How To Score World Series Tickets At The Last Minute
Just because you're a procrastinator doesn't mean you shouldn't get to go to the big game.
America is a smorgasbord of excitement right now! The leaves are changing color, Halloween is creeping up, and we're about to choose a leader for the next few years! But with all this exciting mid-autumn activity, it's understandable that you forget to secure your ticket to the World Series!
What to do?!?
Well, first calm down there, baseballface. Here are five tips that may still get you into the stadium for a little Fall Classic action.
1. Get Your Credit Card Ready. First and foremost, you're going to have to be prepared to pay—probably quite a bit. There's no getting around that. Even if you were a dedicated season ticket holder with low seat standards who was first in line at the ticket booth, you will be paying—at the very least—over a hundred dollars per ticket. If you want seats without all that nose blood, then you should be prepared to pay substantially more.
2. Check In Online. Before you do anything else, check with each team's official website to see what/if tickets are available. You'll want to jump on this train early. When tickets are announced, you should plan on sitting by your computer and phone for the "opening bell," as it were. Call and try online simultaneously. Recruit a friend—even today, systems can be overloaded by demand.
These first round of tickets will go fast. Still, remember to check back later as there may be some late-release seats—you might get lucky (but don't bet on this option).
3. Check Your Social Circles. Next best option: hit-up friends, family, or co-workers who are season ticket holders. Teams will typically give first access to season ticket holders before the rest of the general public. Additionally, they will have the best access to getting tickets at face value. Perhaps they can't make one game or they will be gracious enough to offer a fair trade.
4. Go To A Ticket Re-seller. Your next best (but more expensive) attempt is an online ticket re-seller. There are a number of choices out there, but it can be next-to-impossible to verify the validity of most tickets (so, do not choose Craigslist). Your best choice is StubHub.com, which is a subsidiary of eBay and the official fan-to-fan marketplace of MLB.
Once again, as World Series tickets are hot items, expect to pay waaaaaay above face value. It is perfectly legal for ticket owners to sell their own tickets online and to seek out as much profit as they can get.
Try one of these travel agencies to help organize your trip to see the game.
It works like this: Each printed ticket is given an individual bar code. Once a ticketholder sells their ticket to a stranger via StubHub for an agreed price, the bar code for the original ticket is nulled, and the buyer is sent a PDF to print-out with a new bar code. Only the newly-generated bar code will work at the stadium. Just to make sure everything works as it should, StubHub says that they will have on-site representatives in the box-office to help sort out any potential problems. The top 15 stores near you to pick up your favorit team's gear.
5. Try A Scalper At the Stadium. This is your most precarious of options. Caveat emptor to the fullest. There could very well be someone who has an extra ticket at the last minute (who doesn’t know what this "stub hub" thing is). But there could also be a person who knows that there is a huge demand for a product that will cause otherwise rational people to pay exuberant prices. There's so much potential reward that it may very well be worth the work and risk to create a forgerie.
If you do end up get ripped off and not getting into the game, good luck on finding the seller and getting your money back. And do not expect the teams or stadium staff to be any help.
If, in the end, you end up not getting any tickets, don't worry too much about it. It's late friggin' October, it'll probably be freezing outside! Besides, don't all those suckers know the best view is on your TV anyway?
Other Bundle features you may be interested in:
- America's most obsessed baseball fans
- What Are America's Unhealthiest Cities?
- 10 Amazing Fall Travel Deals
- The World's Most Expensive Bottles of Scotch
- 3 Ways To Drink For Free
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Evan Dashevsky is the Editor of Bundle.com, follow him @haldash
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