Reselling tickets - How low would you go?

[TexasBushwhacker]

So there's this concert tonight in Houston with a formerly hot band. The best tickets originally sold for around $150 each, the cheapest for $20 plus service charges. A friend and I decided to go to the concert. It's far from a sell out, with plenty of tickets available through resellers like StubHub for less than face value. Like I said, the band's heyday was a long time ago.

I missed a week and a half of work (and income) because of Hurricane Harvey, so money is tight. I checked Craigslist and there are a few people trying to unload tickets, some for very good seats. I made a guy an offer last night of $50 for a pair of tickets that probably cost him about $200. $50 is just all I can afford. He said no dice, that he wouldn't take less than $100.

So what gives? Would you NOT sell tickets at all, rather than take what you can get when the concert is less than 24 hours away?

[ghostsinthemachine]

1. I'd go to the venue

To buy o sell.

[TexasBushwhacker]

2. They don't allow reselling at the venue

We'll still go to the concert. There are plenty of seats available. I was just trying to get the best I could for my budget.

[Phentex]

3. I think it depends on what it is and who is selling

if it were some teen heartthrob that sold out in minutes and you knew some parent would pay face value, then yes, hold out for top bid. If you are a scalper, you'd probably hold out for the number your seller did. But I see it on our neighborhood newsletter all the time. Someone paid hundred of dollars for a concert or show but can't attend at the last minute. In that case, they better practically give them away instead of holding on to them for nothing. It would be better to make the fifty bucks someone is willing to pay than nothing at all. Sunk costs are sunk.

Find other tickets.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. That seller is betting that someone will pay $100 for the tickets.

If not you, then someone else. Maybe he's right ...

On the other hand, if $100 is something you can't afford, then I wonder if that $50 would be better spent on something you need, and spend some time on YouTube listening to the "formerly hot band". Missing a week or two of work (and wages) can be a real pain in the wallet.

Best of luck, and enjoy the concert if you go.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. I would not have gone

But one of my best friends is moving to Phoenix on Sunday (at least it's a dry heat). We were having dinner and talking about Harvey stuff. It turns out she likes the band too, so we're going. It's at an outdoor amphitheater, so none of the tickets are really bad. It just would have been fun to surprise her with really good tickets.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Phoenix. I don't think they get hurricanes there ...

... just sandstorms (haboobs?).

Best of luck to your friend. And, yes, dry heat is better. I spent a summer in El Paso. Much dry, much heat.

[TexasBushwhacker]

8. She suffers from chronic migraines and fibromyalgia

She has considerably less pain with the dryness and her best friend lives there. I'm happy for her but I will miss her.

[Iggo]

6. He feels he can sell his tickets at the very last moment for the same amount you offered him.

And up until then, he still has a chance to get his hunnit.