Getting last minute tickets

[Reality]

WOW Lurker spurs101 and X3 Ted Dabods jw actually everyone.
But especially you W.O.W. you bedsheet wearing Clippers game attending Staples 10 minutes from living Zapotech.

Next time there is a Lakers home game (others insert your cities team), call a legit broker 30 minutes before game time.  Like that one thats two blocks from Staples.  Ask them what is the least they will take.

I want to see if the greedy brokers use the business supply and demand chart and sell for less as less is better for them then nothing.  Or to protect their own usual gouge prices do they simply eat the extra tickets and refuse to sell for a good price, knowing word would get out.

Imagine being able to get some nachos and beers and hitting the Lakers hosting the Spurs in April.  Ok prolly that game the brokers will sell out but you get my drift.
 

[msc]

Realty, as someone who used to buy various concert and sporting events tickets from brokers who has now converted almost exclusively to scalpers, I had to chime in on this one.  

Based on my experience, no, a broker will not back off of their price 30 mins before game time if you call them.  In fact, if you call them during game time, they won't back off.  This is because many of them send "representatives" <cough> scalpers <cough> down to the venue to unload any tickets they are stuck with at event time.  

That being said, you can definitely purchase tickets for face and sometimes below face for Laker games from scalpers.  I haven't done it in a few years as I am a season ticket holder and now being gouged by the Laker organization and NBA directly.  But I go to about 20 games a year and I am constantly talking with scalpers as I walk in to see what tix are trading at.  As I mentioned above, virtually all of the scalpers that you encounter at any venue in LA, are "contracted" by the brokerages to unload the tix they are stuck with at event time.  Obviously, if the event is already underway (e.g. it's 8:00 and the tip off was 20 mins ago) you as a buyer have a lot more leverage.  And brokers would rather take something than nothing, but they aren't going to do it if you call them directly for the reasons you touch on in your post.  I'd have to think a Lakers/Spurs game would be tough because there are so many "suits" that will buy tickets from brokers and/or scalpers at a marked up price to take clients, etc.  You're better off going to a "less desirable" game.  Of course, over the past two seasons, there are no longer any "gimmies" for the Lake-show.  Of all of the events in town, the Lakers have the highest demand, so it is tough to get any huge "deals" scalping at Laker games.  I think you're hard pressed to scalp 100-level seats with a face of $185 for much less.  Maybe you get them for $150.  All of that being said, you can definitely scalp tix for less than face at many laker games.  How much less, I don't know, but you have to negotiate hard and be willing to walk away from the scalper.  As the clock keeps ticking, they get more and more desperate.  Even if you pay face value of the ticket from a scalper, you are getting a bargain compared to what a broker would sell the same ticket directly.  
 

[jn]

MSC??  

Dang! Where ya' been?  

[Reality]

Thanks msc  

W.O.W. are you hearing this?

So the question is which scalpers are legit and which are bogile?  I had a very good experience in my second trip to Staples Center.  Needed a parking ticket.  Guy on the streetlight corner two blocks kitty korner away from the bright green front entrance was hawking it to me at $20.  I said I'll give you $10.  Face was $20 or $15 i can't remember.  He let me hold it.  Light turned green and traffic was behind me as he kept babbling away.  I had to drive off and leave him standing.  It was for that front and center lot, the one directly outside the bright green front entrance.  I got in and parked.  Started rapping with the parking lot attendants and pointed him out.  They said officially of course they cannot condone scalpers, however they are very interested in fakes and said he was not, he was a regular and was legit, they didnt call him "legit" but said they have never had complaints about him and if he was fake they surely would.  Said he was there all the time.  So i went over and paid him.  He said at the time he could score tickets.  I didnt bother with his contact info cause i thought i sure aint gonna roll the dice to the tune of $150 on an unknown.
  So all indications are he is one of the legit ones.  How does one spot a legit scalper.  WOW are you on this?
  My buddy had quite a humorous experience with a scalpoid.  He had it in hand as the scalper was babbling.  Game had just started Clips v Kings.  Staples personell spotted the scalper, approached my buddy and said you can come in with that ticket for free, we dont condone scalping and this guy can blow.  Well my buddy didnt want to make an enemy so he gave it back to the scalper.  However in retrospect, this guy was hyping it as a close to court 100 seat.  Well you know those seats behind the mass media section are 100s but they stink in comparison to the 100s on the side courts and lower.  So when i looked up the seat (ive since forgot) it turns out this jerk scalper wasnt offering any great deal and in fact a rather skanky deal.  So again, how does one spot a legit broker?  As for seat location that is where one has to know the Staples layout, which can be acquired by anyone with a computer and the Staples website and the ability to hit the right icons, which i am rapidly getting exxspert at with all the teck support.
  So since the Spurs v Laker is all taken by the suits, how bout v Kings?  v Twolves.  During the Twolfe at Laker game i watched on tv and saw lots of empty seats.

[msc]

JN, I've been lurking.  I lost the site a while back, then recently re-found it.  I always enjoy reading the posts here.  It's a nice break from the majority of bs sports articles I read on espn and the local rags.  I've been swamped at work, but will try to contribute from time to time.  

Your Wolves are looking pretty fierce these days.  I'm glad to see KG and Cassell having some success as these two dudes have always been guys that I feel represent the league properly.  I figured Cassell would have a positive impact, but I had no idea he'd be playing at the level he's played so far this year ... especially at this point in his career.  He is a fierce competitor and a guy I'd always want on my team.  It will be interesting to see how Wally / Troy / and Kandi can re-integrate into the system, but that is a problem you shouldn't mind having.  I always laugh at the take you frequently hear re: the Kings, Wolves, Lakers, that when so-and-so comes back, the chemistry will go out the window.  It's true chemistry is a huge factor in hoops, but what team wouldn't rather have a surplus of good players rather than a shortage?  And I don't want to hear the Blazer analogy b/c that was the biggest group of mental midgets ever assembled on one team.  

As we get down to the last 25 or so games in the season, things should get interesting out West.  Wolves, Kings and Spurs look great.  The Lakers are starting to pick it up, but their inconsistency on the defensive end these past two seasons has been their downfall.  I'm hopeful they can pick it up down the stretch here.  

Reality, regarding scalping, I say just go for it.  No matter what the game, there are always tix.  I was just thinking you'd probably get a better deal at a lesser game.  One nice by-product of having a boat load of bandwagon-jumping, champange-sipping, corporate fans (I use the term loosely) in LA is that there is never a shortgage of tix to scalp.  That's about the only positive by-product I can think of!
 

[Reality]

You are certainly correct re the Spurs game back in November.  Brokers told me the game was hotter and more expensive then last years playoffs vs Spurs.

Zap knew some brokers but they were not coming down much at all.

So i guess the $64K question is when one gets a good offer from a scalp just prior to tip off, or maybe even better yet just after tip off, how does one know if the scalp has legit tickets or not?  I've seen the Lakeshow tickets, in fact i still have one with Kobe on the cover.  Much more difficult to reproduce then Clipper tickets.  But still doable I'm sure.

I'm guessing the final reg season Lakers hosting Spurs will still be hot.  Ditto any games v Kings.  In fact if you are there tommorow night could you ask a couple scalps what they are asking?

gracias.

[msc]

Reality, I will be there tomorrow and will make sure to ask some scalpers what tix are trading for.  Of course, I'll be getting there a little early (yes, there are actually real Laker fans who show up early ... I swear), so I might not be able to command the best price, but I'll try to get a good idea of the market.

In terms of telling if the tickets are legit, the ones with the photos of players on them are season ticks.  Those have to be darn near impossible to counterfeit.  If someone did try, I would think a close examination of the ticket would reveal some flaws.  I think it's safe to say if your scalping one of those, its' legit.  Now the upper level tix, those that aren’t' season, look like the standard ticketmaster ticks that you're most used to seeing for concerts.  If someone really wanted to counterfeit those, they could.  In my experience, and I've scalped probably 50 times or so in the last couple of years at various concerts and sporting event, I've never come across a counterfeit.  I think counterfeiting tix is very rare and the stories are blown out of proportion.  Kind of like the stories I heard as a kid about the big bad drug dealers that lace marijuana with pcp.  What kind of a drug dealer would waste an extra $20 of pcp on a $20 bag of weed?  Doesn't make economic sense.  
 

[WayOutWest]

You are certainly correct re the Spurs game back in November.  Brokers told me the game was hotter and more expensive then last years playoffs vs Spurs.

Zap knew some brokers but they were not coming down much at all.

So i guess the $64K question is when one gets a good offer from a scalp just prior to tip off, or maybe even better yet just after tip off, how does one know if the scalp has legit tickets or not?  I've seen the Lakeshow tickets, in fact i still have one with Kobe on the cover.  Much more difficult to reproduce then Clipper tickets.  But still doable I'm sure.

I'm guessing the final reg season Lakers hosting Spurs will still be hot.  Ditto any games v Kings.  In fact if you are there tommorow night could you ask a couple scalps what they are asking?

gracias.

Season tickets are hard to reproduce but even ligit Laker single game tickets look like someone printed them on an old ink jet printer.