Author Topic: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable  (Read 15064 times)

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Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #15 on: May 26, 2022, 06:50:03 PM »

Offline mef730

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Ticket pricing in general is an interesting thing to watch. I used to live near Fenway Park and when I walked home past it some nights when there was a game not sold out (and game already started) I could get tickets for $10, easily. Scalpers used to have it so easy. I remember a period of time (this would be circa late 1990s) when the scalpers would buy out all the tickets to a game and then set up lawn chairs outside the ticket windows and just wait for customers. It was always the same guys -- clearly some "crew". Everyone turned a blind eye. I assume that's changed, but ... ?

It’s only changed in that the scalpers have gone digital. There are clearly people who control blocks and scripts that are scraping pricing.

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #16 on: May 26, 2022, 08:12:40 PM »

Offline Mike

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I was shocked at what people were asking a week ago. $1,500 -- $2,500 for mid-tier loge seats? Forget it. Even for the playoffs, that's out of control. That's more like Finals pricing (If you want to see crazy, check out the price for the home games for the Finals...).

I guess people can ask whatever they want, but the first few resale postings set the price and future postings anchor off of it. So if the guy in Row 10 says, "Hmm, I'll ask for $2,000 and see if anyone is desperate," the guy in Row 9 will say, "Wow, I thought the market-clearing price would be about $800, but if guy-behind-me is asking $2,000, I'd be nuts to ask just $800. I'll set it at about $1,600 and will look cheap by comparison!"

Obviously, $2,000 was never really a viable price, nor was $1,600. But if enough people set their prices that high, supply will increase greatly while demand stays relatively steady. By the time you get to 2-3 days before the game, all the sections on Ticketmaster are dark blue (meaning a lot of tickets available) and sellers who really need to get rid of their tickets will panic a bit.

In the end, they may end up selling their tickets for a lot less than they would have if they had just priced them correctly to begin with.

Mike

While I think you've got it right for the most part, it also takes just one buyer to believe the true market is what the prices are showing, and pull the trigger at $1,600.

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #17 on: May 26, 2022, 08:19:20 PM »

Online Phantom255x

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Believe me, the problem is not that people aren't interested in watching the Celtics. But the prices are INSANE unless you decide to sit in one of the balcony seats, or those seats higher up in the stadium which are very far from the court. Even those seats are typically around $250-350 a ticket, but once you get closer it can range from $500-1000. Then of course once you get closer to the court, more than $1,000 per ticket.

For reference, in Miami you could get tickets for as cheap as $125, and even the seats close to courtside some of them are around $1000 a ticket which isn't bad at all. In TD Garden those same seats may be north of $1500-2000.
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Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #18 on: May 26, 2022, 08:39:38 PM »

Offline GetLucky

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Believe me, the problem is not that people aren't interested in watching the Celtics. But the prices are INSANE unless you decide to sit in one of the balcony seats, or those seats higher up in the stadium which are very far from the court. Even those seats are typically around $250-350 a ticket, but once you get closer it can range from $500-1000. Then of course once you get closer to the court, more than $1,000 per ticket.

For reference, in Miami you could get tickets for as cheap as $125, and even the seats close to courtside some of them are around $1000 a ticket which isn't bad at all. In TD Garden those same seats may be north of $1500-2000.

It’s funny, my friend from LA was talking about how laughably cheap tickets to Celtics playoff games are. We went to Game 7 of the semis, and he said he wouldn’t be able to walk into Staples center for less than 2 grand in a big game like that. I’m assuming the same goes for MSG.

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #19 on: May 26, 2022, 08:46:55 PM »

Online Phantom255x

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Believe me, the problem is not that people aren't interested in watching the Celtics. But the prices are INSANE unless you decide to sit in one of the balcony seats, or those seats higher up in the stadium which are very far from the court. Even those seats are typically around $250-350 a ticket, but once you get closer it can range from $500-1000. Then of course once you get closer to the court, more than $1,000 per ticket.

For reference, in Miami you could get tickets for as cheap as $125, and even the seats close to courtside some of them are around $1000 a ticket which isn't bad at all. In TD Garden those same seats may be north of $1500-2000.

It’s funny, my friend from LA was talking about how laughably cheap tickets to Celtics playoff games are. We went to Game 7 of the semis, and he said he wouldn’t be able to walk into Staples center for less than 2 grand in a big game like that. I’m assuming the same goes for MSG.

Wait seriously? Where did you guys sit at TD Garden?

I don't doubt Staples Center is probably more expensive than TD Garden but I don't think it's laughably cheap either. Golden State I think is also pretty expensive
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #20 on: May 27, 2022, 02:51:25 AM »

Offline tenn_smoothie

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How dependent is the Celtics organization (or other franchises for that matter) on annual ticket sales revenue to balance the books and/or make a profit ? It's a crime to lock out the heart and soul of the fan base by making these prices so ridiculously high. Doesn't tv money make up the largest source of revenue for any pro franchise these days ?

Do Wyc and Co. make a profit every season and how much ? I hope their tight grip on their checkbooks to avoid paying some prospective salaries that might have helped the team was just ownership being prudent by staying out of the multiple year luxury tax until we became serious contenders needing maybe a couple of key pieces to start winning banners again. Now that we are in that position, I will be extremely angry if they don't do all they can to bring titles back to Boston.
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Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #21 on: May 27, 2022, 06:19:08 AM »

Offline Roy H.

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How dependent is the Celtics organization (or other franchises for that matter) on annual ticket sales revenue to balance the books and/or make a profit ? It's a crime to lock out the heart and soul of the fan base by making these prices so ridiculously high. Doesn't tv money make up the largest source of revenue for any pro franchise these days ?

Do Wyc and Co. make a profit every season and how much ? I hope their tight grip on their checkbooks to avoid paying some prospective salaries that might have helped the team was just ownership being prudent by staying out of the multiple year luxury tax until we became serious contenders needing maybe a couple of key pieces to start winning banners again. Now that we are in that position, I will be extremely angry if they don't do all they can to bring titles back to Boston.

Recently, profit has been in the $80 - $100 million range.


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Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #22 on: May 27, 2022, 07:33:54 AM »

Offline action781

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At Vivid, bad balcony tix start at $220 and move quickly to over $450 for great balcony seats. You can't get out of the balcony for less than $440 and that's for bad loge seats.



Only $2700 per seat, max of four.
If I could get into a loge seat for $300 or less my buddy and I were talking flying in to Boston tomorrow and going to the game. Unfortunately, ticket prices and airline prices put the kibosh on that

You no longer in Everett?  Hope my random memory of that doesn't creep you out haha.
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Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #23 on: May 27, 2022, 08:01:14 AM »

Offline Roy H.

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At Vivid, bad balcony tix start at $220 and move quickly to over $450 for great balcony seats. You can't get out of the balcony for less than $440 and that's for bad loge seats.



Only $2700 per seat, max of four.
If I could get into a loge seat for $300 or less my buddy and I were talking flying in to Boston tomorrow and going to the game. Unfortunately, ticket prices and airline prices put the kibosh on that

You no longer in Everett?  Hope my random memory of that doesn't creep you out haha.

Nick is a Florida man now.  I hear that it's because he vastly prefers Ron DeSantis over Charlie Baker, lol.


I'M THE SILVERBACK GORILLA IN THIS MOTHER——— AND DON'T NONE OF YA'LL EVER FORGET IT!@ 34 minutes

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #24 on: May 27, 2022, 08:38:15 AM »

Offline jbpats

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How dependent is the Celtics organization (or other franchises for that matter) on annual ticket sales revenue to balance the books and/or make a profit ? It's a crime to lock out the heart and soul of the fan base by making these prices so ridiculously high. Doesn't tv money make up the largest source of revenue for any pro franchise these days ?

Do Wyc and Co. make a profit every season and how much ? I hope their tight grip on their checkbooks to avoid paying some prospective salaries that might have helped the team was just ownership being prudent by staying out of the multiple year luxury tax until we became serious contenders needing maybe a couple of key pieces to start winning banners again. Now that we are in that position, I will be extremely angry if they don't do all they can to bring titles back to Boston.

The tickets are sold - the available tickets are through resale, likely STM's trying to unload. Wyc made his money, the amount of red seats out there on ticketmaster has no bearing to his bottom line.

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #25 on: May 27, 2022, 08:41:34 AM »

Offline jbpats

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Cheapest Loge seats are $375 $329 as of this morning
« Last Edit: May 27, 2022, 09:13:36 AM by jbpats »

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #26 on: May 27, 2022, 09:20:29 AM »

Offline mef730

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I was shocked at what people were asking a week ago. $1,500 -- $2,500 for mid-tier loge seats? Forget it. Even for the playoffs, that's out of control. That's more like Finals pricing (If you want to see crazy, check out the price for the home games for the Finals...).

I guess people can ask whatever they want, but the first few resale postings set the price and future postings anchor off of it. So if the guy in Row 10 says, "Hmm, I'll ask for $2,000 and see if anyone is desperate," the guy in Row 9 will say, "Wow, I thought the market-clearing price would be about $800, but if guy-behind-me is asking $2,000, I'd be nuts to ask just $800. I'll set it at about $1,600 and will look cheap by comparison!"

Obviously, $2,000 was never really a viable price, nor was $1,600. But if enough people set their prices that high, supply will increase greatly while demand stays relatively steady. By the time you get to 2-3 days before the game, all the sections on Ticketmaster are dark blue (meaning a lot of tickets available) and sellers who really need to get rid of their tickets will panic a bit.

In the end, they may end up selling their tickets for a lot less than they would have if they had just priced them correctly to begin with.

Mike

While I think you've got it right for the most part, it also takes just one buyer to believe the true market is what the prices are showing, and pull the trigger at $1,600.

You are 100% correct, which is why it's so important to price tickets correctly if you have to sell them (e.g., going out of town). If you are just looking for a pay day but are happy to go to the game if someone doesn't hit your ask, go for it.

@tenn_smoothie: I don't know what the profitability split, but ticket revenue for the NBA has tended to make up from 20-22% of total revenue (ex-covid) over the past few years, a number which has been on the decline:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/193410/percentage-of-ticketing-revenue-in-the-nba-since-2006/

I'm guessing that, for the Celtics, it's a slightly higher number, given that ticket prices are higher than average (although I don't know if that's factored into share of TV revenue).

Ticket sales remain important, though. A seat that goes unused not only generates zero revenue at the gate but also at the concession stands, gift shop, parking lot, etc.

The vast, vast, vast majority of tickets that you see on the Ticketmaster site are resale tickets. If the seats are red, it's a resale ticket. Blue is a seat directly from the Celtics. Normally, for high-demand games, the Celtics-originated tickets are gone instantly, so it's a testament to just how high the prices are that there are any remaining. Even in corner Loge seats, the face value of the tickets is $600+.

If you buy the "blue" seats, there is a very modest Ticketmaster surcharge (usually only a matter of a few percent of the total price).

Red seats have prices set by the ticket holder, and come with a much larger TM surcharge (~21%, none of which the ticketholder sees). The ticket holder also pays 5% of the total sale price as a commission. Most STMs get their tickets at a discount to the comparable face value that you would pay if you bought them directly from the Celtics. Depending on the game, that discount can be significant.

Keep in mind that a STM has committed to buying every game, including the bad ones and the pre-season ones. I would not recommend becoming a STM to generate a profit. In years like this one, yes, it can be a good year. In years when the team is bad, or even just "not great," it can be very difficult to get rid of tickets for anywhere close to face value, and resale tickets sell at a deep discount to what the member paid for them.

Mike

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #27 on: May 27, 2022, 10:15:25 AM »

Offline jbpats

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This has been kind of fun to watch and it seems like the fans are dictating their price for tonight, at least for Loge tickets.

Any loge tickets under $400 are getting scooped up within minutes - so if you want to go and have lower level seats fair market value is $330-400. Obviously this does not factor center court lowers.

Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #28 on: May 27, 2022, 10:22:01 AM »

Offline nickagneta

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At Vivid, bad balcony tix start at $220 and move quickly to over $450 for great balcony seats. You can't get out of the balcony for less than $440 and that's for bad loge seats.



Only $2700 per seat, max of four.
If I could get into a loge seat for $300 or less my buddy and I were talking flying in to Boston tomorrow and going to the game. Unfortunately, ticket prices and airline prices put the kibosh on that

You no longer in Everett?  Hope my random memory of that doesn't creep you out haha.

Nick is a Florida man now.  I hear that it's because he vastly prefers Ron DeSantis over Charlie Baker, lol.
Decided moving 2 minutes from here was good for my health


Re: Demand for Game 6 tickets is laughable
« Reply #29 on: May 27, 2022, 10:29:32 AM »

Offline Roy H.

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At Vivid, bad balcony tix start at $220 and move quickly to over $450 for great balcony seats. You can't get out of the balcony for less than $440 and that's for bad loge seats.



Only $2700 per seat, max of four.
If I could get into a loge seat for $300 or less my buddy and I were talking flying in to Boston tomorrow and going to the game. Unfortunately, ticket prices and airline prices put the kibosh on that

You no longer in Everett?  Hope my random memory of that doesn't creep you out haha.

Nick is a Florida man now.  I hear that it's because he vastly prefers Ron DeSantis over Charlie Baker, lol.
Decided moving 2 minutes from here was good for my health



Come on, nick, this could be you:



I'M THE SILVERBACK GORILLA IN THIS MOTHER——— AND DON'T NONE OF YA'LL EVER FORGET IT!@ 34 minutes