When your favorite band comes to Las Vegas, you want to be right there in the front row. The problem is thousands of other fans have the same idea. Scoring those primo seats can be a real challenge, especially if you do not have unlimited funds to spend. Fans with lots of resources can simply buy their tickets from a reseller. They might pay five or even ten times the original box office price, but they will have the best seats in the house. For the rest of us, there are other strategies for getting the best tickets without breaking the bank.
Contents
Best Way to Get Concert Tickets
Best Strategy
Best Sites
Don't buy from Craigslist
Best Way to Get Concert Tickets
The most obvious way to get the tickets you want is to go to the venue on the day they go on sale. You can certainly try to buy tickets online, but the venue often has first dibs on tickets, and that can make standing in line worthwhile.
The days of camping overnight in the parking lot of largely over. Venue owners have grown tired of the hassle and liability issues, and most now use a wristband or lottery system to allocate tickets and places in line. Be sure to check with the venue ahead of time so you know the rules; being informed will increase your chances of scoring seats in the front row.
Best Strategy
One often overlooked strategy is as close as your wallet. A number of credit card issuers, including American Express and Visa, offer premium tickets and special packages to popular shows. If you are a customer in good standing, you may have access to special presales and tickets not available to the general public. If you have your eyes on a particular band or artist, check with your credit card company to see what they have available.
Best Sites
If your credit card issuer cannot help you score those great seats, you may have better luck at sites like ‘Concerts Vegas‘, ‘American Arenas‘, ‘StubHub‘, and ‘Ticketmaster‘. ‘American Arenas’ is the best site to buy concert tickets, VIP packages, and Meet and Greet Tickets. Ticketmaster and StubHub are dedicated to selling concert tickets. These sites provide buyer protection, reducing the likelihood you will get stuck with a bogus ticket or otherwise taken advantage of.
Don't buy from Craigslist
You may also be able to find unwanted tickets on Craigslist, especially when the date of the concert draws near. Things come up, and people who stood in line for their tickets when they first went on sale may not be able to attend. When that happens, they often turn to Craigslist and other classified sites in an attempt to recoup their money.
Keep in mind, however, that Craigslist cannot provide the same kind of seller verification and buyer protection Stubhub and similar ticket resale sites do. You will probably be expected to pay in cash, and you will be buying your tickets from someone you do not know.
Last Attempt to Buy Concert Tickets
If the night of the concert arrives and you are still without tickets, do not despair. Bands and solo performers reserve tickets at every stop for family members, friends, financial supporters, members of the press and others. It is extremely unlikely that every person on that guest list will show up when the band takes the stage. That is good news for you, since venues release those tickets to the general sales pool.
The problem is that the tickets are often not released until a few hours before show time. In fact, the tickets may not be released until just before the curtain rises. The upside is that the newly released seats are often among the best in the house – often in the first or second row. If you have time on your hands and the venue is not far from home, simply waiting until close to show time and asking the box office if extra tickets have been released can be a smart way to score great seats without a markup.
