Concert Tickets Tips

Use Concierge Services for Tickets

If you want the best tickets to an event and are willing to pay whatever it takes, use concierge services both in hotels and online.

There are websites that promise to not only deliver hard-to-get event and concert tickets, but to get you the best seats in the house. But you'll have to pay for such service. Or, if you are staying in a hotel, don't forget to make use of the hotel's concierge, which can often help you with hard-to-get tickets to an event. This will also cost you because you will have to tip the concierge for his or her service. But at least you will be front and center, with the best Rascal Flatts concert tickets out of all your friends!

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Join a Fan Club for First Dibs on Tickets

Some artists are so popular that tickets to their show sell out in hours, even minutes. If you are afraid of missing out on, say, Rolling Stones tickets or Madonna tickets, it might benefit you to join their fan club online. That's because many fan clubs for artists and bands make event tickets available to members of the club before the general public.

For example, members of Madonna's fan club had access to her last tour's tickets before the general public in a special fan club pre-sale. And, with an artist like Madonna, whose tours have been known to sell out in just 10 minutes, that's a great advantage.

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Finding Concert Tickets

Need new ideas for where to find sold-out concert tickets? How about turning to your hometown newspaper or to fellow fans online?

The classified section of your newspaper just might be where you find your Kenny Chesney tickets or Radiohead tickets. Sometimes people have bought concert tickets and then cannot attend the show for one reason or another. Also, check out websites such as craigslist.com, buyselltix.com and stubhub.com(recently bought by eBay), all places where fans sell tickets. You have a better chance at paying face value for a ticket from a fellow fan than a ticket broker.

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Concert Ticket Prices

Wondering if you're getting ripped off when you buy a ticket to one of the hottest tours of the year? Compare what you paid to what Pollstar, the industry trade magazine, says is what Americans paid on average for the top 100 tours last year.

The average ticket price for the top 100 tours in 2006 was $61.45 (up 8 percent from the average ticket price of $56.88 in 2005).

Furthermore, North American concert ticket prices totaled $3.6 billion in 2006, according to Pollstar. That's an increase of 16 percent over 2005 sales.

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Buying Tickets Online From Ticket Brokers

Buying concert tickets online has become extremely popular. If you are looking to buy tickets online through a ticket broker, there are many online companies out there to choose from. When trying to decide who to do business with, it will help you to keep the following in mind:

• Know that you will be paying more for your tickets because ticket brokers mark up the ticket prices to cover their expenses and make a profit.
• If you are wary of doing business with a broker, look for the Better Business Bureau Online Reliability Program seal on a company's website to ease your mind.

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Tony Bennett, Unplugged

In case you think of the timeless Tony Bennett as an old-timer, there's the little matter of that "MTV Unplugged" concert he did. Make no mistake, Tony Bennett is also wireless. You can download "Fly Me To The Moon" ring tones for your Blackberry. And the Bennett promoters aren't working through snail mail. You can buy concert tickets for Tony Bennett through Ticketmaster or an ticket broker selling concert tickets online. It's easy to find concert tickets.

Though the ticket broker may not display Tony Bennett on the home page with Gwen Stefani and the Black Eyed Peas, you can typically search the site and find tour dates. We think there's no better place to see Tony Bennett than in Vegas where Frank also flew to the moon. His December 2005 concert tickets at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Fremont Street will take you back to old Vegas glamour if you remember a young Tony Bennett. Plus, the under-fifty crowd that saw him on MTV thinks he's cool. So unplug yourself from the notion that it's no longer "cool" to listen to Tony Bennett. Technology changes, but talent and class are always in style.

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Sold Out? Not Out of Luck

Your teens want to see Hilary Duff, but she's sold out. Not surprising. This Disney Channel favorite (who takes time out to appreciate US troops) is wholesome compared to midriff-baring bubblegum queens. How do you find concert tickets for a sold-out show?

If you can't find Hilary Duff concert tickets online in the States, try a broker with Canadian tickets. In 2006, Ms. Duff tours Quebec and British Columbia. If you live in Seattle, it's worth the trip north--take the train and make a family vacation out of it. Older kids may camp outside the stadium in the States hoping to buy from a ticket scalper rather than be seen with you, but one time stuck behind a pole will make teens appreciate family bonding.

Many ticket brokers will allow you to buy concert tickets for SRO performances at the last minute, so work with an online broker if you can't make the trip to Canada. After all, wholesome entertainment for your kids that you can enjoy is worth the expense.

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Sold Out Tickets, Stand In Line

You want to see a sold-out Madonna concert just to see how the Material Girl has reinvented herself this time around. Unfortunately, it looks as if you'll have to seek the wisdom of Kabbalah to get your hands on sold out concert tickets. Or you could just stand in line with the other devotees and share Madonna memories. It's possible that your favorite Madonna moment will set your front and center with the Queen of Pop, but you would still have to wait in line.

Occasionally, someone will forget to pick up the tickets, and you just might get lucky enough to find concert tickets some kind stranger left for you. If you don't want to partake in scalping, your alternative is to buy concert tickets online through a reputable broker. You might pay a little more, but your seats might actually be decent, and then you might be able to express yourself with the one and only.

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It's an Online Ticket Jungle

Priceline and Travelocity cut into the travel agency business, making finding flights both easier and more difficult. Similarly, if you're looking for Rolling Stones concert tickets five minutes after they go on sale, your chances may be as faint as Keith Richards' pulse. Online concert tickets have made the competition to buy tickets fiercer. While so many opportunities, from eBay to online brokers to Ticketmaster, mean more choices, you also face more risk.

Finding good seats for top-dollar sold out concert tickets is harder than reviving Michael Jackson's career. Does this mean you can't find tickets for the hottest acts? Not necessarily. Online auctions and tickets sold on consignment can help you find the seats you want.

Visit a number of different brokers, and settle if you must for seats in, say, the mezzanine as long as you don't have an obstructed view. You can bid on eBay tickets, but if you win the auction and an online ticket broker suddenly has prime sold out concert tickets for sale, you'll face a challenging choice--actually, it's the best possible dilemma you could have. If the tickets are that hot, though, chances are you'll get outbid and be back to square one--but the broker just came calling! Online concert tickets may pump up the competition, but that means that you, the concert-goer, can flex your power and decide what tickets you want.

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Sell Out Acts

You may call an alternative musician a "sell out" because she suddenly starts doing sappy love songs. She won't be sold out if her die-hard fan base deserts her. But there are some acts you can count on for sold out concert tickets. The short list:

• Madonna
• The Rolling Stones
• Coldplay
• U2
• Paul McCartney
• Toby Keith
• Cher
• Janet Jackson (wardrobe malfunctions notwithstanding)
• Motley Crue

That said, Norah Jones has scalpers too, because her concert tickets are selling out more rapidly. Don't be lazy choosing your concert tickets online just because you're not buying Rolling Stones tickets. But if Norah Jones abandons her gentle sultry style and starts gyrating like Britney Spears, we can call her a sellout for sure.

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Best Online Deals

• Can you trust that eBay bargain on Black Crowes concert tickets?
• Should you buy concert tickets for U2 online through Ticketmaster?

Suppose, however, that the best deal for you isn't the cheapest? What if you want those AA seats? The answer, my friend, is courtesy of Priceline: Shop and compare concert tickets online--not necessarily through eBay. If you do shop eBay, compare several different Black Crowes seat offerings. Make sure to research the theater or stadium. You don't want to be in the top bleachers while actual black crows perch on you.

Alternative acts like the Black Crowes demand closer seats. For a screaming wailing heavy metal concert, you need those Madison Square Garden third mezzanine concert tickets. You say you bought them on eBay? Trust your instincts--but trust and verify.

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Buying More Tickets After The Concert is Sold Out

Everyone has that one friend who always insisted on bringing more friends. You buy U2 or Motown concert tickets online, but your friend shows up on concert night with five more friends, including her main squeeze. What do you do? Simple--you'll just buy more tickets. But when you get to the box office, you hear dooming words: "Sold out concert tickets. Sorry."

Before you consider hitting your friend with an electric guitar, place a call to your ticket broker. Your ticket broker just may be able to help you find concert tickets at the last minute. It probably won't work once you're at the concert. Fortunately, your package includes five standing room only concert tickets you forgot to take advantage of.

Your friend is saved from becoming one of those bizarre rock concert legends. But next time, casually ask her who she's planning to bring. Not all ticket brokers are understanding--perhaps because they have friends, too, who ask them for "just one more ticket for my old college roommate."

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Buying International Concert Tickets

You're from Kyoto or Kensington and you want Celine Dion concert tickets in Vegas. Or you've always dreamed of seeing Springsteen perform in Russia--so '80s! Do you buy tickets to a foreign affair? Your obvious option is to purchase concert tickets online. Our hints are your passports to successful destination concerts:

1. Always be mindful of exchange rates, the Euro versus the US dollar, the Euro versus the yen, the yen versus the US dollar, and so forth. When you find concert tickets through an international Web-based ticket broker, check to see that the seller's markup of tickets is comparable to that in your own country.
2. Pay extra for Global Priority Mail or FedEx--or have Caesar's Palace hold them for you until the concert date, Otherwise, international mail can be tricky.
3. Be sure to factor in the local sales tax (GST in Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.)
4. Make sure your ticket broker is a member of whatever professional ticket broker association exists in the broker's home country. This will ensure that you don't get ripped off and you have legal recourse.
5. Carefully read the refunds, returns and exchanges policy, and especially know the ticket broker's rules for cancellations and postponements. Otherwise, you could end up freezing in Russia waiting for the Boss to come back.
6. Research the city you'll be traveling to.

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Check Concert Tour Dates Online

Are you dying to buy Red Hot Chili Peppers concert tickets for your girlfriend or Hannah Montana concert tickets for your daughter, but don't know when they are coming to your area? There are websites that will list concert tour dates for you when you plug in who you'd like to see.

Check out websites such as pollstar.com, billboard.com and concertgroove.com to find out concert tour dates.

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Madison Square Garden Shows and Discounts

Being in the know is as easy as signing up for an online newsletter. This is the case with New York City's Madison Square Garden. By signing up for its online newsletter, "Backstage Access," you will find out about Madison Square Garden shows before the general public and, therefore, jump on ticket sales immediately. You will also find out about special discounts before anyone else.

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Print Your Tickets at Home

Ticket printing has become another convenience for those buying tickets to events in the computer age. Many online ticket companies, such as Ticketmaster.com, now offer ticket printing services in which you can print your ticket out in the comfort of your own home.

Ticketmaster.com will email your tickets so that you can print them out. Then just bring them to the event where the barcode on your ticket will be scanned before you can enter the venue.

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Pick Your Preferred View With Ease

The Internet has made concert ticket buying easy when it comes to choosing the best view. Many venues offer event seating charts on their websites for your convenience.

For example, if you are buying Madison Square Garden tickets you can go to "seating" on the venue's web page and browse through the different sections. By clicking on each section, you are shown a real life view of the stage from that vantage point.

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