Hamilton ticket cost rant - ARGH!

[sarahb22]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:26pm

Is there any way to get tickets to this show without selling your firstborn or winning the lottery?  Without being incredibly lucky, I mean.

I was planning on coming to NYC in July, want to see the show, but the only way to get tickets is through Stubhub or the like, and of course the only tickets on those sites are the ones all the scalpers bought up when the show opened, and now they're selling them at $600 each to start.

How is this allowed? Isn't ticket scalping supposed to be illegal?  How are ticket brokers getting away with charging $2000+ for a ticket that was originally less than $100?

The thing is, I don't want to come to NYC without tickets in hand, but it seems like the only way to make sure I have a ticket before I get to NY is to buy it from a scalper, and I can't afford to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd need 3 tickets for anytime the second week of July.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:28pm

At this point the only ways to get reasonably priced tickets for Hamilton are:

1. Win the lottery

2. Queue up for a ridiculous amount of hours in the cancellation line

3. Wait for a batch of tickets to go on sale and then wait for almost a year

 

[Margo319]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:30pm

Supply and demand, sweetheart :)

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:45pm

Ticket scalping is not illegal in New York.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:45pm

Margo319 said: "Supply and demand, sweetheart :)

 

"

This is kind of beyond that.  IMO it's obscene to charge $2000+ for a ticket that originally cost you maybe $130.  It seems the ticket brokers bought ALL the available tickets and if you want to see the show you either have to be rich, very lucky (to win the lotto or snap up a stray regular price ticket that becomes available), or know LMM personally to get one of his comp tickets.

Supply and demand I get; letting ticket brokers scoop up all the tickets and then charge ridiculous amounts of money so that regular out-of-towners like me have no choice but to give up seeing the show, is to me plain old unethical.  I mean, these aren't even prices a normal person can hope to pay.  God knows I don't have that kind of money.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:47pm

Ticket brokers don't buy all the tickets. There was someone on this board who has seen it 7 times from planning ahead. I have seen it twice and I don't live in America. 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:48pm

"It seems the ticket brokers bought ALL the available tickets and if you want to see the show you either have to be rich, very lucky (to win the lotto or snap up a stray regular price ticket that becomes available), or know LMM personally to get one of his comp tickets."

 

No, not true. I've seen Hamilton 4 times and have tickets to see it once more, and that's because I was ahead of the curve and bought tickets several months in advance. For example, I bought my tickets for this June in October. Where were you then? I didn't pay brokers' prices, just the list price.

Updated On: 3/28/16 at 01:48 PM

[JM226]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:49pm

does anyone want to guess how many threads there are on HAMILTON and the price of its tickets?  i can understanding frustrations and ranting. that is completely understandable and human. but you lose me the second you start to whine or demand that something change, which is much different than ranting.  this is life. this is free market capitalism. this is America. this is supply & demand economics. what else is there to say??  so, yes... rant away. i guess. but don't whine or throw a fit and demand that something be done. because nothing CAN be done. and it shouldn't.  deal with it 

[JM226]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 1:52pm

i also reiterate this: commercial, for-profit theatre is not a god-given right. it is a luxury you must buy into. that is why there are cheaper alternatives to shows like HAMILTON and why there are amazing partially (or wholly) subsidized not-for-profit companies to ensure that more people have access to live theatre, and to balance out the ticket prices. 

[Eliza2]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:02pm

neonlightsxo said: ""It seems the ticket brokers bought ALL the available tickets and if you want to see the show you either have to be rich, very lucky (to win the lotto or snap up a stray regular price ticket that becomes available), or know LMM personally to get one of his comp tickets."

 

No, not true. I've seen Hamilton 4 times and have tickets to see it once more, and that's because I was ahead of the curve and bought tickets several months in advance. For example, I bought my tickets for this June in October. Where were you then? I didn't pay brokers' prices, just the list price."

 

Same for me. I've seen it twice and have tickets to see it twice more.

Bought a ticket last April to see it in August, a couple weeks after it opened.

On November 2 I bought 3 more tickets, to see it in March, June, and July.

And there were still plenty of tickets available when I made each of those purchases.

 

 

[Alex10]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:03pm

Hamilton ticket prices are pretty insane. I definitely don't judge anyone for not planning ahead or not being one of the first to know about the show. That said, I bought my tickets the week the show opened and even with that, I won't see it until tomorrow night. I'd say that's the best plan- be ready when the next block of tickets goes on sale and endure the wait. The lottery is basically impossible, and at this point cancellation lines form almost 24 hours in advance.

Ticket scalping isn't illegal in New York unless you're within a few hundred yards of the theatre. So the resale happening on Ticketmaster and Stubhub, though ridiculous, is definitely legal.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:04pm

At this point, I'm waiting for someone to write a rant about Hamilton ticket price rants. 

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:11pm

Ditto to planning ahead and having plenty of access to face value tickets. I will only judge people if they don't plan ahead and then come on here and start yet another thread to rant about how unfair it is that they don't get to see the show because someone else in the free market bought the tickets. Yes there might be 200+ seats per show that are on resale for high prices, but that means there are 1000+ that are NOT on resale. That's 1000+ people who likely bought early and have been patiently waiting to see it.

I bought a ticket for an early preview in July as soon as the first block of Broadway tickets was announced. I enjoyed the show and wanted to bring my sister to it so as soon as they released more tickets I bought them for April. I bought those tickets on July 29. So I've been waiting 8+ months to use them. Then a few months later, I bought 2 more for June to bring a friend. And in February, when more went on sale, I bought tickets for November. Every one at face value.

Yes I'm among the more interested and informed, but that's because I care about Broadway and I pay attention to the news and ticket announcements.

Updated On: 3/28/16 at 02:11 PM

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:13pm

If you're travelling to see the show anyway and you don't want to pay more than face value, go see it in Chicago in the fall.

[sarahb22]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:21pm

For example, I bought my tickets for this June in October. Where were you then? I didn't pay brokers' prices, just the list price.

I only just recently was able to save enough that I could travel to New York, so last October I had no plans to go there. 

Updated On: 3/28/16 at 02:21 PM

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:23pm

I'm like NJ Broadway Girl in that I follow theater and acted quickly to get tickets. I waited on line out in the cold in March 2015 for tickets for July, and when new blocks of seats were released online, I did battle with the bots and scalpers and managed to get a pair of tickets. I did that twice. But it is harder to do if you're only in New York for a visit. I live here, so I knew that I could attend the show just about any date.

I wish had bought more, but I just couldn't afford it! 

 

The frenzy will die down eventually, but I know it's hard waiting.

Updated On: 3/28/16 at 02:23 PM

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:27pm

aaaaaa15 said: "At this point the only ways to get reasonably priced tickets for Hamilton are:

1. Win the lottery

2. Queue up for a ridiculous amount of hours in the cancellation line

3. Wait for a batch of tickets to go on sale and then wait for almost a year

 and Door #3 wins....  I think a lot of us have done exactly this.  I bought my June ticket last year and I have one for November.  Then I build my trip around it and hope (fingers crossed) that it all works out.  Until the frenzy dies down that, unfortunately, is what you have to do in order to see Hamilton on Broadway.  Maybe when it tours you'll have better luck.   Either way - totally worth it :)

 

"

 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:27pm

sarahb22 said: "I only just recently was able to save enough that I could travel to New York, so last October I had no plans to go there."

That's unfortunate but there's nothing that says you have the right to see Hamilton at face value just because you missed out the first time. In the future, if you think you may be interested in a show that is as popular and successful as this one I'd suggest buying a ticket anyway and if it turns out you can't come to New York then you'll be able to sell it easily.

As I said, I live outside of America. I bought a Hamilton ticket for this Summer back in September before I'd booked hotels/flights. 

[hork]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:28pm

I can sympathize with people who didn't plan ahead, or who learned about the show only recently, but complaining about it is like complaining that you couldn't get tickets to a popular concert, or San Diego ComicCon, or any other event that sells out quickly. There's always going to be scalpers, and even if there weren't, the tickets they bought would have been scooped up by normal customers, and you wouldn't have been able to buy them at all. Popular events always require planning ahead, often far ahead. You don't plan a trip to San Diego four months before ComicCon and expect to get in. So what you do is plan a year in advance. Hamilton is no different, but because it's an ongoing, year-round event, people expect tickets to be more readily available, and that's just not the case.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:28pm

macnyc said: "But it is harder to do if you're only in New York for a visit. I live here, so I knew that I could attend the show just about any date."

You are very right in that those of us in the NY area benefit from knowing when we'll be here. Though I still planned as many as 8 months in advance and others have too. I realize my post may have been a little harsh and I am sympathetic to those that don't live around here and have to save for or plan a trip. I really am. But it's tiresome to hear people go on about how unfair scalping is when we've essentially all had the same shot at tickets and most of us have managed to obtain them.

Updated On: 3/28/16 at 02:28 PM

[rebeccmam31]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:31pm

Eliza2 said: "neonlightsxo said: ""It seems the ticket brokers bought ALL the available tickets and if you want to see the show you either have to be rich, very lucky (to win the lotto or snap up a stray regular price ticket that becomes available), or know LMM personally to get one of his comp tickets."

 

No, not true. I've seen Hamilton 4 times and have tickets to see it once more, and that's because I was ahead of the curve and bought tickets several months in advance. For example, I bought my tickets for this June in October. Where were you then? I didn't pay brokers' prices, just the list price."

 

Same for me. I've seen it twice and have tickets to see it twice more.

Bought a ticket last April to see it in August, a couple weeks after it opened.

On November 2 I bought 3 more tickets, to see it in March, June, and July.

And there were still plenty of tickets available when I made each of those purchases."

Add me to this group.  In September I will have seen the show 4 times (and I live in rural Pennsylvania).  I only bought resale once.

 

[SueBee06]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:33pm

It seems the ticket brokers bought ALL the available tickets and if you want to see the show you either have to be rich, very lucky (to win the lotto or snap up a stray regular price ticket that becomes available), or know LMM personally to get one of his comp tickets.
 

"

I get your frustration and I know I'm being nit picky, but LMM doesn't get comps.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:36pm

For some reason, a lot of people seem to think Lin is responsible for the pricing of this show, who gets comps and for allowing resale to happen.

 

[mariel9]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:37pm

Relevant: http://gothamist.com/2016/01/28/ticketmaster_live_nation_bots.php

 

because nothing CAN be done. and it shouldn't.  deal with it

 

People can lobby to change the law. For example, from the AG's report discussed in the above article advocates exactly this--changing NYS law. Free market capitalism isn't an inevitable law of nature, like gravity. People can do a lot of things and don't need you to tell them nothing can or should be done about it.

(Like others, I planned ahead and have seen Hamilton multiple times without paying these prices, but I'm sympathetic to people who weren't aware of what a monster this would become. And even those of us who where aware might remember the early days last summer when there still were regular priced tickets available.)

[sarahb22]

Posted: 3/28/16 at 2:40pm

I get your frustration and I know I'm being nit picky, but LMM doesn't get comps.

Thanks for the information!