Playoff Tickets

[ThisIsMyCrew]

Historical perspective from 1982.

 

Back then you had to mail a check for the number of tickets wanted with a self addressed stamped envelope, one for ALCS and one for World Series. If your envelope was selected, they cashed the check and mailed the tickets to you in the envelope you provided. I managed to get a pair in the top row of the upper deck right behind home plate for game 5 of the World Series.

 

When the Brewers lost the first two of the ALCS against the Angels, I blew off work and drove to Milwaukee without a ticket, walked up as as single to a ticket booth and got a ticket in the football press box in the mezzanine level along first base line. After the Brewers won, they announced they had several hundred tickets available for the next day, so after the game I got in line and bought a pair to that game.

 

 

Briggs I love what you bring to this forum! Thanks for sharing your stories.

[gypcasino]

Your best bet is to wait just up until game time if you're OK with maybe missing a few pitches and also with scalping.

 

That's the thing. The Stubhub/SeatGeek market is completely different than the scalper market and what's floating around outside the stadium on gameday.

 

I went to the 2 games in '08. I shared a 20 pack so the chance to buy game 3 of the Wild Card was included with that. I think demand for that game was pretty high. Then game 4 it seemed as if demand went off a cliff as there were tons of sellers by Helfaer and I got a ticket below face.

 

I also attended the 6 home playoff games in '11. I don't remember tickets being all that hard to come by. I think I paid above face for only one of the games.

 

I also went to game 5 of the NLCS in '82. When they announced there were tickets available my cousin went down that morning and stood in line at the stadium and got 3. Left field upper grandstand, $15 apiece I believe.

[tmwiese55]

So, from quick reading here would I be accurate in saying the more experts at this would say one is better off scalping in the parking lot rather than paying stubhub (and their fees)? Of course it's not an exact science, but just generally speaking. I had them for every game due to season tickets in 11, but won't this year but plan on going to all home games.

[Outlander]

Yes you will in all likelihood be paying more using stubhub and places like that because you are guaranteed a ticket and enter the stadium whenever you want. Buying at Miller Park there is some risk because you might miss some of the game/introductions. I always buy hard physical tickets as well when buying at Miller Park as I am weary of buying print at home tickets and the possibility of it being a duplicate.

[RightFieldCoder]

This is my 3rd year of not having season tickets and the first time I miss going to games. I might have to empty my wallet online to make sure I get to see more playoff baseball.

[Jimbo]

I also went to game 5 of the NLCS in '82. When they announced there were tickets available my cousin went down that morning and stood in line at the stadium and got 3. Left field upper grandstand, $15 apiece I believe.

 

I don't know about you, but I was at Game 5 of the '82 ALCS. (How was the weather in Atlanta?)

 

My dad put in for a pair of season tickets for the LCS and WS and received tickets LGS way down the RF line. Got to attend three games.

[gypcasino]

I also went to game 5 of the NLCS in '82. When they announced there were tickets available my cousin went down that morning and stood in line at the stadium and got 3. Left field upper grandstand, $15 apiece I believe.

 

I don't know about you, but I was at Game 5 of the '82 ALCS. (How was the weather in Atlanta?)

 

Come to think of the Braves got swept in 3. That's probably why game 5 was so cheap.

[hawing]

For the Game 5 NLDS, we were looking at Stubhub and tickets were starting around $40.

 

In 2011? That seems really unlikely. That was an elimination game on a Friday night. I cannot imagine them being that low if that were to happen again, granted the fees and such make $40 about $58. I can't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure Game 1 and 2 that I attended and sat in the terrace were about $50.

2011 Game 5 started late on a Friday afternoon. That eliminated any of my family joining us with our two extra tickets because of K-12 school (my family includes both students and teachers). We actually didn't find a taker for that pair until the day before, and it wasn't due to lack of interest. (Part of the issue for us is also our relative distance from Milwaukee.)

 

A few FWIWs...

 

Season seat holders had until Thursday 9/6 to lock in for the postseason, so Friday was the Brewers' first opportunity to see how much SSH interest there is.

 

If there are 2018 postseason games at Miller Park, the hawing party will have two extra tickets. You'd have to sit with SO and me, though, and (if you don't live in Madison) find your own way to MP.

[MrTPlush]

I’ve been considering a 20-game pack to get access to postseason tickets easier. I’m not really local, but access to postseason tickets and all the little extras would probably make up any loss from selling tickets under face.

[mtrebs]

Yes you will in all likelihood be paying more using stubhub and places like that because you are guaranteed a ticket and enter the stadium whenever you want. Buying at Miller Park there is some risk because you might miss some of the game/introductions. I always buy hard physical tickets as well when buying at Miller Park as I am weary of buying print at home tickets and the possibility of it being a duplicate.

 

Isn't there greater risk with physical tickets now? Someone could scan them in to StubHub, at which point I'd hope the physical tickets would no longer be valid. (If they don't reassign bar code values, that is extreme oversight.) The new bar code value that is produced by StubHub would be unique to the purchaser, so as long as you aren't buying a printed off ticket (that could be printed with the same bar code numerous times) you should be good to go.

[Paul77]

Somewhat related...

 

Print-at-home tickets (followed closely by hard printed tickets) are going extinct. A number of teams have dropped, or have plans to drop both in favor of mobile/digital tickets. As of this season, the NFL no longer accepts print-at-home tickets. Some MLB teams stopped issuing hard tickets to Season Ticket Holders. I think the Dodgers charge $150 fee to SSH holders if they want hard tickets.

 

Seems like an end of the era to ticket stub collectors. I'm conflicted because I've saved almost every stub/ticket from Brewers games since ... well, decades... but I love the convenience of StubHub. I haven't bought a ticket from directly from the Brewers in many years (including attending every home game of the 2011 postseason).

 

Just an observation...

[hawing]

Somewhat related...

 

Print-at-home tickets (followed closely by hard printed tickets) are going extinct. A number of teams have dropped, or have plans to drop both in favor of mobile/digital tickets. As of this season, the NFL no longer accepts print-at-home tickets. Some MLB teams stopped issuing hard tickets to Season Ticket Holders. I think the Dodgers charge $150 fee to SSH holders if they want hard tickets.

 

Seems like an end of the era to ticket stub collectors. I'm conflicted because I've saved almost every stub/ticket from Brewers games since ... well, decades... but I love the convenience of StubHub. I haven't bought a ticket from directly from the Brewers in many years (including attending every home game of the 2011 postseason).

 

Just an observation...

The 2018 postseason/2019 renewal materials for this year's SSHs indicates an extra cost of $35 to get hard-copy tickets for either the 2018 postseason or 2019 season. We opted for hard tickets for 2019 because, like Paul77, I have a stub from almost every Brewers game I've attended (going back to 1983) and I am not ready to let go of that particular tradition yet.

 

However, we did opt for electronically delivered tickets for the 2018 postseason - in part because when we made the deposit, the Brewers had just lost and I was back to thinking OH NO WAY WILL THEY MAKE IT ANYWAY. (Which is indicative of my recent mild and not clinical manic depression.)

 

Since our SSH account is all in my SO's name, I wonder if he and I (and whatever guests join us) will have to enter together and make sure he doesn't leave his dang phone at home. (I have my own MLB dot com login, but it's not connected to the ticket account.)

I'd like to think MLB would have a workaround for that, but there are many things I'd think MLB would do or be prepared for that they...don't or aren't.

[MrTPlush]

You can send the tickets through the MLB ballpark app. You can send them to other people’s phones too...I actually think just a screenshot will suffice.

 

Though for getting in it is always best to send it electronically in one of the official manners to avoid issues. Nightmare situation where you forget your phone I am sure will call is an option, especially in the case of a season seat holder. Wouldn’t want to be dealing with that in a postseason situation though.

[RightFieldCoder]

If there are 2018 postseason games at Miller Park, the hawing party will have two extra tickets. You'd have to sit with SO and me, though, and (if you don't live in Madison) find your own way to MP.

I'd enter into that lottery.

[MrTPlush]

If there are 2018 postseason games at Miller Park, the hawing party will have two extra tickets. You'd have to sit with SO and me, though, and (if you don't live in Madison) find your own way to MP.

I'd enter into that lottery.

 

I raise bidding to a limo ride to the stadium for a World Series game in exchange for face value tickets

[KeithStone53151]

Somewhat related...

 

Print-at-home tickets (followed closely by hard printed tickets) are going extinct. A number of teams have dropped, or have plans to drop both in favor of mobile/digital tickets. As of this season, the NFL no longer accepts print-at-home tickets. Some MLB teams stopped issuing hard tickets to Season Ticket Holders. I think the Dodgers charge $150 fee to SSH holders if they want hard tickets.

 

Seems like an end of the era to ticket stub collectors. I'm conflicted because I've saved almost every stub/ticket from Brewers games since ... well, decades... but I love the convenience of StubHub. I haven't bought a ticket from directly from the Brewers in many years (including attending every home game of the 2011 postseason).

 

Just an observation...

 

The Brewers for the first time this year are charging a fee to have tickets fedex to you. It had been free previously, but this appears to be similar to the push other teams are making to electronic tickets. There is also a fee to have postseason tickets sent to you, but that isn't new...and for the first time this year they offered the option to avoid that fee and get them mobile for postseason.

 

And to the previous poster about selling hard tickets on stubhub. I've done it, and I've noticed and agree there could be room for a loophole for someone to sell a hard ticket and then sell the ticket on stubhub. I assume this has very rarely if ever been done as most people are honest about it as I am. If that happened, I don't know who would be allowed in to the game. I know if the stubhub person wasn't allowed in, the person who sold the ticket would be susceptible to recourse from stubhub. They require a credit card on file for sellers and will likely reimburse the purchaser of the ticket and may charge penalties to the seller. This doesn't exactly help you get into the game but at least protects you financially. If the stubhub person gets in and the hard ticket no longer works, I suspect whoever bought the hard ticket would have to complain to MLB and they could inevitably track down the initial purchaser of the ticket. It might be a pain and tougher to prove in this case though.

[MrTPlush]

The Stubhub person will get in over the original ticket. When you sell on Stubhub the sale creates a new barcode.

[tmwiese55]

Good info here, thanks all. Let's say someone with Stubhub print outs had to print out twice for some reason (losing them, spilling coffee on them, etc). Would each latest printout void the previous? Seems like it would.

[KeithStone53151]

Good info here, thanks all. Let's say someone with Stubhub print outs had to print out twice for some reason (losing them, spilling coffee on them, etc). Would each latest printout void the previous? Seems like it would.

 

I would assume printing on stubhub would print the same barcode. So I think technically you could print stubhub tickets 100 times and sell all the copies if you found 100 people stupid enough to buy printed stubhub tickets. First one in wins the prize. It sounds like what tplush is saying is stubhub generates a new barcode and voids the hard ticket barcode.

[tmwiese55]

Good info here, thanks all. Let's say someone with Stubhub print outs had to print out twice for some reason (losing them, spilling coffee on them, etc). Would each latest printout void the previous? Seems like it would.

 

I would assume printing on stubhub would print the same barcode. So I think technically you could print stubhub tickets 100 times and sell all the copies if you found 100 people stupid enough to buy printed stubhub tickets. First one in wins the prize. It sounds like what tplush is saying is stubhub generates a new barcode and voids the hard ticket barcode.

 

Hopefully someone can verify more. That's the problem I was getting at though. But one would think if they can void the hard tickets they could void each time printed and generate a new one? I'm not positive but I think I've bought printed Stubhub tickets or at least my friends have for various games and it's worked fine.

 

Basically if they go away from hard real tickets this will be the only way to scalp them with printouts so they better working on a way if they don't already. Unless people are gonna go through transferring phone to phone on the street.

[MrTPlush]

I mean what is the difference though? Not like a hard ticket was the holy grail before. They could have been sold on StubHub already and it is already void. The one time I bought on Craigslist I told the seller I was going to punch the barcodes into StubHub first to make sure they were still active. After I got them I listed them overly expensive on StubHub myself so he couldn't list the same tickets if he went home and had the barcodes copied down.

 

The only safe ways to buy tickets are through a trusted 3rd party site or through the Brewers. Then you know you are getting an original ticket.

 

I don't know if reprinting changes the barcode however.

[Baldkin]

Since our SSH account is all in my SO's name, I wonder if he and I (and whatever guests join us) will have to enter together and make sure he doesn't leave his dang phone at home. (I have my own MLB dot com login, but it's not connected to the ticket account.)

I'd like to think MLB would have a workaround for that, but there are many things I'd think MLB would do or be prepared for that they...don't or aren't.

 

Within the ballpark app you can send your tickets to other people by bringing up the ticket in the app (where you can see the barcode) then hitting "Forward"