So is there a price list for season tickets in each section?
If I buy these and on sell them (going to a few games myself, friends etc), what is the % vig from stubhub or wherever you sell them?
I don't mind losing like $20-40 a game on each ticket, I just want to be a season member.
Anyone got experience doing this over multiple years?
Tl;dr: Go for it.
Long: I've been doing this for four years and, being the anal !$%& that I am, have actually kept a spreadsheet of my "wins/losses."
I sell mine on the Ticketmaster resale site:
http://www.ticketsnow.com/nba/boston-celtics-tickets/Pull up any game. You'll see seats in blue and seats in red. The tickets in blue are coming directly from the Celtics. There is a $5 TM surcharge to the buyer on these tickets. The seats in red are seats from a reseller, almost always from season ticket holders. Those seats come with a 21.5% surcharge to the buyer, as well as a 5% fee to the seller. My tickets are $85 each, so it becomes very uncompetitive for me, particularly when seats are going for hundreds of dollars. I don't mind TM or the Celtics making a few bucks from me, but that seems excessive. I've had numerous conversations with my Celtics rep (who is fantastic) about it. It's unlikely to change. The Celtics also place a
floor on what you can resell your tickets for on TM. No such limit on StubHub.
The resales are important to me. I used to go to games with my brother, but he moved out of town. Now, I'm reselling more tickets than I used to.
Pricing:A few years ago, the Celtics started a dynamic pricing model. Prior to that, every ticket would cost the same amount. STHs began complaining that, when they donate their tickets to the Celtics' charity (an option if you aren't going to the game and don't resell them), that they should get more for a Cleveland game than they should for a Phoenix game. That theory makes sense, although I don't like it, because I have no problem selling Cleveland tickets but have a hard time giving away Phoenix. I'd rather have the fixed price.
In any case, they have divided the games into five different categories. If you want, shoot me a PM and I'll scan and email you the chart from this year, but they look pretty much like you'd expect. The price of the ticket is based on what category it is in but, over the whole season, your average ticket price doesn't change. For example, my tickets are $85 each. The entire season costs me $85*43, or $3,655. But, within that package, my Cleveland tickets are valued at $110.5 each, while the preseason games are $59.50.
It's unlikely that you'd lose $20-40 per game if, for no other reason, than it's hard to get tickets that are much higher than $100 or so. If they're available, you may not want them (e.g., The corner seats on the folding chairs in front of the loge are expensive, but it's hard to see from them.). Worst case scenario is that you'd donate them and take a tax deduction.
Each year, you have the opportunity to change your seats. Your move-up date is based on your seniority, i.e., people who have been around 20 years get a shot at available tickets before I do.
ReturnsHere are my returns for the past four years, including where I've sat and what I got. These returns represent my unused tickets (ones where I didn't go to the games) sales as a percent of what I paid for them. In a year in which there was a dynamic pricing model, the cost is represented by that dynamic price, not the average ticket price. For seats that I donated, my return is calculated as the tax deduction that I was able to take:
2012-13: Last year of the Big 3. Section 9, Row 14. Avg ticket price was ~$105. Including resold playoffs tickets, I made 100.1% of what I paid for them. In other words, I got full value for my unused tickets.
2013-14: They sucked. Section 9, Row 7. Avg ticket price ~$105. No playoff tickets to resell. I only made back about 75% of what I paid for them.
2014-15: Section 9, Row 1. Avg. ticket price ~$95. In the 2014 off-season, the Celtics made a lot of really sweet offers, one of which was to get put into the next "move-up class" if you renewed early. They also gave me a 10% discount on the tickets. Because I was in a more senior move-up class, I snagged some great first row tickets in my section. I'm in the corner but have nobody directly in front of me and a great view of the game. The railing in front of me also makes a nice place to leave trays of food. Added bonus: There is a single seat next to me that often goes unused, so I have a place to store jackets. They once tried to sell me that seat at a 50% discount. I laughed. About halfway through the season, I was getting so bored that I thought about not renewing. They became a lot more fun after the trades and I ended up with 85-90% returns on the tickets I wasn't using.
2015-16: Section 9, Row 1. Avg. Ticket Price ~$85. They lowered my ticket price again, just as the Celtics started to get good. Unlike the previous few years, when I had priced my tickets too high and lowered them throughout the year, this year, I priced them too low and started to raise them. The season isn't over, but I will easily clear 100% of the value of my unused tickets and, with any luck, will make enough to pay for the entire season.
2016-17: Price went up to $90 per ticket, not a bad increase, given the level of play and interest.
Other stuff: They throw in a lot of extras for STHs. I have a 7-year old son, and he loves all the benefits. He gets to be a "courtside kid" and high-5 the players as they came out one game per year. We also get one game each year when we get to shoot on the parquet after the game. In two of the three years I've done it, they've had a player come out to take photos (Hint: It's easier for them to get a player after a win than a loss. Pick Phoenix as your game, not San Antonio.). I have a nice picture of him with James Young. They also open up the practice facility once per year and have an open practice at the Garden. And technically, while I'm not entitled to use the premium entrance, no one has ever stopped me. It saves a lot of time entering the stadium.
I also have a personal rep who looks out for me. He likely has several hundred clients, but he remembers my names and my kids' names whenever we see him. One time, they messed something up on the day we were supposed to be going onto the floor that night. They fixed it and, to make up for it, he got me a couple of seats to the AT&T deck (private room, open buffet). Your rep (and STH benefits) may vary.
A couple of hints:
Go to a couple of games in the area you want to buy tickets, either loge or balcony. Take a walk around and see which sections you like and which you don't. Before the game, they'll practically let you onto the court.
We send my rep a thank you note whenever we use one of our benefits. I've also sent a note to his boss saying what a great job he does (Fortunately, it's true.). It can't hurt.
Sometimes, you get lucky. I just happened to luck into seats where Jo Jo White walks right in front of me on the way to his seats. Never gets old. Also, Scal has tickets on the floor diagonal to my section. As you can imagine, he's not that hard to pick out.
Feel free to add any questions or PM me.
Mike
Topic: C's Season Tickets - 2016-2017: updated (Read 27722 times)