The Ticket Broker Business

A lot of individuals who visit New York on short notice may not have the wherewithal to purchase their theater tickets in advance. Even if you are a New York resident, getting tickets to a Broadway show on short notice can be a problem. Your best bet may be to contact a ticket broker for the New York theater tickets you need.

Accredited ticket brokers can help you secure tickets for plays and shows that are currently running, such as Tarzan, The Lion King, Wicked, High School the Musical and The Coast of Utopia. A trustworthy ticket broker is one who is licensed and a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers. In most cases you can contact ticket brokers on the Internet for your event ticket requirements.

The tickets you purchase from ticket brokers will normally be more expensive than those you purchase through the Box Office. Obviously, the broker will be adding service charges in addition to the face value of the ticket. Therefore you may wish to look into other sources for getting New York theater tickets on short notice for plays and shows on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Through these other sources, you may be able to buy New York theater tickets at discounted and affordable prices.

Most theaters on Broadway distribute discount codes for most of their plays and shows. This is for marketing and sales purposes, and if you are able to lay your hands on such a code, you can get a generous discount. Discount codes can often be accessed through the Internet.

As a student, you may be able to get a student’s discount just by displaying your ID. Such tickets can be procured through the Box Office only and just before the start of the show.

Theater tickets in New York for certain plays that have not yet become popular, or are not very popular anyways, can be purchased at significant discount - as much as 50 percent - directly from the Box Office. Other discounted tickets are for seats that do not have a clear view of the stage due to an existing structural problem such as a support column. These seats are obtainable at huge discounts, if you do not mind not seeing the action in a portion of the stage.

Standing Room Only theater tickets are also obtainable at discounted prices, if you do not have a problem with standing while watching a play.

If you’ve ever tried to procure tickets to an entertainment performance only to find them sold out ten minutes after they went on sale, look no further than a ticket broker. With groups of employees both in line and on the world wide web, a ticket broker has the resources to buy more tickets and buy them faster than any individual ever could. If you can’t locate tickets to an event, chances are a ticket broker has them.

A number of states have laws prohibiting the sale of tickets for an amount more than face value. Some states have laws that in particular prohibit a ticket broker from conducting business. With the worldwide access the Internet enables, however, a ticket broker can set up business in a state that permits him to operate and sell tickets to shows, concerts, and music events from all over the world with no repercussions.

A ticket broker earns money based on supply and demand. There is an artificially small supply of event tickets, because a show only plays so many dates and there are only so many seats at a venue. This allows a ticket broker to control a major portion of the supply of tickets and charge five times the ticket price or more.

The ticket broker normally employs a group of ticket buyers to purchase tickets for a particular event. The ticket purchasers stand in line at points of sale or use the Internet to make purchases online. The employees present the tickets to the ticket broker, who then resells them, generally by way of a website at a price increase. When people are unable to tickets to the event, they turn to the ticket broker.

Of course there are numerous takes on the issue. Ticket brokers contend they are providing a service. They claim that by ordering a considerable number of tickets and selling them at a high profit, ticket brokers are only contributing to a true market economy. Their claim is that if people want to see a show seriously enough to pay four times the face value of the ticket, the ticket broker is justified in selling the ticket for that price.

Oppnents of ticket brokers say that because there is an artificially limited number of tickets, the brokers are engaging in unfair competition. They say that the ticket brokers are cornering the market. These opponents do not believe that it is right for ticket brokers to act as intermediaries, hoard tickets and ask for an artificially high price without providing any significant service.

Several states have laws that support the ticket broker’s right to earn a profit. Other states side with the ticket buyer’s desire to purchase tickets at face value.