Hot Seats

Last-Minute Miracles
So, you don’t get any newsletters, aren’t part of a group, and you have no idea when tickets went on sale—but you want to go really, really badly, and the show is only a week or two away. How do you get good tickets without approaching some shady (if not legal) person on the street? We checked out some of the online ticket brokers to see who had hot tickets, who had the deals, and who was trying to make an easy buck.

Ticket King
212 Chicago Ave., Mpls., 651-341-4131

Selection: Good seats to pretty much any concert in town, plus a decent selection of theater events, though tickets for each theater show are limited.
Price: Spendy. Ticket King probably has the tickets you want—but charges accordingly. Orchestra seats for Spamalot at the Ordway sold for $100 over face value ($179.95 for $80 tickets), and seats for the Children’s Theatre’s High School Musical that originally went for $52.50 sold for $89.95.
Legit?: Yes.

StubHub
Selection: Similar to Ticket King—heavy on concerts and light on the arts, though tickets for big sellers such as The Lion King and Spamalot were plentiful. Stubhub had floor seats to this summer’s Michael Bublé concert long after Ticketmaster had sold out.
Price: Those Michael Bublé floor seats sold for $275, compared to $99.50 face value. Most tickets for Spamalot were selling for double face value.
Legit?: It’s a reputable third-party dealer, so you shouldn’t have any problems.

craigslist
Selection: craigslist allows anyone and everyone to sell tickets, much like a classified ad, so the selection is completely random. Large events tend to spawn multiple listings, but there were even a few impossible-to-find Amy Winehouse tickets at the State October 1.
Price: Price is set by the seller, so while some people are trying to make money, it’s also the best place to find tickets offered at face value or less, especially a day or two before the show. Plus, the price is always negotiable.
Legit?: Usually, but a little sketchy since you never know who the seller is. The best option is to contact the seller and make the exchange in person in a public place. Whatever you do, don’t send money without seeing the tickets.

eBay
Selection: Though dominated by tickets for sporting events (attention Wild and Vikings fans), there were some hard-to-find concert tix for sale, including Amy Winehouse tickets and first-row floor seats to Rush. A handful of tickets for Spamalot and David Sedaris were being sold at or close to face value.
Price: Since eBay is an auction site, ticket price usually depends on the show’s popularity—sometimes you’ll get a deal, sometimes you won’t.
Legit?: Yes, but as with any eBay purchase, it’s best to go with a seller who has a high satisfaction rating.