What is this? A new feature tracking the secondary ticket market because I'm too cheap to buy season tickets. Also because that strategy has worked for me pretty well so far. I strongly encourage interaction from the readers on this because I'm still feeling my way on format and it's a very big market. Quite a few people already have emailed me with their tricks for ticket trading. A few have noted that I'm way more helpful to buyers than sellers, which probably can't be helped since that's what I am, but I'll try to throw some good selling opportunities out there when I see them.
LESSONS FROM YESTERDAY'S TRADING
I got me and a friend into BYU for free, and the morning of the game I got offered face value on the 50 yard line (Section 2, row 44). Both were because the "Dances with Dirt" run overlapped with the game. Mental note: when scouting ahead for tickets know about events that green thumb Ann Arbor types can't resist.
There was also a craigslist post from pretty close to me offering face or best offer right when I was leaving. They were actually trading about that on the sites, which surprised me. Since I already had tickets I didn't check them after 9 but I did walk down to the Main & Stadium entrance to find people selling the typical "wife didn't make it" tickets for $10 and trying to get $40/ticket for a pair at about 11:30.
THE NEXT GAME
The rest of Maryland tickets went to garbage the second a wild Bowling Green appeared (never schedule an Art Briles acolyte), but local Michigan fans were keeping the night matchup the premier event on the Terps' schedule. Ralph Garcia of TiqIQ before the storm:
The game at Maryland has seen a 25% decrease in average price over the past week. Current average is $133.21. Cheapest ticket available is $70. This is Maryland's most expensive game of the season.
http://www.tiqiq.com/tickets/maryland-terrapins-vs-michigan-wolverines--10-03-2015/16787731414
And then…
SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL! If you have a pair already put them up now under market and pray they go—you'll find a new set on the way down. Things around the 50 are already under $100 out the door:
On StubHub there's a pair upstairs for $30/each (plus $15 for fees).
The weather news already halted the market, and it's been just hours since the new start time ruined the plans of mice and men expected to be at Erin Frost's Bat Mitzvah in Rockford at 10:30 a.m. and no you are not missing it that's why we are in town, not your football game; family comes first. Also: Mazel tov from MGoBlog, Erin.
If you've been waiting to buy tickets I suggest hitting the last-minute market. There are going to be empty seats and last-ditch attempts to unload them after Erin's oneg, and a lot of those tickets will never even make it near the stadium. I'd also be willing to gamble that there will be plenty held between thumbs and forefingers around the stadium.
NO NOT SCALPERS
Skip scalpers unless you're desperate. They do not call them gently shavers.
CURRENT RATES
The BYU game awoke the Michigan monster in a lot of people, and tickets climbed 10% across the board, especially for the MSU game (because we have so much respect for the #2 Spartans, Mark, no other reason).
Again, my process is I spend a week of tracking prices on TiqIQ (which collates all the smaller markets), Stubhub, and Craigslist (Ann Arbor and Metro Detroit), then post a price per ticket for two or more seats together:
| Game | In Aug | Now | Dips | Buy? | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @Maryland | $85 | $30 | $30 | at game | Weather plus new start time 8 hours from old one. |
| Northwestern | $80 | $81 | $74 | at dip. | Price is going up since it's homecoming + BYU bump |
| MSU | $194 | $225 | $168 | at $150 | State fans still driving up. |
| @Minnesota | $78 | $40 | - | at game | says you. |
| Rutgers | $43 | not moving | lol | whenever | Hello permanent I-AA team on our schedule. |
| @Indiana | $63 | $60 | - | wait. | They still haven't lost. |
| @Penn State | $145 | $108 | $100 | next loss | Going back up again. I'm bearish on PSU though. |
| Ohio State | $217 | $181 | $165 | Now | Crawling up. If M beats Sparty these will bust $200 |
Sigh, Rutgers. I'm not even reporting the price because I was watching the same face value ticket at the top of TiqIQ all friggin' week. Nobody's buying, and nobody wants to admit yet that they're not going to get their money back on that thing.
The BYU effect is happening on Northwestern too, since it's both homecoming (so people aren't letting their tickets go) and it's the next home game after a home game everyone wishes they'd been at. That had been trending downward since it's neither a premier game nor that one if you just want to take the whole family to one game (hi Rutgers).
Looking ahead to some road tilts in driving distance, Indiana is on a winning streak and faces Ohio State so let's wait for that bubble to burst. Penn State fans are driving the market for their game and are back to convincing themselves they have an offense. Unfortunately there isn't much on their schedule to trip them up. Army is next and unlike Air Force this triple-option outfit doesn't cut knees away. After that is Indiana. Then Ohio State, Maryland, Illinois, and at Northwestern. I'd wait till they play in Columbus, unless they lose at home to Indiana first.
Minnesota I got some advice from several people in the comments and on twitter. Apparently Gophers fans are not filling their stadium for anything, so treat it like a Northwestern game. If they beat a real opponent maybe get out ahead since you're banking a flight on this. But it still seems like this is a ticket you can get at the game, especially since it's too far away for a guy like to me to decide to go on Friday.
CHEAP TIP
Commodities markets always move with news. Games are like crop reports: everyone recalibrates after. Emotions are a market inefficiency. So are things like Randy Edsall's players meeting without him while he flubs Forrest Gump quotes.
BEST DEAL RIGHT NOW (that I can find on the sponsor's site because let's support people who support us okay?)
I'm bullish on Michigan and Ohio State right now. If either gets a win over MSU then The Game will be a tough one to get into.