Making Money Selling Concert Tickets

I just made $2,200 profit selling two concert tickets.

A couple months ago I bid on the chance to purchase premium seats to see Madonna.  I bid in multiple cities - I knew there would be a lot of demand - and I won the chance to buy tickets for a show in Chicago.  These were primo seats - front row, center.  The package I bought included the seats as well as some additional bonuses like a pre-show party and photo on stage (sadly, no meet and greet).

As a kid, I was the biggest Madonna fan.  I've never seen her in concert, so I was willing to spend a lot for this special opportunity.  Alas, once I purchased the tickets, there was a little bit of buyer's remorse.  I started to think about what I could have done with the money.  For example, last week we went to see Live/Bush/Our Lady Peace and had fourth row seats that only cost $99 each.  I could see 16 concerts like that for what I paid for the Madonna tickets.  I could go on a really nice Mediterranean cruise and pay all my travel - flights, hotel and cruise - for what I paid for these tickets.

Happily, Ticketmaster has a Verified Resale program.  I discovered it a couple years ago when we had to sell our Bruno Mars tickets because of a work conflict.  I made a decent profit on my Bruno Mars tickets, and they weren't anywhere near the stage.  Not all artists or venues allow resale.  In fact, I don't know how to determine this before actually purchasing the tickets.  Fortunately, this concert allowed for it.  Since I still was okay with keeping the tickets if they didn't sell, I offered them at what I thought was a ridiculous figure: over $3,000 each.  A few weeks went by and nothing.  Then, I get an email last week telling me they sold.

Total profit:  $2,233.38

My jaw dropped.  So, I have learned a new way to make a little money on the side.  Since I can't identify before I buy the tickets whether they are allowed to be resold, I would only do this for an artist I would enjoy seeing anyway.  In this case, I'm going to see Madonna still, just not from the front row.  After she announced the initial dates, Madonna added a mini-residency in Miami, which wouldn't require air travel.  So technically, since I also canceled our flight to Chicago (so glad I booked on Southwest!), I did even better than the $2,200 profit.  Now, I can see her for free, using the profits I made selling the other seats.

One key to making the most profit is to buy the best possible seats.  People are obviously willing to pay to experience front row center.  Recently I was reading an article about this very idea:  I think it was Steve Wynn (yes, an older article) who discussed the idea that people will pay big bucks to feel like they are getting a one-of-a-kind experience.