Scoring Cheap Broadway Tickets (and More)!
A few months ago I discovered the secret to scoring cheap Broadway tickets (and more)! In this post I’m going to teach you the trick so you can do the same.
Step 1:
It all starts with downloading the Vivid Seats app on your phone. (This is a ticket resale app that I’ve learned LOWERS THE PRICE of tickets the closer it gets to the start of an event).
Step 2:
On the DAY OF the show or event you want to attend, search for tickets on the app to get an idea of what’s available and what the prices are starting at.
Step 3:
Keep an eye on the tickets throughout the day to make sure there’s still some left (and whether the prices have slowly started to drop yet).
Step 4:
Stand right outside the venue and no more than an hour before showtime (I personally wait until 15-20 minutes before showtime), buy your tickets, run inside, and enjoy the sweet deal you just scored.
That’s it! That’s the trick! Ok, here’s a few examples so you can see it in action…
***Be sure to notice the time the show starts, the ticket price AND the current time on each screenshot***
Hamilton
“Mary Poppins Screening and Talk”
(This was an early screening of “Mary Poppins Returns” and a discussion panel with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emily Blunt, and the director Rob Marshall) I bought this ticket a few hours before showtime because I noticed there was only one left at the lowest price and I didn’t want to risk loosing out!
Miss Saigon
I waited until 15 minutes before showtime to buy my ticket but the price never dropped any lower than this. I got to sit in the second row though, so that was cool!
Some Tid-Bits For You…
- There’s no guarantee on which tickets will be available and at what price they’ll be selling for. You also have to remember that there may be other people who are eyeing the same tickets as you so keep that in mind when you’re debating whether to pull the trigger and buy your tickets or wait a few more minutes to see if the price will drop again.
- Practice! If there’s a show, concert, or game coming up that you know you want to see, check out same day tickets on a few days that you’re NOT planning on going so you can get an idea of what’s typically available. Notice the trends. See how many tickets are usually listed, what the prices are like, when the prices start to drop, etc.
- My personal observation is that prices for shows in New York really start to drop about two hours before showtime and that’s when tickets also start to get swooped up; so keep that in mind if you’re trying to see a show there.
Get a Discount:
- Want a 10% discount? I accidentally discovered a trick for that, too! Well before you plan to ACTUALLY buy your tickets, click on a ticket option and go to the checkout screen as IF you were ready to buy it. (You may have to create an account with Vivid Seats if you don’t have one already). Scroll to the bottom and it will give you the grand total cost of your tickets including the taxes and fees. Close out of that page and check your e-mail in 20 minutes or so. You should have an message from Vivid Seats saying there’s still tickets available for the show you were interested in and a link to activate the 10% discount. From there, the next time you open your Vivid Seats app it *should* show ticket prices with the discount automatically applied. I believe the discount stays active on your app for 7-10 days or so, but I’ve found that this trick works over and over and my app almost ALWAYS has the discount applied.
And I think that’s everything!
I realize it can be a little risky to buy your tickets an hour before showtime especially if you need a babysitter for the night or it’s a long commute to the theater, but I can also attest to the fact that when you DO score a sweet deal it feels pretty dang exciting! So let me know if you try this out, I’d love to hear it worked for someone else.
Here’s to wishing you all the good luck on Vivid Seats and safe travels to wherever you go. :]
CE
