If you go to a Division I school, chances are that football and/or basketball is extremely popular. At my school, football is king, but in other schools, basketball is the hottest ticket in town. In any case, no matter what your school’s sport of choice is, if you can get season tickets, you should! Not only is it very enjoyable (if you’re into sports), but also it can be quite profitable for the average student.
Buying tickets at student price and selling them to the highest bidder on game day (or beforehand) is a great way to make some serious cash. Now, for someone like me, I’d be happier with the tickets and the game experience. However, if there’s a football or basketball game I cannot attend for some reason, then selling the tickets is the way to go. If you are someone who hates football and/or basketball, buy the tickets anyway! Find a friend who hates football and basketball, get the tickets next to each other, and you can make a significant profit. You can sell tickets on eBay, outside the arena/stadium, or at numerous other sites on the Internet such as BuySellTix.com, MyTicketMarket, or TicketsOfAmerica, just to name a few.
Now, you may be skeptical. You may think that there is not really a profit to be made. Consider the Ohio State vs. Michigan game on November 18, 2006. Now, I had tickets to that game, and I attended it (it was the greatest football game I’ve ever seen). However, I know many, many students who elected to sell their tickets. Keep in mind the scope of this game. It was number 1 versus number 2 (in the BCS polls…no comment), both teams undefeated, a rivalry game, and the last game of the regular season with a shot at the National Championship game on the line. Students who were selling individual tickets were making at least 1,000 dollars straight profit. Now, this type of event doesn’t happen every year, but it shows you the kind of impact ticket sales can have. Imagine if someone had two tickets next to each other? They could have made even more. Imagine the people who could have bought season tickets and decided not to, their wallets were crying.
It is important to note that the way student tickets are given differs between schools. Some schools actually give football tickets away for free. Others have online systems for basketball and football ticket sign ups. Some have strict rules with student tickets (most schools will require a student ID for entrance with student tickets). My school recently offered an “upgrade,” where students could pay an extra fee and get their ticket upgraded from a student ticket to a regular ticket. In any case, before considering this investment think about your schools policies, because if you sell a student ticket to someone on eBay, you could have one unhappy customer if they cannot get into the game.
The bottom line is this, even if you hate sports, you should consider buying and selling tickets as a way for some quick cash. Depending on who you talk to, and the demand for the game, you can make some significant profits. Of course, there’s never a guarantee. The game could get rained on, massive snow storms could stop people from coming, the team could have a bad season, the star player could be injured, and much more. As with any investment, there is a certain amount of risk involved. Keep in mind that there are many avenues for selling tickets, and different means to make it a profitable venture. One of my friends is planning on selling tickets next year. He loves football games, and is going to buy tickets for himself. However, he has two other friends who hate football. Well, he’s giving them money and they are going to purchase two season tickets. He’s going to sell them before every game, and he’s going to make some profit off of it. Of course, ethically speaking, I’d never sell tickets to an opposing fan, and I hope he doesn’t either. But then again, I’m pretty ridiculous when it comes to sports.
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June 12 2007 03:11 pm | Financial Advice
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