Introduction
No, there’s no such thing as XAP tickets. Just read it in reverse. Anyway, my buddy who is into these conventions told me that the tickets were available about 5 minutes after they officially became available. They were limiting people to 4 tickets per day per person/household. A set of 4-day tickets were $182 after fees. Naturally, I bought a set for myself and my mailbox a second set.
Had to pick a set up at will-call
About a month before the event, the event organizers emailed me saying they needed to verify my identity and that I would need to pick up the tickets at “will-call.” I replied to them saying that was not possible since I am out of town and need them shipped to me. They were being aholes and told me sorry. I then asked to cancel the tickets, which then they said the tickets were non-refundable. The funny thing is that in the original email, they said that if they believed I went over the limit, they would cancel the tickets. I thought about throwing that at their face but decided not to go that route.
Disputing the charge with AMEX
Instead of fighting with them, I decided to dispute the charge with AMEX because what I had ordered (shipped tickets) was not what was being delivered (have to pick up in person.) The dispute is still pending now after a couple of weeks. Remind me to give you the final verdict once it’s been decided.
Selling the tickets
I sold one set on Ebay for $250 ($217 with fees.) I then sold a set on Craigslist for $225. I then sold my last 2 sets for $230 ($200 net.) They all moved within a week. In total, I netted $842 and it cost me $728, for a profit of $114. So far it hasn’t been worth the hassle due to the dispute, but if I had only gotten one set of 4, then an “easy” $114 isn’t too shabby of a reselling venture – 16% ROI.
Conclusion
The main reason why I didn’t tell them I bought more than 1 set is because I was planning on reselling them again next year. You have to be careful though – the same buddy who told me about these tickets got his SD con tickets cancelled cuz they saw his posting on Ebay. I’m not sure how they linked him, but it was troubling to hear. He did eventually win his dispute with AMEX (I was surprised they let him do it for an 8 month old charge,) and that’s why I went down the dispute route.
Were stub hub fees too high? How were the prices on there?
You know, I never even checked until the very end. At that point, they were equal to eBay and the fees were about equal.
Do you think there is a way to sell SPG moments tickets or do you think they are pretty locked to you?