Papering Service Recommendation?

I was wondering which papering services you guys would recommend? Broadway + Off-Broadway shows are mainly what I would be interested in seeing, and I'm a teenager, so I don't think I would be able to see cabaret offers.
I was inching towards TM's Gold Club, or TDF. With TM's Gold Club, I've read about the promotion where the 2 tickets they offer when you sign up, and I haven't been seeing that offer lately, and don't know if I should wait for an offer like that to sign up for it?
Also, is it cheaper to just use student rush for shows? Opinions on Play by Play or other services? Which service generally provides the best seats? I'm very new on all of these programs. Thanks!

Here is a $60 offer for students: https://goldclub.theatermania.com/gold/index.cfm?partnercode=school

Don't wait for the free ticket offer, you can't get the $60 price and the free tickets, plus that show will be available in the service anyway. The selection is good, not great, but for $60 for the year you will definitely get your money's worth. You have to check very often to be able to snag Broadway shows or popular off-Broadway shows. And there's a lot of Broadway shows that seem very comped when you look at the grosses, but Gold Club hasn't gotten. Do any of the other 3 services get a lot of the Broadway shows that Gold Club doesn't? I'm interested in joining another if they get different Broadway shows.

Updated On: 11/23/13 at 10:23 PM

In addition to the yearly fee, you pay $4.50 per ticket.

Updated On: 11/25/13 at 05:10 AM

I see Audience Extras is running a holiday sale with $25 off the membership price. Which would make it $60 plus $30 reserve fund.

Now, after researching this program I have a question. I saw some complaints from people saying that they had $40 in their reserve fund when they cancelled and those who run the program would not refund it to them. My question is, does the site require you to put a certain amount of money into your reserve account to get tickets? So once I'm through with the $30 required reserve fund, I can't just pay $3.50 per ticket at the time I reserve the tickets? They require an additional lump sum reserve fund payment? That's the only possible way I could see how some people could have had over $30 in their reserve fund when they cancelled. Hopefully someone who uses this program or has used it in the past can explain how this reserve fund works.

And is it worth getting Audience Extras if one already has Gold Club? Do they get shows that Gold Club doesn't?

Audience Extras require a minimum of a $30 charge to refill your account, I think. I did not renew my membership, and they never sent the money in my account ($30), even after calling them. I never pursued it...They had the worst selection compared to Play By Play & TheaterMania Gold Club. I hardly ever used Audience Extras.

I used to be a Gold Club member, but I didn't renew. They are the only ones that don't require you to deposit money ahead of time.

I recently renewed Play By Play. They require $15 per refill. They are the best of the three in my opinion. Don't expect too many Broadway shows though out of any of the three services.

In Play By Play, I have some of the best seats in the house, and then some of the worst seats in the house. It just depends, it is up to each production, not the papering service. Normally the seats are at least decent, as there is less incentive to give away comped bad seats as less of the audience will see those seats are empty if they are not filled.

Just to reiterate, not many of the shows that are talked about on a daily basis on this message board appear on these sites. The terms of service state that I can't talk about the shows that appear, so I won't.

Sorry for the additional question... at what point do you know your seats? Before or after placing the order? Your help in this, is really helping me make a decision. Thanks.

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If you're worried about where you're sitting, TDF and papering services are not for you.

It also helps to be familiar with what's happening on and off Broadway so that you can scoop up the worthy shows when you see them.

Is that true for Gold Club as well?

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Yes, that's true, but there are various "specials" on Gold Club from time to time where you pay $50, or whatever price. For instance, there's something on there now for $27.50.

To better answer my earlier question about Audience Extras' "reserve fund", I actually was about to join until I read the terms that the site presents right before confirming membership.

It says: "Your Personal Reserve Fund (PRF): This is the money you set aside to cover the cost of your reservation's service charge. You must maintain a positive balance of at least $15 to reserve tickets. If your PRF falls low, you will have to replenish it with a minimum deposit of $40 with a credit card."

Seems very greedy of them to require so much money to be sitting in your account. It would be fine if they would refund you any unused funds if you were to cancel, but reading the messages on this board, including the one in this post, and the yelp reviews it seems like they do not refund even if they claim they will. With people saying they have a bad selection, it doesn't seem like it's worth joining and putting all that extra money into a reserve fund that likely won't get used.

Updated On: 12/17/13 at 11:14 PM

I'd recommend Club Free Time. They usually have good off-Broadway selection, sometimes Broadway shows and more classical music concerts and ballet performances than any other papering services. They are the cheapest ($19.95 a year). There is no "reserved find" requirements. In addition, they give you a list of free things to do (like utterly interesting lectures, staged readings - stuff like that)

Updated On: 12/27/16 at 12:22 PM