Think back to the experiences you've had buying event tickets in the past five years or so. Were they seamless? Likely not: After the COVID-19 lockdowns ended, ticket revenue went way up and it got so hard to get tickets that the government had to try to break up the Ticketmaster monopoly.
Your best bet, according to Redditors, is to go to the box office at the arena or event space for a ticket, as fees are usually pretty low when you buy them in person. Of course, for events with waitlists or ones that you’re planning to travel for, that’s not always an option, although I had great luck two years ago when I called a box office, told the receptionist I was traveling for the show, and bought my tickets over the phone. She upgraded them out of pure niceness, saying she rarely gets to talk to patrons anymore since most ticket-buying takes place online. Still, buying your tickets online is so convenient, it might be worth a few extra bucks to you. Let’s just make sure you’re not spending too many extra bucks.
Putting ticket platforms to the test
Let’s do a real-world test of the major sites: Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, and TickPick. There’s also a service called GameTime we’ll look at, plus a newer entrant called XP, but the first one is more for last-minute gets and the second one is still pretty new.
Wednesday's game includes a bobblehead giveaway, so prices are higher and seats are slightly more scarce than they would be for any other midweek match; that'll give us a good idea of how these apps operate in real crunch times. My tickets are in the 230s and I paid $47 for each of them. For today's test, let's see what tickets in that area go for on each platform in question. (And I'll tell you where I ended up getting mine, too, since I shopped around.)
StubHub
StubHub redeemed itself this year. Two years ago, StubHub was transparent with its pricing. Last year, it did a 180 and refused to divulge what "fees" I would be paying until I put in my card information. This year, I can see clearly, without even having to log in, that seats in my chosen section are going for $69 including fees. Transparent pricing is crucial, especially when ticket prices are so absurdly high these days. Still, our North Star here is what I paid last week: $47. With most major events, you can expect ticket prices to go down, not up, as the big day gets closer, as long as there are still plenty of seats available. There are hundreds of tickets to the game still available on StubHub, so this price-gauging is not ideal, bobblehead night or not.
Prices and transparency are one thing, but pure functionality and access to the tickets themselves are just as important, if not more so, so I want to be clear about my prior experiences with this particular site. The rewards system is novel and I haven't found any other marketplaces that offer anything similar, so I actually mourn the free tickets I would earn on here, but I can't risk my tickets being revoked in the future, so generally speaking, Vivid Seats is a no for me.
SeatGeek
In last year's comparison, SeatGeek also refused to show me the total price until I had entered my card information. This year, like nearly everyone else, they've improved transparency considerably. Seats in our chosen section are $57 each, the price quoted includes fees, and you can tap all the way to the final screen with the total due clearly visible. I'll admit I never use this one, not because I have something against it, but just because I'm not in the habit of it. Today's test results could cause me to change my behavior.
Selection here is lower than some of its competitors, though. While there are seats available in nearly all sections, there are simply fewer of them to choose from. In fact, there are no seats available in the section we're testing, but seats in the next section over in the same row as my tickets are going for $87 each. One more section over and you're looking at $44 each. All things considered, the best prices are here, even if the selection isn't as good.
GameTime
XP
Finally, I will reveal where I got my beautiful $47 tickets to what is, apparently, a very in-demand match: a new app called XP. Why? I use a different app called Claim to get cash back on certain purchases and XP was the deal of the week, which meant I would get $25 back if I spent $50 there. I am a sucker for money-back apps, plus I wanted to test something new.
The app does seem to have decent customer service, however; in fact, it's their whole marketing schtick. I received a confirmation email, details on how to contact support, and a rough estimate that my tickets will be delivered no later than tomorrow.
Conclusions and things to keep in mind
Most of these function largely as resale sites, although some (namely Ticketmaster and SeatGeek) are primary marketplaces, too. The price you pay may have less to do with the platform itself as the person who has possession of the tickets and happens to be selling them on there. I've known for months that I would be going to the games tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday, but I waited until five days ago to buy all my tickets because I knew the sellers would drop their prices as the events got closer. Ultimately, for tonight's game, I saved $5 per ticket by doing that—enough to buy myself a hotdog at the stadium.
Ticketmaster had the highest prices by far here today, but its reach is also inescapable. On numerous occasions, I've purchased tickets through a platform listed here, only to have them come by email from Ticketmaster. I don't really understand why, as Ticketmaster doesn't own any of the other platforms, but you'll most likely need to have an account with that marketplace to access your tickets, even if you aren't using it for the actual buying part.
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