Cue to a conversation about an upcoming social event. (Heavily edited)
mapgirl: Reservation #9999 – Pick up tickets the night of the event under my name.
Friend: Where did you buy tix? Other people I know are interested [in getting them].
mapgirl: Just call the number on the website and give them your credit card. How dumb are your friends? (Just kidding)
Friend: Honestly, I would have never even thought of calling to buy tickets for an event. Who calls for stuff nowadays?
mapgirl: Places like museums that have full time box offices.
C (F’s wife) used to work for [DC venue] as a booking agent and her sister worked the box office part-time throughout her graduate
studies.There was a website too, but there was a $1.50 fee for each ticket. I called because then there’s no fee at all.
Tips for buying tickets to events:
1. ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT. Sometimes the fine print will tell you which payment or ordering method costs extra.
2. Pick up your tickets-Option A. Have you ever walked up to the box office while it was open and bought tickets for a different night? Sometimes, depending on the venue, you can walk up at any time the box office is open and buy tickets for any show.
3. Pick up your tickets-Option B. “Will Call” tickets means buying them in advance and picking them up the night of the show before it starts. Often there is no charge for delivering Will Call tickets. (But sometimes there is, again, depending on the venue.)
4. Craigslist Last year I was desperate to surprise boyfriend with tickets to Avenue Q for Christmas. I ended up buying tickets from the theater, but I browsed Craigslist as well. Because the show was selling out quickly, I couldn’t use Craigslist and guarantee my plans. In the end, if I had more time, Craigslist would have saved me a lot of money. Use this option if you have time to wait for people to reply and find a mutually agreeable time to pick up tickets and if you have cold hard cash.
5. Stubhub I had a great experience selling tickets to the hockey playoffs this spring, but now that I have seats I can’t use, I looeked at Stubhub to unload them. Some $25 seats were going for as little as $6 early in the season! That’s cheaper than the cheapest regular seats at The Phone Booth which are $10. Depending on your event, Stubhub can be great for finding a cheap seat.
6. Got ID? If you have a student ID, usually there are cheap tickets waiting for you. In DC, the Capitals offer Student Rush tickets and almost all major cultural venues have discounts for current students. I went to a ton of symphonies and operas while I was in college with my ID. (Helps that the university had a conservatory affiliated. Most of my college friends play at least one instrument and would find out which shows we should see.) The Washington Post has a listing of discounts for students and people under 25 AND 35! (It’s a bit old, but worth investigating.)
7. Last-minute seats Some venues have last-minute tickets that they offer at discount so they can fill the house. Call for popular shows during the week instead of the weekend and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. Ticketplace has last-minute tickets in DC with a 12% surcharge, but it’s the only last-minute service that I know of in town.
Got any other ideas for buying tickets cheaply?
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The cheapest way is strictly from another person, whether a friend or off craigslist (assuming they don’t jack up the price). I don’t think will call matters, because for example with concert tickets, ticketmaster charges ridic taxes, not the venue. The mailing of the tickets can be free, it’s the taxes that automatically are included that kill you.