Best Places to Buy

Boston Event Tickets

Where to get Boston tickets for concerts, sports, shows

What's the best source for Boston event tickets for concerts, theater, shows, and sports?  Which Boston ticket broker should you choose?

"Best" depends on whether you mean "best seats" or "cheapest tickets."

Theoretically, you should be able to find the best tickets by buying earlier from the event venue's box office or preferred ticket seller.  For many venues, the preferred Boston ticket broker is Ticketmaster, but may also be Telecharge. 

However, reality doesn't always work that way.  For some venues and events, the best seats may go to season ticket holders, corporate sales, or ticket resellers rather than to the general public.  So even though you may think you're going to get the best selection by buying early, you may discover that you don't.  Or you may find that 3rd party resellers - even the licensed ones - include substantial mark-ups. 

At other times, buying full price tickets far in advance can be risky.  If you have to work late, or unexpectedly travel for business, or attend your child's piano concert, you risk not being able to use the tickets.  So you may want to buy your tickets closer to the event, but not pay a huge premium.

That's where you may need to turn to a different source for Boston event tickets.  Although several options are available, the one I recommend (and use myself) is StubHub.  It's also where the Boston Red Sox recommends that their season ticket holders sell tickets they can't use.

Boston event tickets through StubHub - A secure buyer-seller marketplace

If you're looking for a bargain - or trying to get Boston event tickets for a sold-out show or better seats for any show, you should always check StubHub, a fan-to-fan on-line marketplace owned and operated by eBay.

StubHub is the most popular fan-to-fan ticket exchange in Boston.   This is where you can buy tickets for sold out shows or sell tickets you can't use.  

If you're looking for impossible-to-get Red Sox tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets, and just about everything else, this is the place to come.  

Or, if you want to attend an event and didn't scramble to buy tickets when they first came out 6 months earlier, StubHub is where you can usually find the best selection at the best price.

StubHub displays excellent seating charts for most Boston venues so that you know exactly what you're getting.  It also guarantees in-time ticket delivery.  For certain venues, such as Fenway Park, it even provides event-day pick up around the corner from the stadium. 

Any disadvantages to using StubHub?

One downside to StubHub is that delivery outside the U.S. and Canada generally isn't available (perhaps due to the guaranteed in-time delivery?).  As an alternative, you can have your tickets shipped to your Boston hotel (be sure to check with them first!) or friends or relatives who live in the U.S. or Canada, assuming they can get the tickets delivered to you once you reach the U.S.

For hot events, tickets usually sell for over face value at StubHub - sometimes waaaay over - but this is the safest and most convenient place to get tickets when shows are sold out.  And when they're not, you'll sometimes find really good bargains, since the marketplace determines the price.  I sometimes see Red Sox tickets for under $10.

Ticket brokers

These are companies, mostly on-line, that buy up tickets and then sell them for more than face value, tack on hefty fees, or both.  In Massachusetts, any company doing this without a license is scalping, which is illegal here. 

Even if the ticket broker is licensed, they may be overcharging.  Unless you want to pay more than you should, be very cautious if you decide to go this route.  Be sure that you know exactly what you're getting - and exactly how much you'll pay.

Boston event tickets through Craig's List 

This is where people sell tickets they can't use at the last minute.  Lots of people buy tickets through Craig's List without issues, but it is an unregulated environment. 

If you're visiting Boston, think about whether you want to spend your travel time figuring out when and where to meet up with a stranger and hand over cash for tickets.  Think about whether you want to wonder if the tickets are legit.

Caveat emptor!

Scalpers

"Scalping" means reselling tickets for a profit.  In Boston, it also means reselling tickets to entertainment and athletic events without a license - and this is illegal all over Massachusetts.

Walk around the outside of any sports or concert venue, and someone is likely to sidle up to you and mutter, "Tickets." 

If this happens to you, walk away. 

It's unlikely that the character muttering "tickets" has a license. 

If you're in a situation where you need Boston event tickets through the resale market, go to StubHub instead.  It's licensed, it's legal, and it's where you'll find the best fair-market price on resale tickets.

Boston event tickets - for half-price?

Yes, you can find half-price tickets for some Boston events . . . probably not for big-name productions like The Lion King or a Taylor Swift concert, and certainly not for a Boston Red Sox, Celtics, or Bruins game.  but even some events at large venue such as the Boston Opera House will have half-price discount tickets available. 

Where?  Check out what BosTix has available.