ticket watch

Sponsor Note: Thank TicketIQ, our longtime ticket sponsors, and specifically Greg Cohen, who's the reader there who's been like "I am throwing money at you; please write a Ticket Watch." Greg is also throwing money at YOU:

Promo code MGO100 is live for $100 off any order of $1,000 or more. If tickets drop under $1,000, we still have MGO50 live.

The thing about TicketIQ is the price they say is the price you pay. This makes a big difference for an expensive game like this, because the fees get jacked. Small percentages turn into very large amounts of money quickly.

Anyway if you're going to buy a ticket on the secondary market, always try our friends first. Greg even said you can reach out to him personally at [email protected] if you find a better deal on the same seats.

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A funny thing happened for the Rose Bowl. When I last checked a few hours before the game there were still over 1600 seats available. And they were still--incredibly--priced in the $1400s. The way bowl game economics almost guarantees a shocking price when the market opens, a sharp rise as the people who just decided to go have to get their travel plans in order, and then an exponential downward slope to the finish as the brokers slowly fish for buyers.

The Rose Bowl was acting like that, then the prices went UP at the end. And yes, there were still empty seats, reportedly hundreds of them, at the Rose Bowl. Why this happened is an important question because it matters a great deal to how we strategize for the National Championship.

Because--oh yes--we are going to the ship.

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Tag yourself

[After THE JUMP: How the system works, and why you're struggling to beat it].

Sponsor Note: Thank TicketIQ, our longtime ticket sponsors, and specifically Greg Cohen, who's the reader there who's been like "I am throwing money at you; please write a Ticket Watch." Greg is also throwing money at YOU: if you use the code MGO50 through the end of this month you'll get $50 off your purchase at TicketIQ.

The thing about TicketIQ is the price they say is the price you pay. This makes a big difference for an expensive game like this, because the fees get jacked. For example the get-in at Stubhub says "$539" right now but when you get to checkout that ticket is $732, whereas it's $702 at TicketIQ. Section 6 Row 75 on Seatgeek is $1041 at checkout, $954 on IQ. Section 2 Row 57 is $933 on Vivid, six rows down is $819 on IQ.

Anyway if you're going to buy a ticket on the secondary market, always try our friends first. Greg even said you can reach out to him personally at [email protected] if you find a better deal on the same seats.

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THE GRANDADDY

bhl_bl008887_full_3504_1361__0_native

[UM Bentley Historical Library]

This is my first Rose Bowl. It apparently is for a lot of other people too; Greg mentioned 75% of their buyers are Michigan fans. Bama fans travel well, but they've been to a lot of games, and Michigan hasn't been to Pasadena in a long time, so we are why the prices are historically high for this one.

Via Greg, we've already passed the price peak. The market gets wild when the game is announced, and this one got particularly wild because Michigan fans got a head start and then Alabama fans were all unleashed at once. Prices shot up by 68% in the first few days after the game was announced, and peaked a few days ago as people rushed to secure seats to the game before seats on a plane. Greg:

The last 48 hours have seen the first drop in price this month. The get-in price for a single ticket dropped from $711 to $673 (-5%), the get-in price for two tickets dropped from $717 to $664 (-7%) The average list price dropped from $1,506 to $1,317 (-13%).

[After THE JUMP: Let's talk strategy, Championship, next year's season tickets, and what's up with ticket price inflation?]

Sponsor Note: If you think you've been after me to write this, you should see TicketIQ, our longtime ticket sponsors who've been blowing up my phone with "I will literally pay you to write a Ticket Watch" since Donovan Edwards's long touchdown at Ohio State.

The first one, not the second one. You know, the one that went 75 yards and made Ohio State fans bleed out their eyes, not the one that went 85 yards and made them bleed out their mouths, because sometimes people get those confused. TicketIQ also said "I don't care what you write, we just want to sponsor it!" and I said "Fine but I'm embedding this play at the top" and they said "Fine" so as promised:

lol, "playoff team"

Anyway if you're going to the Playoffs and plan to stick around longer than it takes Donovan Edwards to send you home, use our ticket sponsors TicketIQ, because they make demands that benefit you, and because they're a ticket exchange that doesn't tack on gargantuan surprise fees to every transaction. Price they say = the price you pay.

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Yeesh. Well folks, we wanted to be one of those elite college football programs that plays in the Playoff every year, with a good shot at moving on to the championship round. It cost Michigan a lot of money to put that program together, and the trip's going to cost you an arm if you want to go. Can you save a leg, though? That's what Ticket Watch is here to find out.

Let's get creative.

The Official Route

The best way to get tickets for either of these games is through the university. This has mostly already happened, but there's a catch: These tickets are not all for resale. What that means is people who put in (using their season ticket points) are not all able to put these tickets onto the secondary market online. However, lots of these season ticket holders chose, when given the option, to buy as many as they thought they might need. Either they find someone they know who will buy them, give them away, or eat them. Mostly they'll find someone they know.

That someone could be you! Renew those relationships everybody! 'Tis the season!

FIESTA BOWL

Michigan has an allotment, which sold out immediately for the Fiesta Bowl. If you put in, you heard whether you got in by December 5th. But here's the thing: not everyone who put in is going. A lot of the seats for sale right now were bought up by Michigan fans with a high number of points. If you know one of them, it may be worth a phone call to ask if they bought their tickets. If they say "Yeah, can't wait!" let them know you're in the market; if they say "No, we can't go" say "Yeah, I'm trying to but tickets are expensive!" And if they say "I did but we can't go so I'm just going to sell them on _____" tell them you're not sure they can, but you might be interested.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The Alumni Club is again offering their full tour, which if you're over 50 and don't want to putz around finding your own accommodations and tickets is a pretty good way to go. I put the age limit on there because honestly if you're my age group or younger their bowl tours start to feel a little too railroaded. I'm also talking to a company interested in putting together an MGoBlog group, but I'm not ready to announce that yet.

Now, if you're from SoCal, you might be in luck; if Michigan makes the CFP Championship they're going to have a lottery for members NEXT WEEK. You have to be a) A member, and b) in before noon on Monday, December 19th. The cost of joining AAUM is (worth it and) less than the secondary markup is going to be.

[After THE JUMP: Indirect routes.]

gulp.

This woke a beast.

A couple of factors are coming together to accidentally shift an unheard of number of Michigan tickets to the secondary market, where Michigan’s official ticket partner’s predatory practices are set up to leave a majority of those tickets unused.

ticket watch

people going.

the trick to group buying is don't buy in groups

the return of the spreadsheets