns. That is where you will get good seats that Live Nation or whomever promotes the show could not scalp themselves on StubHub. Even if you buy seats early, go up to the box office and ask if you can trade up or improve your seats. Often, they will simply trade seats.
It is my experience, and it is a vast experience, that the prices you are seeing now on StubHub will not last. They are artificially high posted by brokers and he house.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:04 PM on April 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
Maybe a time machine to go back and get tickets when they first went on sale? I jest!
I think Tom Petty fans are the only ones who will be sharing tickets to other fans without an insane markup. That's how the USA vs. Canada women's soccer game (June 2) is shaping up -- it sold out in like 4 hours and all the tickets on StubHub are selling 5-10 times the purchase price. But by asking around the U.S. WNT fan blogs and Twitters, I was able to find a few tickets for a friend. I am a jerk, so I sold my extra ticket for $300 on StubHub though.
Or, you can hope to find someone on Craigslist who has never heard of StubHub. I've never bought in craigslist, but I did sell some soccer tickets there.
posted by AppleTurnover at 1:53 PM on April 4, 2013
I think Tom Petty fans are the only ones who will be sharing tickets to other fans without an insane markup. That's how the USA vs. Canada women's soccer game (June 2) is shaping up -- it sold out in like 4 hours and all the tickets on StubHub are selling 5-10 times the purchase price. But by asking around the U.S. WNT fan blogs and Twitters, I was able to find a few tickets for a friend. I am a jerk, so I sold my extra ticket for $300 on StubHub though.
Or, you can hope to find someone on Craigslist who has never heard of StubHub. I've never bought in craigslist, but I did sell some soccer tickets there.
posted by AppleTurnover at 1:53 PM on April 4, 2013
Also, the Beacon is owned by Madison Square Garden. If you know anyone who works for the Garden,call them. If you know anyone who works for Live Nation or a band management company like Red Light Management, call them and see if you can by any friend and family seats. They will sometimes sell you them at face value.
Fwiw, and I am not sure there is a good comparison here, but I saw TP at SPAC two summers ago. THe show was listed a sold out, but when my 14 year old son and I got there planning to scalp, the box office had 4th row seats available. We ended up scalping seats for half price that were back about 10 more rows.
The only reason I would pay the prices on StubHub now would be if you promised your wife for her birthday or you are taking a corporate client that you do not want to mess with scalping.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:59 PM on April 4, 2013
Fwiw, and I am not sure there is a good comparison here, but I saw TP at SPAC two summers ago. THe show was listed a sold out, but when my 14 year old son and I got there planning to scalp, the box office had 4th row seats available. We ended up scalping seats for half price that were back about 10 more rows.
The only reason I would pay the prices on StubHub now would be if you promised your wife for her birthday or you are taking a corporate client that you do not want to mess with scalping.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:59 PM on April 4, 2013
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posted by primethyme at 10:50 AM on April 4, 2013