Real or Fake????

[Beach95]

I believe this has been discussed here before but I am too lazy to trudge through the posting.

If you do buy tickets from a broker or from E-bay, is there a way to tell if the tickets are legit? YOu probably have more recourse with the broker than E-bay, but that's not really the point. Getting shut out at the gate sucks.

I got shut out of the GW Saturday night show in 2000. I bought ticks from a want ad in the globe. 4 ticks $75/each. That was good price back then compared to today. Bought them in like June, but they turned out bad. Never saw the guy again....phone # changed?!!?!?

Anyway to tell if they are real?

[NYCPORT]

There are a few ways that I'm sure someone else can help you with, but the easiest way to make sure your tickets will be real is to buy them from someone with a lot of positive feedback on Ebay. If they do turn out to be fake you'll have two ways to recoup you money, Ebay, and if you use Paypal, your credit card company can help you too.
If it helps I've used Ebay dozens of times to buy tickets to various events over the last few years and never had a problem so long as the seller had good feedback.

[RumLover]

I bought some pavilion tickets from a guy off of COB and was worried that they wern't legit.
I decided to call Ticketmaster to find out how you can tell.
Well, I got more info than I could imagine.
The kid I talked to told me who bought them, when they bought them, how many they bought and how much they paid for them!
That answered all my questions
Props to ticketmaster!

[Beach95]

I bought the ticks off someone with an excellent E-Bay rating, got his name.....etc., but the tickets came from someone else?!?!?!

It's not the money if they are fake, it would be sitting in the parking lot.

I might try calling Ticketmaster.

[gumbo gal]

Here's another tip. If you separate the corners of the ticket just a tiny bit, you will see blue colored threads inside. I guess someone with a deviant enough mind and a lot of time on their hands COULD find a way to make or get paper like that, but I would think chances of that happening are slim to none. Hope that helps.

[Guest]

Here's another tip. If you separate the corners of the ticket just a tiny bit, you will see blue colored threads inside. I guess someone with a deviant enough mind and a lot of time on their hands COULD find a way to make or get paper like that, but I would think chances of that happening are slim to none. Hope that helps.

This is very true, you can even put a small tear in a ticket and look.
I doubt that the duplicators would have this working for them. Also, on many fakes the ink will bleed if it gets wet. A true ticketmaster ticket will not smear if you rub a damp finger across the text, if it does, chances are its a fake...and a poor one at that...and a third thing, if you are buying seats next to each other, assuming they were printed at the same time the serial numbers should be sequencial, often something that is overlooked...sometimes fake tix all have the same serial number...

[finsupnorth]

Our tickets for the Chicago Saturday show are not from Ticketmaster...they are from the Tweeter Center....is this possible? I think my source is pretty reliable......

[7lords]

Our tickets for the Chicago Saturday show are not from Ticketmaster...they are from the Tweeter Center....is this possible? I think my source is pretty reliable......

Yes, that's possible depending on where they were bought - the ones we got standing in line at a TM outlet for the Alpine show were yellow and orange and branded TicketMaster and the ones that I got online from Ticketmaster were purple and said Alpine Valley.

[finsupnorth]

Great! I feel better now..... you're lucky you got that many tickets for Alpine!! Hey, let me know if you ever want info on the bus trip out of Janesville with guarenteed pavillion tickets for Alpine.....

Did you get my $

[7lords]

Great! I feel better now..... you're lucky you got that many tickets for Alpine!! Hey, let me know if you ever want info on the bus trip out of Janesville with guarenteed pavillion tickets for Alpine.....

Did you get my $

Yes I did. Yes, we got 26 or 28 tickets for Alpine - can't remember which.

[finsupnorth]

that is awesome! Not to change the subject....how many people did you have in line? I'm looking for a good place to go next year, went to Appleton Piggly Wiggly last year.....

[7lords]

that is awesome! Not to change the subject....how many people did you have in line? I'm looking for a good place to go next year, went to Appleton Piggly Wiggly last year.....

3 people in line - 2 online. We were able to get 20 or 22 (2 were reserved) from TM and I got 6 reserved on eBay for face value.

[Brian L]

I recently got screwed by a person claiming to have 4 face value tickets for the recent show in Boston. Let me rephrase that, we all got screwed. My credit card company took care of it from my end, but we all suffer (aka pay for it) in the long run when fraud happens anywhere. I want to start off by saying that anyone who commits internet fraud is clearly representing the lowest form of human life. I mean if you are going to break the law, and screw honest people while doing so, at least have the common courtesy to do it in person.

I guess what upsets me most is I see JB concerts full of people who paid $250 a ticket to get smashed and listen to music they probably hear that one time a year. Meanwhile the rest of us true Parrotheads are left scrambling at the last moment to find tickets, since we are not in this to make or spend thousands of dollars. What I propose (in a utopian society of course) is you should have to have read at least one of Bubba's books just to get in the concert. Well, maybe we should just start with knowing Bubba writes books. That should get rid of about half the crowd. Another quarter would probably not qualify to get in because they don't know who the hell "Bubba" even is.

My point, and I admit I'm ranting, is the true spirit of Parrothead behavior is love for life, and love for those we share it with. It sickens me to the core to see people profit from something as amazing as a true Parrothead experience. And then to do it in a fraudulent fashion further upsets me. I think it is time true fans get together and start communicating what it means to be a true Parrothead, society could use a lesson.

[well duh]

I have to post a nice story -- I put my extra Irvine tickets on the ticket exchange, and after many inquiries (they were reserved), I hooked up with the NICEST person -- we arranged to make the exchange at the local Starbuck's (I know -- too yuppie to be believed, and I don't hang out there, but it was a PLACE that we could both find), and, may I say:

FOR FACE VALUE, those tickets went to, IMO, the NICEST HOME ON EARTH! We'll likely hook up for a festive adult beverage before the show, and, honestly, she was one of the nicest people I've ever met.

It's not all awful trading tickets.

[phjrsaunt]

I have to post a nice story -- I put my extra Irvine tickets on the ticket exchange, and after many inquiries (they were reserved), I hooked up with the NICEST person -- we arranged to make the exchange at the local Starbuck's (I know -- too yuppie to be believed, and I don't hang out there, but it was a PLACE that we could both find), and, may I say:

FOR FACE VALUE, those tickets went to, IMO, the NICEST HOME ON EARTH! We'll likely hook up for a festive adult beverage before the show, and, honestly, she was one of the nicest people I've ever met.

It's not all awful trading tickets.

Now THAT'S the way it's SUPPOSED to work! I'm so glad the ticket exchage worked for you . And THANK you for posting a story with a HAPPY ending!

[prthd4353]

to find out very quickly if they are fake all you have to do is take your finger nail and scratch it across the ticket (on the side somewhere) and there should be a balck streak if they are realy. Or when you put a lighter to it they will turn black instead of burn *do this carefully though!!**

[Guest]

I'm not around much, so I missed that response, but I've had good luck with the ticket exchange for years... I find that most PHs are trustworthy and easy to work with. I even had good luck with a broker for GW.

Now, here's something interesting: I just purchased tickets to see The Producers in LA through TM (and got good seats, but it's a show that's been running for a while and will through the end of December), and, oddly enough, the "convenience charge" wasn't nearly as much as for JB tickets or for the James Taylor tickets I recently didn't purchase in protest. Go figure. (And, before anyone thinks I'm delusional, the "convenience charge" for two JT tickets in the cheap seats would've nearly doubled the overall cost -- two $95 seats for The Producers came to a whopping total of $212).

[Sanibel Island]

ALWAYS BUY OFF A POWERSELLER. They do it for a living and are not looking to have their company shut down. ALSO Powersellers normally charge good prices, make their 15 to 20% mark off of face and move on. This is how they stay in business. Not shooting for the stars all the time. Quick tip for you on Ebay, right after the concert sells our or goes on sale the powersellers will list thier tickets right away and will do it cheap. Meaning if you are trying to get lawn seats in Camden, they will do a buy it now for about 30 bucks over face. Go to search type in Jimmy Buffett tickets and the venues name and hit search. Then click on the buy it now button then have it organized by newly listed then lowest price. Trust me this is the way to get tickets at a good price cheap and you will beat everybody else. Because after thay they go up!

[finzup9]

you know im sure if there is a way to tell if they are real, the only ones that matter if there fake are the ones that get scanned!