I’m going to write about a controversial topic today, so if you are easily angered at people taking a seat in front of you after the airplane doors close, then STOP READING!
I’m writing this article due to observations from the past 2 concerts I’ve attended and as well as my experiences from flipping tickets. I write it because a) it happens almost all the time, b) you can’t stop it, and c) it’s going to happen whether I write this or you read this or not.
At the last BTS concert I went to at the Rose Bowl, we were in the 2nd or 3rd row near the 50 yard line and I noticed a pair of seats in the FRONT ROW that no one ever sat in. Then I burnt a pair of Front Mezzanine row A seats for Hamilton New York; I was able to give them to a friend who later told me most of the row A was empty the whole show (meaning other brokers ate the tickets.) Then at another concert a few years ago, we had some empty seats next to us that young teenage girls just sorta came and sat in (until the rightful ticket owners came.) Then even for my Beyonce floor tickets, some kids squeezed into our row (4 kids in 2 empty seats.) What’s happening? People are self upgrading their seats after the concert starts. It happens at EVERY event, so either you do it or some other people will do it.
If you want to do it yourself, the strategy is fairly simple – buy the cheapest seats (usually behind stage crap) and buy them the day of the show (when brokers gotta dump. Then use the tickets to get into the venue. Once in the venue, pull up Ticketmaster or Stubhub and see what seats have gone unsold. Then go sit in those seats! Make sure you have a plan A, B, and C ready in case the rightful owners come. Some things you need to remember – Ticketmaster closes sales about 10 minutes before showtime. If the seats go unsold at that time, then brokers will then list the seats on Stubhub, so Stubhub is really your best bet to see what seats are available.
Note that you usually can’t go down to the floor seats because venues usually give people wristbands for the floor. Also some of the super premium seats like the first 5 rows will have ushers checking tickets. Every venue and event is different so play it by ear. Once the show has started, it doesn’t mean you won’t get kicked out of your seats either; some people show up late. The funny thing is the person who gets kicked out just steps out of the seat/aisle so nonchalantly because they know they are guilty and won’t even try to put up a fight.
While Googling whether this is illegal (don’t think it is,) I ran into a Gawker article about it and they have a shit ton of readers, so put your pitchforks down.