February 17, 2006, Newsletter Issue #5: Higher Ticket Prices--Yes, That's a Good Thing

Tip of the Week

Ever notice that when you're buying a home you think is cheap, you get the repair costs as well as closing costs? Plus, the home is a fixer-upper in a neighborhood that hasn't been refurbished since the 1960s. By contrast, that $700,000 home in the great location is less expensive in the long run. The same goes for paying more than face value for those New York Knicks or Celine Dion tickets.

While Ticketmaster and other ticket broker services charge face value as opposed to fair market value, there are all kinds of additional fees. A New York ticket broker pays a premium when buying tickets for The Producers from a seller, because The Producers is a hot property, especially if the tickets are for Broadway on a Saturday night.

Buying tickets at more than face value isn't a bad thing and it isn't illegal. In certain states, there may be restrictions, just as there are in the real estate market. You wouldn't buy a house at ten times its appraised value, for example, so don't balk at paying more for a desirable property. It's less expensive to buy great seats at the St. James Theatre for the Producers than it is to buy seats where you can't even see Nathan Lane bust a move. So forget the "cozy" deal and trust your broker--unless your ticket broker talked you into that bad real estate deal in the first place.

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