CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – Buying event tickets online is a convenient way to make sure you and your family can find some summer fun, but it’s important to be on the lookout for third-party sites and even scams when looking for the best deals.
It is currently the peak of the season for the Charleston RiverDogs and they are scheduled for several home games this week at Joe Riley Park.
Although they sell a lot of tickets, the team’s philosophy is that it shouldn’t cost more money to have a lot of fun.
“Our goal is to make the experience here family-friendly and affordable. So you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to come out and have a good time on the field,” said RiverDogs Vice President Ben Abzug.
The best price guaranteed for a game comes directly from them at Riverdogs.com.
But if you just search for “RiverDogs tickets,” it might not be your only or even the first choice that comes up.
“It’s not the consumer’s fault in most cases. It’s very easy to get fooled and not know where you stand,” Abzug said.
It comes down to search engine optimization.
“It’s pay to play,” said Sam Bays, vice president of ticket sales for the Charleston Stingrays. “So the more money a company is willing to spend with Google on a given day, the higher their search moves up in the algorithm.”
“We just can’t compete with national companies that spend millions of dollars,” Abzug said. “I’ve seen people spend up to $30 or $50 a pop for those eight-dollar general admission tickets.”
For a Friday RiverDogs home game earlier this month, a ticket in the same section that was valued at $10 on the official RiverDogs site went for $39 on a third-party seller’s site.
That’s more than 3 times the cost.
Not only can these tickets be more expensive, but they also come with tight protections.
“There’s a limited amount of customer support we can provide because you didn’t buy the tickets from us,” Abzug said.
The good news is that digital sales have reduced fake tickets, according to Bays, who has worked in the industry for about two decades.
“I used to see fraudulent tickets all the time, now I can’t remember the last time I saw one because of the fact that we have digital tickets,” Bays said.
But it may still be possible.
Better Business Bureau of Central South Carolina and Charleston President and CEO Chris Hadley says consumers should always be aware of where they’re buying from and make sure it’s legitimate, especially for high-demand events.
You can find more resources and information about buying tickets online at National Association of Ticket Brokers.
Bays also says tickets tend to cost more the further away from an event they are.
Consumers should always check all their bases and compare costs, Hadley says.
Bays, Abzug and Hadley agree that live is usually best.
“We always encourage people who can, to try and buy locally, of course not everyone will be able to go down to the box office and buy their tickets, but you can certainly visit their website,” Hadley said.
“The smart consumer buys directly from us, you get the best deal,” Abzug said.
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