How to unbuy tickets to a flop

I just read about this in Second Act Trouble, a way people "return" tickets to a show they pre-purchased for when it ends up being a flop:
exchange the tickets for a far-flung date in the future when you're sure it will have closed by, and then get your money back when it does.

If I buy tickets to a show I pretty much want to see it regardless, but anybody ever actually done this?

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I thought you couldn't exchange tickets...is the policy dependent on the show or theater now?

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I also thought tickets were not exchangeable. What's the secret?

Yeah, but if you can't exchange tickets for a future date (which is what you are apparently supposed to do to get a "refund" according to the original post), then I don't see the point.

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The ticket policy states that tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged, but I have heard of instances where people got away with it, which is why I was curious. Maybe it also depends who you encounter at the box office and what mood they're in.

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Updated On: 1/6/08 at 03:28 PM

I tried that once and the nice man at the Box Office smiled and told me to add a few more months, just in case the show limped along.

Guess he'd seen it all before...

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I *think* the point is what if you have tickets to a show that got panned or whatever and you basically want a refund...then if it's obvious it's going to flop, you can possibly exchange it for a date in the future when you're pretty sure the show will have closed so you can get a refund.

Not really an issue for me because if I want to see a show, I'll see it in spite of the reviews (except possibly roscoe's...seems like if s/he likes something a lot, I'll hate it), so... I like to make up my own mind.

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why would someone buy a ticket to something you don't have any intention of going to go see?

So, if you have tickets and it closes before the show your'e supposed to see, can you get money back?

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Thanks I was always curious.

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Jordan, add a few elemnts. The person who bought the ticket is a student. He has limited resources. He buys a ticket to a show with a very famous composer or lyricist. Figures he'll get his $$$ worth from the score alone. Turns out the show is one of several POS the composer or lyricist cranked out at the end of his illustrious career. So....

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Ugh, I hate the no return policy on tickets.
In 2001, I visited NY for the first time. I had purchased ahead of time tickets for Aida and Phantom of the Opera. The night I got to NY, I started feeling sick. I made it to Aida, but spent most of the time in the bathroom. At least I could still HEAR the show from there. :P
It was weird cause the batroom was pretty empty, and then some woman came in and told a cleaning lady that she had just gotten 'sick' on the stairs. :|

I made it through Aida, but just stood in the back and watched it. As my trip went on, I still felt sick. I was told it was just a virus.

The day of Phantom of the Opera, I knew I wasn't going to make it. I tried calling the day before, too. I called the ticket place (I think it was tele-charge) and they would not hear it. They told me that there were no refunds and if I wanted to resell the tickets I would have to go down to the theatre to do so. I had like 2nd row seats (because I purchased them far in advance) and I was SO pissed because I knew they could resell them.
To make a long story short, I went home a day later and within a couple days after that, I was having my appendix out (and it was gangrene).

To this day, I have not gotten over how rudely I was treated by the ticket place. I wrote them a nasty letter afterward and told them where to go.

Seriously, if you get sick, you SHOULD be able to get your money back. It seems like I am not the only one since the lady at Aida got sick on the stairs while running to the bathroom.
To me it makes more sense to get a refund if you get sick, rather than only get one if the main star is out that day.
So weird.

My experience suggests that "no exchanges" isn't at all strictly enforced, but maybe I've just been lucky.

I have one experience switching tickets, and a friend has another (much more difficult than mine, granted.) Both through calls to Ticketmaster. Maybe they're more lenient than other services? That seems atypical, for sure.