The last time I camped out overnight for concert tickets was over a decade ago. The concert was in Rochester and the only place you could purchase tickets was at the venue. Even then, most ticket sales were online, but if you came of age as a music fan and concertgoer in the ’70s or ’80s, you spent your youth standing in line to score the best seats.
A few months ago, a family member purchased a block of concert tickets during an artist pre-sale for around $400 apiece. They weren’t spectacular seats, but they were not awful ones, either. A friend of ours sat two rows in front of him, and she paid around $80 a ticket.
That is not an uncommon scenario; in recent years, I have forgone pre-sales and taken the gamble by purchasing tickets a few days before a show, and it has resulted in my getting better seats at a lower price.
The process itself can be maddening because, in a civilized society, you would think that the first person in line should be the person rewarded. But just like all is fair in love and war, the current ticketing system does not play by the old rules.
It does seem counterintuitive to have a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to concerts, but that is the case in the vast majority of live concerts in larger venues. There are always exceptions to the rule; for example, it is doubtful you are going to score cheap tickets to a Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen show, but with a bit of research, you might be surprised how much money you can save by being patient.
Since I attend many concerts, people often ask for my advice, so I’ll share a few common scenarios.
Most people think they have a pretty good sense if a ticket is in high demand, but keep in mind that taste in music is subjective, and the public’s tastes change rapidly. Since I usually attend classic rock shows, most of those artists are well past their prime, so they won’t sell out a hockey arena unless they’re part of a compelling package.
I will usually start by checking Ticketmaster for dates in other markets and use the “switch to map” feature to see how many tickets are available. If there appears to be a decent amount left after the pre-sale, I will double-check StubHub to see how many seats are up for resale and gauge whether they are massively inflated or not.
I do have a current example, and, like previous examples, I will refrain from using the artist’s name. I am planning to attend a show in Boston with my youngest son. His coworker purchased fan club pre-sale tickets, and they were about $1,000 each.
I checked the public pre-sale, and the lowest price per ticket was still over $300. My son wanted to buy those seats, but I told him to wait, and the tickets have already dropped below $120.
The reality is that buying concert tickets has become more akin to navigating the stock market. But with a bit of research and patience, you can still get some great deals without having to lose a good night’s sleep.