The ticketing business is different now, there’s no good reason to buy for the on sale.

My group of friends goes to a lot of live music and one of my close friends works for a ticket resale site, and I’d like to give my 2 cents.

The ticketing game has changed. Due to ticket resale markets, the sale of tickets is completely fluid. Demand is super elastic. In the old days, bands would have to price tickets low enough that people would buy them, and if they didn’t, they’d take an absolute bath on the show and lose to of money.

Nowadays with resale markets, that’s not the case. The strategy has changed. They have to worry less about it taking a massive bath on empty seats, and instead can try to capture as much of the money directly as possible. Instead, if they price too LOW, scalpers just make that money instead.

On sale prices are now more like an opening price in a negotiation. If people don’t buy them, they can dump the tickets to brokers at reasonable prices and they’ll sell on secondary for less.

What does that mean for you as a buyer? Just don’t buy on sale if you can help it and you don’t need to travel for the show. For pretty much any show that’s local to you. Usually waiting is better, check secondaries, see if you’re willing to pay the going rate, and make a decision.

If I’m a betting man (and I am), I bet those $400 seats at the O2 are NOT going to be more than that on secondaries closer to the show, and there’s a good chance they’re significantly less.