Street Smarts and Other Watch-Outs

Ticket Buying Guide Index

• Guide to Scalping Tickets

• Championship Games

• Playoff Games

• Sold Out Games

• Everyday Games

• Second Tier Events

• Street Smarts and Other Watch-outs

• Need Help?

I have bought tickets outside of stadium and arenas hundreds of times and generally never had a problem. However, I am assuming, after reading this guide, and trying to buy tickets on the secondary market outside of a stadium, somebody will end up having a problem – either with buying fake tickets or having trouble with the police.

First, the Ultimate Sports Fan would never recommend you do something illegal – thus, check the local scalping laws in your area. They vary from state to state, city to city. However, even in places where it is “technically” illegal you will see plenty of ticket scalpers selling tickets right in front of police officers so I am not sure how illegal it technically is and usually only the seller is breaking the law. The Ultimate Sports Fan has received a few “warnings” from undercover cops, but this was only when he was selling extra tickets he had for less than face value. He has never run into any issues when buying tickets.

Second, make sure the tickets you buy are not fake – in today’s world that means the scanner disallows the ticket for some reason. The Ultimate Sports Fan has bought "fake" tickets on three occasions. One was out of stupidity. The second did not matter as the stadium he entered still “ripped” tickets rather than scanned them. He only knew the ticket was invalid when he tried to sit in his seat and there was a man already sitting there that said “That ticket was stolen” (aka he lost it). So the Ultimate Sports Fan found an empty seat near where he was supposed to sit – no issues. The third time he bought a ticket for $5, which turned out to have already been used (damn technology!). He spent another $5 on a second ticket that was valid so he still saved money rather than buying tickets from the box office.

99.5% of the ticket scalpers out there are legit. The prices of the tickets you will buy are not high enough for them to 1) take the risk of selling fake tickets and 2) worth the time and energy of printing out fake tickets. The biggest culprit maybe an actual fan who sold an already used ticket to the scalper – meaning the scalper has no idea it is a fake.

That said enjoy your experience scalping tickets outside of stadiums but be smart with who you deal with and do it at your own risk.