Box office or online?

[iluvgeddy05]

I am tempted to get tickets for the NYS fair show at the box office in order to avoid some nasty extra charges.

 

Does anyone do this anymore? My worry is they are going to give me a random seat and that'll be it. Whereas online, I can throw them back and take my chances.

 

 

Not sure what to do..! Any advice? Is it worth it for saving a few bucks that would just go to Ticketbastard?

[quickfree]

I'd go with online and if you have a high speed/dedicated connection it helps a lot in particular. I've tried visiting the box office before and mixed results with 1st day sales usually you'll get awful seat. And they'll say return day of show and you might get lucky with seats in the first 10 rows but I've never had this happen before.

 

I think TM site allows two web browsers with Mozilla and IE to be opened at once when I've tried it before and have gotten different results looking for tickets. Just don't keep throwing back the results you get and asking for another pair a lot, because the website will kick you out thinking you're an automated program.

 

Using a cellphone to surf and order tickets is another good alternative if the regular online access doesn't work out.

 

Call the ticketmaster line with a regular phone, but only as back up. You'll probably be hit with a ton of busy signals and frustration trying to break through after an hour of waiting only to find the good seats already gone.

 

[iluvgeddy05]

Another reason I wanted to buy in person is because I've never seen a show at the venue and the seating chart doesn't look to be much help. I'd hate to buy something thinking it was good when really it wasn't. Oh well, chance to take I guess.

[Mara]

I was actually going to take the day off for this, but then I realized that at work I have access to both my laptop AND desktop, as well as a few work buddies I can draft to help me out. At home I only have the one desktop.

 

And - this is key - at work we have a full T1 line.

[upstateNYfan]

Hello,

I'd definitely go online. Both are relative crapshoots, but online is easier, more convenient and easier to throw back seats you don't want.

[MULTIPLIED REACTION]

Box office sucks. They hand out wristbands now, so you could be first or dead last.

[iluvgeddy05]

QUOTE (Mara @ Apr 12 2010, 10:15 PM)

I was actually going to take the day off for this, but then I realized that at work I have access to both my laptop AND desktop, as well as a few work buddies I can draft to help me out. At home I only have the one desktop. And - this is key - at work we have a full T1 line.

Our internet is OK.. but we're not supposed to be on it. Mine at home is pretty decent and the NYSF tix go on sale Sat., no presale from what I see.

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (MULTIPLIED REACTION @ Apr 12 2010, 10:28 PM)

Box office sucks. They hand out wristbands now, so you could be first or dead last.

they still hand out wristbands for tickets? last time i got a wristband was for the monsters of rock back in 88. i think i was 12th on line and my tickets sucked. i was 2nd level with some obstructed view because of the huge scaffolding for technical setup in the middle.

Edited April 13, 2010 by ReflectedLight

[GeddyRulz]

[upstateNYfan]

GeddyRulz,

 

You're definitely right about it being a crapshoot. That's why one might as well shop from their computer, if for no other reason than speed and convenience.

 

There have been 2 or 3 times when I've bought online several days after tickets have been on sale and done very well.

[balance]

QUOTE (iluvgeddy05 @ Apr 12 2010, 07:12 PM)

I am tempted to get tickets for the NYS fair show at the box office in order to avoid some nasty extra charges. Does anyone do this anymore? My worry is they are going to give me a random seat and that'll be it. Whereas online, I can throw them back and take my chances. Not sure what to do..! Any advice? Is it worth it for saving a few bucks that would just go to Ticketbastard?

Well, I always go online. Seeing as how I have 4 computers running and each with a different IP address I can lock down 4 sets of tickets. The reason I do that is TB always seems to throw the exact same set of tickets at you every time. No I can fight back at them using a different approach.

[GeddyRulz]

[Godeater2112]

If you are computer savvy you can easily get better tickets online nowadays. It really comes down to being quick at a few tasks:

 

1 - counting down the time until *boom* tickets go on sale. I find TicketMaster at least is always within 60 seconds of the Naval Observatory clocks where you can check the time here:

 

http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/timer.pl

 

Last I used Ticketmaster I believe if you refresh the page *too* frequently it will block you from the site so you have to be careful.

 

2 - Once tickets are on sale *boom* it's a matter of selecting the tickets you want and submitting the order where TM at least will have you enter the "captcha code" thing, which is type in the words you see in their stupid graphic before you can proceed.

 

It is a GREAT idea here to already have an account on the site and be logged in. Also go to other events before hand that are already available for sale and "practice" what it's like to search for and select tickets and enter the stupid code a couple times. Helps make you more familiar with it for the actual stress of ordering the Rush tickets.

 

And that is about the most you can do! It is waaay better to order online as the box office or TM outlets nowadays those dummies get access to tickets at the same time as people online, and beleive me they are usually less on the ball and enthused to score good tickets. The last two times I tried getting my tickets offline I wanted to f**king strangle the idiot behind the desk fiddling around, even being first in line one to only get TWO tickets the best the knob could get us was 400 level! Seriously! Thanks for waiting in line for 5 hours the night of the sale!

 

Other than that it's all luck of the draw where literally 2 seconds can make enormous difference in the tickets you get!

 

Other pointers:

 

The bigger number of tickets you look for the less likely the ticket system will find that block of seats together that are good seats. People looking for 6 seats together the moment of sale MAY get shitty seats whereas 20 mins into the sale if you search for a SINGLE ticket you can often still get the first couple of rows!

 

Pre-sales are great if you get really lucky and score something great however they will often only have a VERY limited number of tickets allocated to them! This includes the Rush.com mailing list! If you attempt pre-sale and find the tickets you get are really shitty it is because lots of people are competing for even fewer tickets. It is always a gamble but when that is the case you may want for the date tickets go on sale to the PUBLIC and you have a good chance of getting better seats. It's stressful but I know more people than I can count that bought cruddy tickets during the presale only to be outraged when they tried "for the hell of it" to see what sort of seats they could get at the public sale, and they found way better seats...

 

Good luck and God speed to everyone. I don't get stressed easily at ALL but when Rush tickets go on sale online I usually do lose my cool a bit. Try to stay calm, practice the ticket search process, be listening to some RUSH of course when the times comes!

 

Edited April 13, 2010 by Godeater2112

[upstateNYfan]

No luck with pre-sale yet--just lawns. And that's with my top-of-the-line Citi Signature Visa.