HAMILTON Resell/Scalper Ticket Question

[TheatreKid3]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 1:43pm

So we all know a very large % of HAMILTON tickets are being resold on authorized ticket resell sites or by scalpers on the street, eBay, etc.  My question is: do all these outrageously priced tickets actually end up getting sold or does each performance of HAMILTON have a portion of seats sitting empty?

 

 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 2:24pm

Most get sold.   Very close to curtain, many scalpers begin reducing prices.  Very few empty seats.

[TheatreKid3]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 5:21pm

Gotcha.  Thank you.  I figured that might be the case, which means a slightly better alternative/possibility to getting tickets at a less outrageous price.  One date I looked at had the cheapest ticket in the Rear Mezz priced at almost $800.

Part of my rage about this whole ordeal is directed to Ticketmaster.  For a company that should be opposing scalped tickets, the've all but endorsed it through their authorized resell program.  A resell should not be authorized unless it is being sold for face value.  The fact that they allow this to happen is absurd and concerning, and I am surprised there hasn't been a larger uproar because of it.  Scalpers are still buying tickets, and then using Ticketmaster's website to easily sell them.  Scalping isn't being combatted, it's being encouraged and endorsed.  The only thing that is being helped is ticket fraud, but if that's how low we are setting the bar for fighting corruption, it has become a sad state of affairs indeed.

Updated On: 4/6/16 at 05:21 PM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 5:25pm

Scalping is legal and ticketmaster gets a cut of all the resold tickets, so that is my guess as to why they don't care so much.

[Alessio2]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 5:27pm

I agree with this. It is completely absurd this is allowed to happen. When I looked on ticketmaster the other day they had no seats available for Hamilton, and then they offered me the resale ticket option. Tickets ranged from about $900 to as much as $2500!! Even if I had that money I wouldn't pay that to greedy scalpers!

[pupscotch]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 5:29pm

The scalper ticket prices have gone way up since the Grammy performance though. I purchased tickets for February for $750 each in the second row in January, and now those tickets are sold for upwards of $2000! It's getting a little absurd.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/6/16 at 6:01pm

The Hamilton producers could put an end to the resale option on Ticketmaster, but ultimately, it is required by NY state law that tickets be allowed to be transferred from person to person (for example, on the recent U2 tour, the NY shows were the only ones on the entire tour to not be Credit Card Entry). So, unless they made every show will call only, which is legal but a box office hardship, they would have to let people trade seats online, and if they only allowed paper tickets or whatever, it would really not put an end to reselling.

 

Also, ticket prices can't be shown to go up by the fact of someone listing them for that price, and there is no mechanism to see what people have paid in the past. That said, if it's early enough, why not list them for an absurdly high price, if you can keep lowering them until they sell over time...

[Wick3]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 12:53pm

There may be a few empty seats in the beginning of the show; but by intermission they'll be filled by some of the standing room folks (from my understanding most standing room tix are friends of the cast)

 

[bunnie3]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 5:17pm

It s called "ICE".  And it s been around forever as long as there are greedy "insiders".  Nuff said.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 7:07pm

Just checked on Ticketmaster, and currently tickets for July are going for $3000+ PER SEAT.  You can get a crappy obstructed view seat in the rear mezzanine for about $1500.  This is ridiculous.

[judebarsto]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 8:33pm

This is all making my husband feel a LOT better - he surprised me for my (big!) birthday with 2nd row center mezzanine seats in March at $750 each. Sounds like a relative bargain now!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 8:42pm

Yes, it sucks, Yes, it's ridiculous....but it's not  illegal.  Sadly.

 

But I've said before....if you plan and are patient, you don't haven't pay scalper a pieces.  I wouldn't anyway.   I've gone 2x and holding tix for a third time. ..have paid less then 200 a ticket each time...even under a hundred per for one set.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 8:53pm

I'm struggling to understand how so many of these resale tickets are available online for the fall.

I have November tickets I want to transfer to a friend and they are being held for release to me until 90 days out ... as is my own seat to see the show again in October.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 9:36pm

dramamama611 said: "Yes, it sucks, Yes, it's ridiculous....but it's not  illegal.  Sadly.

 

But I've said before....if you plan and are patient, you don't haven't pay scalper a pieces.  I wouldn't anyway.   I've gone 2x and holding tix for a third time. ..have paid less then 200 a ticket each time...even under a hundred per for one set."

That's nice, but I don't live in New York City.  I have ONE week a year that I can get away to go on a long trip, and that's the week after July 4.  Should I plan to see the show July of next year? All of the original cast members will be gone by then, and I'll bet tickets will be just as expensive, but that's probably what I'll have to do.

The way I see it, I have three options if I want to see the show this year: pay the scalpers' prices (impossible); spend a whole day of my vacation standing in the cancellation line, or put my name in the lotto and resign myself that my chances of getting a ticket are very small. That's it.

There's going to be a backlash against this.  There are already a lot of people on social media complaining that the only people who can get in to see Hamilton are rich old people (unless you have a crystal ball, live in NYC, or can wait a year+ to see it) because nobody else can afford the tickets.  'Hamilton' is teetering very close to going from "the fantastic must-see show" to "The overhyped monster whose tickets aren't worth the trouble" and if things keep going the way they are, by Tony time there will be a lot of people actively rooting against it.  Call it "The Titanic Syndrome".  Resentment over the show's insane ticket prices combined with "it's everywhere, you can't escape it" will combine to make people totally sick of Hamilton's face.  They'll be rooting for ANY other show to beat its butt off at the Tonys just because they think the show has gone from scrappy upstart who just wants to be liked to arrogant bully who's demanding all your lunch money. I know there's nothing that can be done about it, but I wish there was. $3000 for one ticket to a show is just disgusting.

 

Updated On: 4/10/16 at 09:36 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 10:00pm

Um.....I'm not rich, nor do I live in the city.  I've also not had to wait for year.    But I did plan ahead.  I've had my July tickets since November.

But expecting to find tix for the hottest show on Broadway only 3 months in advance isn't realistic...as it wasn't for Mormon, Wicked, The Producers, or any other Mega hit.   ESPECIALLY with no flexibility.  

 

I'm not saying it's not disappointing,

 

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 10:15pm

Don't take this the wrong way, sarahb22, but as someone posting on a Broadway message board, haven't you been aware from the start that the show's been selling out quickly and consistently? This is nothing new. I bought my seats in October for a show in March because I knew if I wasn't willing to plan in advance, I would never see it. And I only had to pay $100 a seat. While it certainly has gotten worse with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon, I think that was to have been anticipated from the get-go. 

[Margo319]

Posted: 4/10/16 at 10:20pm

Even before it was on at the Public it became the show to see.  People need to plan ahead much better if they want to see it.  That is the reality of the situation for shows like this.   You snooze?  You lose $3000 for a seat.  End of story.

[kasim]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 12:31am

 

I'm with you on the craziness, i tried to buy months ago added to the list

My plan is to go out there, and do the lottery if i get a ticket i do if not i go to another show

But no way i am spending that much

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 12:39am

Oh please, there is not going to be backlash for the show because of the ticket prices that scalpers are setting. That would be like if people stopped liking Beyonce because scalpers sell tickets to her concerts for high prices. Fans of this show are willing to pay these prices. If they weren't, scalpers would be forced to put the prices down. Instead, they haven't stopped rising. The producers could easily be charging the same prices but they aren't because they don't want to turn it into that.

The Tonys are in two months. No huge backlash is going to happen that quickly or effect the results of an award based on how GOOD the shows are not how easy it is to get a ticket. The Tonys would be a laughing stock in the eyes of the public if anything other than Hamilton won Best Musical.

I live in England and have also managed to get tickets for this show twice, both under $200. One is second row. It's not even close to impossible.

sarahb22 said: "Should I plan to see the show July of next year? All of the original cast members will be gone by then, and I'll bet tickets will be just as expensive, but that's probably what I'll have to do."

Yes, that is exactly what you should plan on doing (or see the show on tour). 

It is unlikely that the entire original cast will be gone. It is hardly unheard of for people to play a role for 2 years on Broadway. And no tickets will not be $3000 if you get them from Ticketmaster as soon as they go on sale, which will be in a few months.

Yes, it's unfortunate that you have to wait. Yes it's unfortunate that you can't see the original cast. But you're not entitled to! My first wait was 6 months and my second wait will have been 9 months. It's worth it. Stop fooling yourself into thinking that anyone is entitled to experience a show that they want to straight away for a low price. Plan ahead and wait. It is that simple.

Updated On: 4/11/16 at 12:39 AM

[Dave13]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 12:50am

What I want to know is if the producers of Hamilton are receiving a cut of the resale fee charged by Ticketmaster. If so, that is a freaking racket and someone needs to put an end to it. 

[sarahb22]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 7:28am

Dave13 said: "What I want to know is if the producers of Hamilton are receiving a cut of the resale fee charged by Ticketmaster. If so, that is a freaking racket and someone needs to put an end to it. 

I know Ticketmaster gets a percentage of the resale tickets, so of course they're not going to do anything about it.  What's a shame is that LMM and the cast and crew don't see a penny of that resale money.  It's all going right into the scalper's pocket.  Which is, of course, how it's always been, but I've never seen it this bad. 

And it's especially discouraging to read stories about the scalpers packing the cancellation line, buying up entire rows of tickets to scalp for ridiculous prices while honest people standing in line, who just want to see the freakin' show, get shut out.  I know, I know, I snooze I lose, etc. etc., but it's still a stone cold drag.  I'll shut up about it now. :-X

[JM226]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 7:51am

I know Ticketmaster gets a percentage of the resale tickets, so of course they're not going to do anything about it.  What's a shame is that LMM and the cast and crew don't see a penny of that resale money.  It's all going right into the scalper's pocket.

 

that's simply not true and entirely inaccurate... 

[valeposh]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 8:03am

I also don't live in NYC but in Italy. I saw the show last week with normal-priced tickets. How? I bought them in August when they were just put on sale. I visit this board regularly and know how crazy Hamilton tickets have gotten, so I just bought them a long time in advance.

If I were you, I'd start saving for some hyper-priced tickets. Missing this show would be a shame.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 9:26am

JM226 said: "I know Ticketmaster gets a percentage of the resale tickets, so of course they're not going to do anything about it.  What's a shame is that LMM and the cast and crew don't see a penny of that resale money.  It's all going right into the scalper's pocket.

 

that's simply not true and entirely inaccurate... "

Oh - does the show get a cut of what the scalpers make on resale tickets? I just want to make sure I understand what you're saying.  I always thought scalpers worked independently of the show.  Or are you saying Ticketmaster does not get anything from the resales?

Updated On: 4/11/16 at 09:26 AM

[JM226]

Posted: 4/11/16 at 10:09am

TM gets a cut of TM resales and then the producers get a very small percentage of TM's cut. no clue if they openly admit that or not but it is a fact.