You probably know this typical scenario: A new concert or sporting event is coming up with tickets going on sale on a certain date. You head to the ticketing venue in person or as is the custom today log onto ticketmaster, ticketwest or some other online ticketing agency only to find the best seats gone.
But how could this be? Well, welcome to the wonderful world of pre-ticketing, advanced sales, presales - whatever you want to call it. As the name(s) implies tickets are sold before the regular official sale date.
Why is this done? As a fanclub member to a particular band or a registered user of a local radio station or some other advertising agency supporting the band, they want to reward the common folk for that support.
How do you use a presale code? Presale codes work at a specified time and location. If not at the correct website you wont see a presale window to enter the code. Arrive too early or too late you'd miss the presale opportunity. Once you see the presale window you need to enter the code - sometimes codes are case-sensitive and need to be typed as such. In rare instances you may be able to call in to make a purchase by giving the code to the customer agent.
What kind of tickets can you get? It depends. Sometimes there may be an extremely limited of tickets released for the presale. With newer paid fanclubs and ticketmaster auctions even less tickets nowadays may be made available for a presale. It is not unusual for presale tickets to be gone in minutes. Some examples where presale tickets sold out in minutes include tickets for playoff games, or concerts in small venues.
What is a unique code? Some recent codes are one time use. You can only access the presale 1 time and use it to purchase 2 or 4 tickets (depending on the presale). Once a purchase made with the code and try again to use the code - you will get an error message.
What are some problems associated with using a code? Codes may be case sensitive. Though a presale window may appear - the code may not be activated yet. Watch out with the cut and paste technique because extra spaces will lead to the code being rejected.
Is it worth subscribing to a presale list? For ticket brokers and re-sellers this may be worth it. You'd get tons of codes, tons of shows - even the unpopular shows. If you are a fan and are looking for a certain code that may not help at all - too much of a good thing as they say.
Why do eBay code sellers have different prices for the same codes? Competition. Some sell a lot of a code at a lower price. Others sell a few codes at a higher price. Placement on eBay listings, length of a post play an integral role in the price seen.
What else should I know? Be wary of code sellers with low feedback, a lot of mutually removed feedback or no feedback. Take some time to read the feedback. Some eBayers are fly by nighters, while others have a strong reputation of helping fans in to soon to be sold out shows. If you are looking for something it doesn't hurt to ask an eBayer selling other codes if they have what you are looking for. Keep in mind with eBay fees going up, not all codes are posted.
Hope this helps those new to presale passwords.