By now, you should know that my favorite hobby is bargaining. I have written extensively on how to procure tickets to the most obscure events (see Ticket Scalping Guide).  Here are some examples:

• Ticket Scalping NYC: The Follow-Up
• Michigan Ohio State: A Case Study in Ticket Scalping
• Ohio State vs. Michigan: Advanced Ticket Scalping
• New Orleans Jazz Fest: Ticket Scalping Primer
• The Guide to Buying Tickets for the World Cup And Other Big Events
• El Clásico! Tickets, Game, Pre & Post Libations Guide
• Cheaters! Spartan Stadium Review

With online prices for the game out of control (see Super Bowl Preview: Bills vs. Lions, Me vs. Myself), I decided that the best way to get tickets was at the stadium. Braving the elements, I walked around Ford Field with two fingers in the air, the international sign language for, “I need tickets.” I became a little concerned when I saw the scalpers asking if anyone was selling tickets instead of the contra, “Does anyone need tickets?” As time went on, I began to accept the possibility that I would not be going to the game.

TPOL’s Tip: For those who refuse to be exploited for event tickets, you must go in with the mindset that you may have flown all the way from Puerto Rico to Detroit only to watch the game in a bar. If you don’t have the ‘Detroit Grit’ to accept that reality, this game may not be for you. TPOL’s Tip: NFL games do not have paper tickets. Attempts to obtain those would be a great souvenir of your naivety. Persistent and patient, I finally encountered a gentleman who said he had ‘standing room only’ tickets. I told him I would rather pay for a seat. He was adamant that there were no tickets. His colleague had one electronic ticket for sale for $500. I needed two. I asked how much the standing room tickets were. He told me $200 each. My goal was to spend $400 total but for actual seats. I tried to bargain but he said that was the final price. I went online to see if the ticket prices had dropped from the resellers. I was surprised to find that there were next to no tickets available. My theory that those who had tickets who were not going would dump them at the last minute proved incorrect. TPOL’s Tip: Online, prices go up, not down, as the game approaches. The cheapest I found tickets were 3 days before the game. TPOL’s Tip: I withdrew $600 from the ATM. It is best to put a cap on how much you would spend before hysteria sets in when you arrive at the venue. Out of options, I told my new friend that I was in for standing room only. He told me to follow his colleague through security and into the stadium. But first, he required the money. I thought to myself, “Worst case, the tickets were not real, and I would be out  $400.” Given my string of luck in the past, I rationalized that I could accept this defeat. To my joy and surprise, the tickets worked and we were let in! To my amusement, other people in standing room had paid $400 per ticket.

Overall With e-tickets, the job of a scalper has almost been eliminated. Some may say that this is for the best as some scalpers sell fake tickets. I disagree. The new crooks are the third-party brokers who charge extortionate ‘transaction’ fees for the privilege of electronically sending your tickets to your inbox. With this changing landscape, I cannot say how useful my scalping guide will be in the future. There are some events like the Super Bowl (see Who Can Afford Super Bowl Tickets?) where it certainly will not work. For those events, I wouldn’t go at all. The sad reality is that major sports events are for the rich. Corporations own too many of the seats, leaving the rest of us at the mercy of online resellers. As a points traveler, I am glad that points have allowed me to attend major sporting events without being gouged for airlines and hotels. As a sports enthusiast, I am glad that I have been able to attend so many great games. Adopting a sports analogy, I am not willing to throw in the towel on either hobby. But it sure has become more challenging.

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Read about how I went from standing room only to the 4th row in the follow-up post.