The world of ticketing is a complex market of buyers, sellers, and resellers. We hope this page will help you better understand some of the key concepts in the industry.
- Buy Tickets:
- Most people get involved with the ticket industry to buy tickets to events they wish to attend.
Generally as a purchaser you should check with the primary ticketing agent or venue first, and if there is nothing available, look on one of the Secondary Market Ticket exchanges such as TicketLiquidator.com.
- Cheap Tickets:
- When assessing the value of a ticket, keep in mind whether you are buying on the primary or secondary market. If you are purchasing tickets directly from a venue or primary ticketing agent, you will normally pay the value that is printed on the ticket itself plus a service fee.
If you are purchasing from a Ticket Exchange, you will pay the market value of the ticket, rather than its face price. The market value can be higher or lower than the face value of the ticket depending on how high the demand is for tickets to that event.
- Discount Tickets:
- If you are offered a discount on tickets, keep in mind whether you are purchasing on the primary or secondary market. In the primary market, discounts sometimes are available to
fan club members or other special purchasers, and will usually get you the ticket below the face value printed on the ticket itself (or at least the face value of tickets available to the general public).
If you are purchasing on the secondary market, the discount is offered by the seller, and does not have any relationship to the face value of the ticket.
- E-Tickets:
- E-tickets are tickets that are provided in an electronic format such as via email.
- Event Pre-Sales:
- Pre-sales are special offerings of tickets available to a select group before tickets are made available to the general public. These offerings are often made to fan club or other special group members.
- Event Tickets:
- Tickets to events through the United States and Canada are offered by a variety of sources. Generally the tickets are made available directly through the venue or though a primary ticketing agent such as TicketMaster. When tickets sell out from these sources, tickets can still be procured from Secondary Ticket exchanges such as TicketLiquidator.
- Face Price:
- The Face Price of a ticket is a monetary amount printed on the physical ticket itself, used to keep track of the ticket's initial offering value. When tickets are purchased though a Secondary Market exchange, the price offered may be higher or lower than the face price printed on those tickets.
- Fan Club Ticket Sales:
- Some performers have special fan clubs. Sometimes fan club members are offered special privileges such as early access to tickets. Often members of these clubs are able to secure tickets to an event before those tickets are made available to the general public.
- Hot Ticket:
- A Hot Ticket is a ticket to a show that is very popular, often demanding a high market price for tickets.
- Premium Tickets:
- Premium tickets are the most desirable tickets for an event, often very near to the stage or in a special seating area such as a VIP box.
- Primary Ticketing Agent:
- A Primary Ticketing Agent sells tickets in the Primary Ticket Market on behalf of a Venue or performer.
- Primary Ticket Market:
- The Primary Ticket Market involves the initial sale of a ticket by either the venue or a primary ticketing agent to a purchaser. Most tickets are purchased through the Primary Ticket Market.
- Secondary Ticket Market:
- The Secondary Ticket Market involves the reselling of tickets to a new buyer. If a season ticket holder sells some of their tickets for example, they would be participating in the Secondary Ticket Market.
- Sell Tickets:
- Consumers who buy tickets and then find they can no longer attend an event can sell their tickets through one of the various Secondary Ticket exchanges online such as TicketLiquidator.
- Sold-Out Tickets:
- Popular events often sell out quickly from the venue or primary ticketing agency making the initial offer of tickets to the event. When tickets are sold-out from the primary sources, consumers
can still find tickets through one of the various Secondary Ticket Market exchanges such as TicketLiquidator.
- Ticket Broker:
- A ticket broker is a business that engages in the buying and selling of tickets.
- Ticket Exchange:
- A ticket exchange is a market where tickets are bought and sold. These are heavily internet based, powered by websites like TicketLiquidator.com.
- Ticket Office:
- A ticket office can sometimes refer to a part of the venue where an event is occurring that handles the distribution of tickets for that venue. A ticket office may also be used to refer to the offices of a Ticket Broker.
- Ticket Prices:
- The price of the ticket initially set by the venue or primary ticketing agency is called the Face-Price of the ticket, usually corresponding to an amount actually printed on the physical ticket itself. When you are purchasing through a Secondary Market exchange, the prices you are seeing are Market Prices, based on supply and demand and often differing from the Face-Price printed on the tickets themselves.
- Ticket Sales:
- Tickets are offered for sale in a variety of ways. Most people purchase tickets when they are on sale to the general public. There are however often pre-sales events such as fan club offerings which give
access to tickets to special groups before the general public is eligible to buy tickets.
- TicketMaster (also Ticket Master):
- TicketMaster is one of the leading Primary Ticketing agencies in the United States.
- Venue:
- The Venue of an event is the physical location where the event will be occuring. Examples of famous Venues are Madison Square Garden and Wrigley Field.
