Justin Bieber

When:

Friday, Dec 10, 2010
7:30pm

Where:

Madison Square Garden
4 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001

 

  Fi

Find Justin Bieber Tickets

The Ticket Broker Business

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Your Guide to Online Ticket Brokers

Back in the day (which is not all that long ago when you step outside cyber-time), if you wanted a ticket to a sporting event, or a concert, movie, or air plane trip, you had to think about a long wait in a line, getting in the car to drive somewhere to pick up the tickets, and confronting any number of various frustrations.

Today, the story is a little different, and in many ways, a great improvement. With the Internet has come the ability to easily and quickly find and buy almost anything you want, from a new book on Amazon to your own small town on eBay. The same is true for tickets. You will find numerous online ticket brokers on the web very easily.

The benefit that the Internet has brought to the ticket procurement process is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is easier to sit in the comfort of your home and source tickets. The Internet has also helped to keep the prices of tickets down. On the other hand, the Internet has also created a surplus of ticket brokers with online outlets, and so locating the best source for the tickets can be daunting. In fact, it is reported that the largest sellers of online tickets are small eBay operations.

There is also the issue of fraud. Online ticket sales are not the only web-enabled fraud magnets but there have been numerous cases of people being sold tickets via these smaller operations that turn out to be fakes. So the first thing to keep in mind when you go online for your ticket is that you want to validate the legitimacy of the seller. A legitimate online ticket reseller will offer a guarantee on the tickets they sell.

When going online to buy tickets, check around for various sources. The fees associated with these tickets can vary significantly, and you can save as much as 10-20% just by finding a seller who will not take you to the cleaners with the fees.

Also, ensure that the payment method is secure. This seems like basic blocking-and-tackling, but it’s important to check for when going to buy tickets online. The requirement to become an online ticket broker is pretty low, and some brokers opt to cut costs by leaving their credit card processing unsecured.

Make sure you know what the broker’s policy is regarding tickets that are not delivered to you on time for the event. Not all brokers will refund in this situation, which is surprising, but true. Also, understand what will happen if the event is canceled. Again, brokers will have different policies. On one of the end spectrum you have brokers who will offer full refunds (including fees), and on the other hand, you have brokers who will tell you that you keep all the risk when you by the ticket. Sometimes, this might be a fair trade-off for less expensive tickets, but irrespective, it pays to find out ahead of time.