Right Time to Buy Baseball Tickets

The baseball season is on its way! For MLB fans, that means it’s time to buy tickets to see your favorite team. If you are able to save a few bucks while doing so, it makes enjoying a game that much better. If you’re looking to buy tickets to a baseball game, you might be wondering what the best way to save money is. You’re in the right place to find out.

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So, keep reading and find out! Buying tickets doesn’t need to be a chore. We’ll show you how to make the most of this experience.

Where to Buy

First, you need to know where to buy tickets. There are a number of ways to buy tickets, and some are better than others. In order to get the most reliable price for baseball tickets, your best bet is going to be buying them directly through the team. Tickets almost always sell out for certain games. For example, when Boston plays the New York Yankees, it’s almost impossible to buy tickets later in the year.

If you are going to buy tickets from the team, your best choice is to do so as soon as tickets go on sale. Unless you have season tickets, there’s a lottery system for doing so. The tough part of this is that advanced sales like this often take advantage of the most diehard fans. This means that ticket prices might be inflated.

That means that although this is a good idea sometimes, it isn’t always. If you don’t buy advance tickets from the team, your best bet is to go with a third-party ticket site, like SeatGeek or StubHub. There are several other strong sites out there but be sure that you only use reliable sites.

When to Buy

The best time to buy tickets is when prices drop, of course! To make this a little bit easier, think about it in terms of demand. There are only a limited number of tickets available, setting the supply at a definite number. That means you need to rely on demand.

Demand for the big games—like playoff games or big rivalries—never lose their demand. That means that your best chance of buying tickets is going to be as early in the season as possible. But other games with lower demand will see prices drop about two weeks before the game. This is about the time when the people selling their tickets begin to panic. Sometimes this panic will increase on the day of the game, making tickets even cheaper. Not many people are comfortable waiting until the last minute for tickets, especially if you are traveling from out of town to go see a game, but this is the best time to buy because resellers will want to get at least something for their tickets and will have prices at the cheapest possible price.

Buying tickets on the day of the game can be tricky. If you do this, you have a few options. The best way that we’ve found is to download the site’s app right to your phone. This way, you can access the ticket through the app and present the bar code at the gate. They will scan it off your phone, and you’re in. There’s no printing out paper tickets or will-call shenanigans to deal with this way. You can use these things, and sometimes it’s the only way to get tickets. Using the site’s app may also give you access to deals, coupons, and alerts so you can always be aware of when tickets are available and when prices are in your favor.

However, if you do use the download method, be aware that most sites stop selling tickets a few minutes before the game’s scheduled beginning time. Plan accordingly.

Other Ways to Save

Buying tickets at the right time through a third-party site is not the only way to save money. For example, ticket sales during the early spring in colder climates often are very slow, meaning that ticket prices are going to be cheap. Not many people want to be sitting in a freezing stadium, but that just gives you a chance to save some cash.

You can also be more selective with your ticket purchases. Weekday games are almost always less popular than weekend games. If you know that you’re going to be in Pittsburgh Thursday through Sunday, buy your tickets for the Thursday game and you’re likely to save a few bucks. On that topic, day games tend to be less popular than evening games—both for weekday and weekend games. So, if you have to pick between a Thursday-day game and a Wednesday evening game, you’re probably going to save more money by buying the day game tickets.

Things to Look Out For

As a final warning, here are a few things to look out for when buying baseball tickets.

First, know that although scalping is now legal in most places, it isn’t legal everywhere. Sometimes, people wait until the game is in the second or third inning to buy tickets from a scalper with the hopes of buying their tickets at an ultra-cheap discount. This works sometimes, but it’s not always legal. Be sure that you know the laws that apply if you decide to go this route.

Also, know that there’s a lot of risk in doing so. It is really easy to sell fraudulent tickets to an unsuspecting baseball fan, and many people do. But if you spend $50 on a fake ticket, odds are you won’t be allowed to get into the stadium, you’ll never see your money again, and you might even be facing legal trouble of your own for attempting to use a forged document. We highly suggest staying away from scalpers; it’s just too dangerous.

Finally, even third-party sites have their own system to them. Tickets might all bring about the same end result—getting to see a game—but not all sites are equal. Some charge more fees than others, some don’t have rigorous checks to protect you from fake tickets, and some charge huge fees for downloading e-tickets. Be aware of what you are paying for and shop around so that you can know you’re getting the best deal that you can get.

The best time to buy tickets to a baseball game will depend on you. If you are ready to go, make your order, and don’t hold out for better prices. If you want to shop around we can help you find the best seat at a fair price. We wish you good luck with your baseball ticket purchase.

Our best time to buy tickets series doesn’t end with baseball. We have tips on the best time to buy NFL tickets and the best time to buy concert tickets as well. There are several similarities between all of the different events, but some differences could help you save a lot of money when going to a high-priced ticketed event.