Groupon Seats??

[DavidDSimon]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 6:28pm

Anyone use groupon to buy tickets?  Was looking at $59 tickets for Play That Goes Wrong (best code I found otherwise is $79).   The wording on the website makes it sound like I get a voucher to take to box office but not clear if I can take it in right after I buy to get what's available at that time or whether or I have to do it day of show or whether they'll assign me seats way in back or far off on side even though right now theater is about 80% empty for date I'm looking at.

If I'll get to go to box office and have some say in my seats I'll do the groupon but if I'll be at the mercy of them giving me what's left over on day of, I'd rather just pay $20 extra now and pick great seats. 

Any insight appreciated!

[ArtMan]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 6:50pm

I have used Groupon for concerts not Broadway.  Majority of the time, after you do the transaction then you will see your section and seat number.  The best thing of Groupon, (if it is a true Groupon sale) is there no additional fees.  The worst thing is their customer service is awful.  You may want to check Goldstar.  They have seats for The Play That Goes Wrong, as low as $25 plus $10 fee.  So you are still getting a lower price.  I have only used them once for Off Broadway Trainspotting.  It was a comp ticket.  All I did was pay the fees of $9.  They just had a big sale of comp transactions.  There were a lot of Off Broadway shows on there.  Unfortunately it is over.  You can still find some comp items on their website on a regular basis.  Just not as much in quantity as that sale.

Updated On: 8/28/19 at 06:50 PM

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 6:54pm

ArtMan said: You may want to check Goldstar. They have seats as low as $25 plus $10 fee. So you are still getting a lower price. I have only used them once for Off Broadway Trainspotting. It was a comp ticket. All I did was pay the fees of $9. They just had a big sale of comp transactions. There were a lot of Off Broadway shows on there. Unfortunately it is over. You can still find some comp items on their website on a regular basis. Just not as much in quantity as that sale."

I know this could be a thread of it's own, but how can Goldstar basically give away free tickets, minus the fees? That made me suspicious at first that it wasn't a genuine site, but I've heard only praises from Goldstar, so how can they get tickets for so cheap, sometimes free at times?

[ArtMan]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 7:08pm

DoTheDood, I don't know how they get them.  I can say it was free, when I went to Trainspotting.  There was not a specific seat number (at least for this show).  I stood in line, and was seated in the second row.  I was a little disappointed that I wasn't aware of the sale, this year, (it's called Comp Train) until the last day.  I don't live in NYC (will be visiting September 21)  so a lot of the free things were gone.  It was not just theater, it was a lot of different things.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 7:35pm

Goldstar is my secret weapon, I’ve been using it for years. It’s never failed me or had a transaction not work out. A great place to look for shows that often change or suddenly end their promos, similar promos will take longer to be removed from Goldstar.

[liotte]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 9:00pm

I used Groupon for The Play That Goes Wrong for a Thursday matinee performance in July. The box office will not match the price to just buy tickets there (as many places do), they said to use the app. I got a voucher, took about 30-40 minutes to arrive. No say in what seats we would be given, ended up 5th row center orchestra. Did not have to print voucher, just showed it on my phone and they gave me the tickets.
Hope that helps!

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 9:00pm

DoTheDood said: "I know this could be a thread of it's own, but how can Goldstar basically give away free tickets, minus the fees? That made me suspicious at first that it wasn't a genuine site, but I've heard only praises from Goldstar, so how can they get tickets for so cheap, sometimes free at times?"

I bought my first ticket from Goldstar in 2005 and next month I will attend my 200th event thru them. I know I shouldn't be, but I get surprised when people still ask if they're a genuine site. How do they get the seats so cheap? They get them from the shows in the same way TKTS gets them at a discount. As far as how they get comps is concerned, either they have a deal with the shows that for every X number sold, they get a handful free or maybe the shows just give them some for a few dates in the hope that it will spur sales for the other dates. Shows, especially long running off Broadway shows give out comps all the time to various people for various reasons. This shouldn't surprise anyone that a company that probably sells hundred if not thousands of tickets for them can snag a few.

I saw The Play That Goes Wrong thru Goldstar back in June. Got a seat in the last 2 rows of the theater (it's a small theater so that wasn't a problem) for $30.75 including fees). It may be a little more now but it's still a good deal. I've used Groupon for Off Broadway as well. Like Goldstar they will state clearly what section of the theater the seats are in but you cannot pick an exact seat. They send your name to the theater and what section you bought and the theater assigns it day of from available seats in that section. You can print and show them the voucher or many times, I just say picking up a will call seat for my name and show them my ID. Sometimes the theater may give them the seats ahead of time in which case they'll send you an actual ticket that you can print out and get scanned at the theater. If picking your seats is important to you, then buy the more expensive seat so you won't have to stress over it. And if you use Groupon, always, ALWAYS wait till they have a 20% off code. It's almost every few days. Some shows won't allow it but a lot do.

@Artman In Goldstar, you can set an alert for whenever they have a CompTrain coming up and they'll shoot you an e-mail a day or two before it starts. Picked up a couple of good things this time including the off Broadway show L.O.V.E.R. which I may back out of if the reviews are not strong. They also had some comps for Make Believe which I want to see but it was for the week before my upcoming trip so missed out on that one. I've scored dozens of comps from them over the years. Like VotePeron, it's my secret weapon.

Updated On: 8/28/19 at 09:00 PM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 10:16pm

Thanks for the info, Uncle Charlie.  There wasn't any shows I needed, since my slots were already filled.  But they had some interesting tourist/sightseeing items on there, that I would have utilized if it was free.  Also, are you finding groupons that you can still use the extra percentage off on?  It used to be I could always use it, but now finding in the fine print that promo codes are not allowed.  The best one was when occasionally they had the extra 25% off.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 8/29/19 at 12:19am

ArtMan said: "Thanks for the info, Uncle Charlie. There wasn't any shows I needed, since my slots were already filled. But they had some interesting tourist/sightseeing items on there, that I would have utilized if it was free. Also, are you finding groupons that you can still use the extra percentage off on? It used to be I could always use it, but now finding in the fine print that promo codes are not allowed. The best one was when occasionally they had the extra 25% off."

ArtMan, it's hit or miss. For restaurants and other food items, I'm finding it accepted around 75 or 80% of the time. For museums or other attractions, probably about the same, maybe a little less. For ticketed events, probably more like 30-40%. Off Broadway shows tend to not be too high though I find it's higher for regional theaters than off Broadway. For other things like concerts and sports, it's maybe 50-60%. Sometimes, especially for theater, they just serve as a storefront for Goldstar so for those tickets, it's never allowed. But I always check the fine print and wait for the next 20% off if one isn't currently active. And yes, the rare times they have 25% off and the small handful of times they've had a flash sale with 30% are pretty good if there is something I want to get.