Ticket Takers

How to improve your shot at seats

(These tips are adapted from a list at the East Bay Express.)

1. Register with the fan club. Some big bands want true fans to get first crack at tickets, and will offer pre-sales to registered members of their fan clubs.

2. Plan ahead. “Scalpers make money off the laziness of concertgoers, so know the ins and outs of the three main ticket-dispersal systems: online, phone, and in person. Bookmark the web page and familiarize yourself with its structure. Enter payment information ahead of time. Put the hotline on speed dial. Know where tickets are going on sale, and at what time. Know your payment options. The buyer's name, shipping address, and billing address often have to match.

3. Take multiple routes. Get online at work with six of your friends. Get those same six friends on the phone to the ticket hotline. Recruit siblings and spouses to help.

4. Get e-savvy. When the Web floodgates open at 10:00 a.m. on a ticket sale day, hundreds of thousands of fans (and bots) rush the virtual door. The gatekeeper is a character recognition test designed to keep out automated ticket-buying programs. Problem is, everyone gets stuck in the bottleneck. Hit "refresh" in your browser when the word-test page lags. Enter the new word and hit "enter." When the page freezes again, repeat until you get through.

5. Be patient. Sometimes promoters hold back blocks of tickets until close to the date of the performance. If you miss out during the rush, you may get lucky later.

Posted on February 27, 2008
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