Hockey Tickets
- Thread starter theknack
- Start date
Scalpers are plentyful at game time, if you are not in a hurry to get in buy when the puck drops, can haggle better.
STN is correct. The best time to buy tickets for a cheaper price is once the game has started. Scalpers start to panic since they don't want to get stuck with their tickets and many of them will sell them at a reasonable discount. The longer you wait the better deal you'll get. Same thing with music concerts.
What i do is go for a stroll with every intention of walking into the Bell Centre and every time i'm approached by a scalper (they can be annoying at times) i pretend i'm not really interested in paying to watch the hockey game and that i'm heading elsewhere....for example, Madison's or La Cage aux Sports to watch the game. I'll often just casually ask them how much he's asking for his RED tickets and if the price is reasonable, you tell him that you'd prefer sitting somewhere in the middle (in the RED sections) if he has something and that you're not going to pay more than whatever price. If he doesn't budge from his price, simply politely thank him and keep on walking until you get hassled by the next scalper. You'll eventually find a deal to your liking.
What i've also done several times is check the online ads. Many people who've bought tickets can't make it to the game and will try to unload them. I've also dealt with a couple of scalpers who prefer posting their tickets online (at a discount) within an hour or so of the game instead of wasting their time trying to sell their tickets later and wind up losing money anyway. One guy i dealt with was named Claudio. I asked him if the ticket he had posted was still available and when he confirmed it was i told him i only had a certain amount of money to spend on a ticket and had planned to watch the game at a bar (e.g. Peel Pub) all along. He thought it over and accepted my counter-offer, adding that he might not get a better offer since the start of the game was within 30 thirty minutes. He brought the ticket to my hotel and the gentleman he was even gave me a ride to the Bell Centre, making a couple of drop-offs along the way at various hotels.
By the way, another way to get tickets is through your hotel concierge. You won't get much of a bargain since the concierge will often purchase his tickets from scalpers and some of them will keep a small cut from the sale. I've personally sold tickets through my hotel's concierge, telling him or her that i had one or two tickets for sale and if anyone from the hotel was interested i'd sell them at cost price.
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