There is scope for a fascinating study into the dynamics of the ticket black market outside stadiums before concerts. Especially in different cities where there is more or less ticket supply compared to others.
Neither Brad nor I had tickets for yesterday's show when we got to the stadium around 5pm. After I failed to get tickets for either Horsens shows or Helsinki 2 I was more hopeful than confident we'd get some yesterday in Vienna.
We had a sign saying "Need 1 Ticket Please" (thinking it's more likely people would have one spare than two), and walked towards the stadium from the metro holding it up. Almost immediately we were approached by an older Austrian guy who told us he had a spare seat ticket as his wife couldn't make it. It had a face value of €91, and was happy to sell it to Brad for €90.
I decided that my maximum budget for a ticket was a mere €50. I was hoping to be able to find one of the cheapie €40 seats for face value. We were approached by dozens of people with spare tickets for almost every section of the stadium, and with a range of selling prices.
Most people we talked to with spares had the top-tier €177 tickets, and a lot of them wanted €200 or more for their ticket, although one girl offered hers for €100. Another girl offered us a GA ticket for €200, saying that was what her sister had paid for it. One guy offered me a €400 VIP ticket for €200. And a tout offered me a Red Zone ticket for €300. I have no idea who pays these sort of ticket prices an hour or two before the show.
Two different people approached me with one of the sought-after €40 tickets. One of them wanted €70, the other €80.
When people approached me saying they had a spare ticket, my usual strategy was to ask them "What's the cost price?" My reason for this was to establish the face value, and hopefully try to keep their selling price lower. The face value was invariably €100+. Brad suggested asking them "How much do you want for it?" to see what the responses would be like. The prices were then usually higher than face value.
When I asked what the face value was, if it was above €50 then I told the person that the ticket price was too high for me, thanked them and left it at that. Some people then asked me what I wanted to pay. I considered telling them that I didn't want to pay anything, but that seemed a bit cheeky. So I honestly told them €50, further explaining to some that I was looking for a cheap seat.
However, one guy with a €177 ticket got quite upset, walking away and angrily shouting back at me, "You're not a real fan!" I suspect he thought I was offering him €50 for his ticket, and this caused his anger. But his comment still got to me a little bit.
Brad and I found that the asked-for prices were much higher immediately outside the metro station. As people got off the trains, saw the crowd they may have seen a chance for a nice profit. However, 100 metres beyond, just outside the stadium gates, and through a thick crowd, the prices were usually much closer to face value. This was all very interesting but after maybe two hours I still didn't have a ticket.
Then there was one of those weird, "where did that come from?" moments that happen occasionally. A guy approached me, and without any prompting from me whatsoever, produced two of the €177 tickets, saying he had one spare, and would sell it to me for €50. I tried to argue saying that it wasn't really a fair price for him. It was strange to be counter-haggling with someone, but he was insistent he was fine with that price. I checked he was absolutely sure he was ok with the transaction, he assured me he was, he tore the tickets apart, gave me one and I paid him €50. (I did give him a book too, as a small gesture of appreciation.)
Of course we had concerns it might have been a fake ticket, but he seemed like a normal guy, there were no Spidey senses tingling. Later, when I arrived at the ticket gate, I went to put the barcode in the scanner, but the guy on the gate said not to bother, he tore off the stub and waved me through. I'm not sure if he even checked the ticket was for a U2 concert in Vienna.
But we both got in! And for face value, or considerably less. We even managed to charm a very chilled, unjobsworth steward to allow us through a fence in the areas under the stands to get access to the field! We ended up behind the Red Zone on Edge's side with a great view.
A chilly night, but another jolly lovely concert adventure!
)
I guess I have to listen to the bootleg.
