Ticket Buying and Selling Guide

Presale Central’s Ticket Buying and Selling Guide - Visit us at presalecentral.net!

In this FREE guide you will learn a lot about buying and selling tickets. It is very easy to read and to understand. This guide is perfect for fans, ticket sellers, and people interested in becoming ticket sellers! Fans will learn how to get good tickets without paying a premium. Ticket sellers will learn how to get good tickets and how to maximize their profits. And people interested in becoming ticket brokers will learn how to properly buy and sell tickets. Enjoy!

Table of Contents:

Part 1: Buying Tickets

• Chapter 1: How to prepare for a ticket sale
  
  
• Chapter 2: Presales and public sales
  
  
• Chapter 3: Where to buy tickets

Part 2: Selling Tickets

• Chapter 1: Before you sell tickets
  
  
• Chapter 2: When to sell tickets
  
  
• Chapter 3: Where to sell tickets

Part 1: Buying Tickets

Chapter 1: How to prepare for a ticket sale

Fans and ticket brokers both want to get good seats when they are searching for tickets for an event. But in order to do this, you must be well prepared before the ticket sale begins. In this section, we will discuss how to prepare for a ticket sale. If you are well prepared for a ticket sale, you will probably get better tickets than if you aren't.

I always prepare before each ticket sale I want to buy tickets for. In May, 2007 I was well prepared for the presale of the KROQ concert. My preparation paid off big time. I got 1 ticket in the front center section in the 1st row. It cost me $90 and I sold it on eBay for $600. So, this shows that preparation does pay off, along with luck of course!

Below are 5 important things you should do before a ticket sale in order to properly prepare for it:

1. Be at a computer 5 to 10 minutes before the ticket sale. Go to the event page. Now, log in to your Ticketmaster account to avoid having to do it while purchasing tickets.
   
   
2. Download Broker 2.0 by going to http://broker20.com/. This is an amazing browser which is made just for buying tickets. Or you can also use 2 different internet browsers, like Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Make sure to only search for one event at a time in each browser, or else it will mess up.
   
   
3. If the ticket sale is a presale, make sure you have the presale password. Highlight the password with your mouse icon and press Ctrl + C to copy the password. Then, when it starts, click in the password box and press Ctrl + V to paste it in the box.
   
   
4. Synchronize your computer clock by right clicking on your clock and select "Date/Time Properties". Next, click on Internet Time and press Update Now. Start refreshing the event page 5 seconds before the event goes on sale by pressing F5. Keep on doing it every 3 seconds until you are able to search for tickets.
   
   
5. DO NOT refresh excessively on a Ticketmaster page. If you refresh too many times, your IP address will be blocked from going to Ticketmaster for up to 24 hours. The only way around this block is to use a proxy. Below is a good proxy list website:
   
   http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy/

Chapter 2: Presales and public sales

Presales - A presale for an event occurs before the public sale. They are good because there are less people trying to search for tickets because of the password required to participate. So, you will have a better chance of getting good seats than during the public sale. This isn't always true for all events. The bad thing about them is that there are a lot less tickets available to be sold and you need a password to participate. Generally, about 10% of the seats are available. So, you won't have access to all the seats available for the event and you'll need a password to participate. Presale passwords are usually sold for $2 to $10 on eBay and on websites, but the ones on our website are FREE! And, you might not even get tickets because of the limited availability of seats.

Public Sales - A public sale for an event is when everyone can buy tickets without a password. Public sales are good because the majority of the seats for the event are available and because you don't need a password. So, you will access to most of the seats for the event without needing a password. The bad thing about public sales is that anyone can participate in them. So, there will be a lot of demand for seats.

I suggest you try searching for tickets during the presale, and if you don't get tickets or want to try again, try the public sale too.

Chapter 3: Where to buy tickets

Ticketmaster - Ticketmaster is the first place you should try to buy tickets from. You can get good tickets at face value, without paying a premium. Try searching for tickets during presales and public sales to see what you can get. If it says that there are no seats left, don't worry. They never releases all of an event's seats at once. So, keep on searching for tickets for about 5 to 20 minutes. You can still get good and even better after the public sale. So, if you couldn't get any seats at first, try again in a few minutes or a few hours. They randomly release tickets before an event, so also try searching days after an event goes onsale.

eBay - You should first try buying tickets from Ticketmaster before paying a premium for tickets on eBay. eBay is a website that has thousands of different ticket auctions for almost all events. If you couldn't get any tickets through Ticketmaster, this is the best place to go. But, you have to realize that ticket sellers won't pay to list their tickets and not make any money. So, most ticket auctions on eBay will end at more than the tickets' actual cost. Also, since there are so many ticket auctions, sellers usually start the bidding low due to competition. This means that you may be able to get good tickets at around face value if the competition gets tight and sellers start dropping their prices. This usually occurs for less profitable events and for events that are a few weeks away. So, if you wait until a few weeks before the event, you might get good tickets around or below face value! Almost all sellers accept Paypal, which is a very secure

payment method for both buyers and sellers. So, if you have a problem with an order, you can make a dispute through Paypal. Also, make sure to check the buyer feedback of ticket sellers you want to buy from before you buy from them.

Stubhub - Stubhub is a website where ticket sellers list their tickets for sale and then buyers search for them and then buy them. It is also a good place to check out if you couldn't get any tickets through Ticketmaster. Unlike eBay, They have a toll free phone number for sales and support, and tickets are sold at a fixed price with no auction. It is very secure for buyers because they are protected by a very good guarantee. Sellers list tickets for less than face value a lot more often and often quicker than on eBay. So, if you can't find cheap enough tickets on eBay, try looking on Stubhub.

Craigslist - Craigslist is a website where people post classified ads locally. People that post tickets for sale on Craigslist will usually sell for below face value, especially if the event is less than a week away. So, you can buy tickets for way cheaper than other places. But, Craigslist is not a very safe place to buy tickets from. It should only be used if you need tickets for an event that is less than a week away.

So, let's review this chapter. First, try to buy tickets from Ticketmaster. If you couldn't get any tickets, try looking on eBay and Stubhub. If they are too expensive wait a few days or weeks. And finally, only use Craigslist as a last resort.

Part 2: Selling Tickets

Chapter 1: Determining profitability

You just bought a pair of amazing tickets for a popular event. You are positive that you are going to make a lot of money off the tickets. The artist is popular, the seats are in row 5, what else do you need to make a profit? Well, the most important part of selling tickets is making a profit. And you won't make a profit if you buy tickets to an unprofitable event. You have to consider a lot of different things to determine if an event is profitable. You should consider: the event venue, city, event date, artist popularity, and much more. Most new ticket sellers lose a lot of money by making this mistake. A good way to see if your tickets will make you a profit is to search for the event on eBay and Stubhub and compare the ticket prices of similar tickets to your own. Also, make sure to browse through completed eBay auctions to predict your profits. You can do this by going to eBay.com, Advanced Search, type in the event and venue name and check mark "Completed listings only". You can also browse through Stubhub completed sales by making a listing and then going to your Account page, and then your Active Listings, and then click on the money sign button next to the listing. It will show you recent completed sales. If you know you will lose money, try canceling your tickets early on.

How to cancel the tickets ordered through Ticketmaster:

First, go to Ticketmaster.com and click on Help.

Next, click on Contact Us in the Customer Service section.

Find your local phone number and call it.

Press 1 for English, then press 2 for existing orders. Next press, 3, 2, 2, 1, waiting about 2-5 seconds between each number.

When someone gets on the line again, tell the representative a made up story that explains why you need your tickets to be canceled. For example, you can say that you bought the tickets for the wrong venue and you realized this last night when you checked your e-mail, but it was too late to call them. Ask them nicely if they can do something to help you fix this problem. They will almost always give you a refund if you give them a good reason.

Event Experts is a very good website which will help you decrease your losses and increase your profits by advising you of the profitability of events. Experienced ticket brokers post predictions for many events going on sale each day. The predictions usually tell you if the event will be profitable and which section to buy tickets from. Event Experts has 1 month trials of their website membership listed on eBay for about $7 for the first month. Try it out!

Chapter 2: When to sell tickets

You just finished buying a pair of tickets that you want to resell. Now you need to decide when you are going to sell your tickets. Timing is a very important factor which helps determine your profits. You don't want to wait too long to sell your tickets. Prices go down and people lose interest after a few weeks of the public sale. So, selling early is very important if you want higher profits.

If you are sure you will make a profit with your tickets, you can start a 7 day eBay fixed price auction for the tickets the same day you bought them. You usually make greater profits with fixed price auctions, but they are riskier because they usually take longer to sell. Also, make sure to list your tickets on Stubhub as well to increase your chances of selling them early. Make sure to price them according to demand and similar ticket listings to improve your chances of selling them.

If you are unsure if your tickets will make a profit, first look at other auctions for tickets for the same event. If most of the auctions that are about to finish will make a profit, you can predict that your tickets will too. But just to be safe, start a 1 day auction for the tickets the same day. This will put pressure on buyers to bid early, so you will know before the auction end if you will make money. If the bids haven't increased enough to make a profit, cancel your auction and try to cancel the tickets by doing the steps above.

Chapter 3: Where to sell tickets

eBay

Pros

• It is the largest point of resale for tickets, so there will be a lot of potential buyers.

• It is the fastest way to sell tickets and liquidate your inventory.

• You only need a Paypal account to sell tickets.

Cons

• Since listings are auction-style, you must relist your tickets if they don't sell.

• Competitive sellers may cause lower profits.

• You have to resolve all problems with buyers.

• Non-paying bidders.

• Fraudulent chargebacks.

Stubhub

Pros

• It's free to list your tickets

• Shipping is very easy for sellers

• Stubhub deals with ALL customer problems

• Not auction-style listings like eBay, so your tickets can be listed until the week of the show

Cons

Huge fees (15%)

TicketNetwork

Pros

• Lower fees than eBay and Stubhub.

• Tickets sell at higher prices.

• TicketNetwork has software to completely manage your ticket inventory.

• The TicketBoard allows you to get tickets at wholesale prices from other brokers.

Cons

• You need to be available during business hours so other brokers can purchase your tickets.

• You need a merchant account so you can process credit card.

• You have to pay a yearly fee and you need a fax machine.

Craigslist

Pros

• You can sell tickets for local concerts even if the concert is less than a week away.

Cons

• Most people don't follow through on an agreement to meet up locally to complete a transaction

• It is very risky and you will likely take a loss.

I recommend new sellers with low inventory use eBay and Stubhub together. And I recommend that experienced sellers with a lot of inventory use TicketNetwork on their website.

If you follow the guidelines in this guide and take them into action, you will succeed!