All kinds of deals coming out today.  Here’s another one from Citi Cards.  It’s worth it to get a Citi Card just to get all of the great deals they have on concert tickets.  I used this private pass option that they have to get advanced tickets for both Madonna and Janet Jackson (the squirrel loves her!).  Gave the Madonna tickets away to a guy who wanted to take his wife for her birthday, so it all worked out.  See below for more information….

I just came across this so if you're in the LA or San Diego area, log on tomorrow at 10am and see what comes up.

Live Nation is doing a Fan Appreciation Day.  See below for more information.

 If you see something that's really cool, let me know and I'll grab tickets too.  Rock On! 

Max

I reported yesterday that my friend Kymberlee learned her first eBay lesson about as she tried to get tickets for Ricky Gervais.  I told her in the past that when something like this happens, and you practice a little patience and faith along with the willingness to roll the dice a little bit, you always end up with something better.

I call it FAILING UP!

Well, today, we worked together and found a great deal.  She scored a pair of 2^nd row tickets DEAD CENTER for $275 FOR THE PAIR.  That comes out to $137.50 each with no convenience charges or shipping fees, etc. whatsoever. 

I always like to jump on the ticket broker sites to find out what the “REAL” savings are.  This is what we found.  Below is the actual posting from a broker site that advertises front row seats.  It says they will sell 1 or 3 Hard Tickets.  Seeing as we just picked up two of those (all it takes is a little persuasion and they will sell 2 even if they say they won’t), there was only 1 left when I typed it in.  Here are the results.

Ricky Gervais

 Kodak Theatre-CA

 Saturday, July 12, 2008 @  7:30 pm

 Remove From Cart

ORCH PIT VIP-CENTR BBB

 2ND ROW CENTER, ORCH PIT VIP, ODD - SELL AS 1 OR 3 -Hard Tickets

1 of 1 available $190.00/each

Subtotal $190.00    Convenience Fee ($40.00) $40.00    Shipping $15.00    Total $245.00

That price is just for ONE ticket.  Double that to $490 for the pair and she just saved a grand total of $215.  Yesterday, Kymberlee said she would’ve put as her Max Bid $300, which would’ve come to $320 with the shipping.  So she saved an additional $45 off what she thought she would’ve had to spend yesterday.

When she was talking to the seller today, the lowest they would go was $300 for the pair. The seller said that was as low as she could go because they were “flying off the shelf” (her words, not mine.  That one made me laugh!).  Kymberlee called me and I told her to offer $275 just for shits and giggles.  We’ll see how fast their flying off the shelf.  I told her that the seller wants to be done with this as much as she does.  Turns out we were right!

This is going to be a surprise for her husband.  He’s gonna crap when he sees where he’s sitting!

Stay tuned for pictures and what happens to where the squirrel and I end up sitting!!!

Max

“Have fun! (And congrats on a good deal--I paid double what you did for the tix!)”

Ricky gervais

This was the note I just got from the seller on Ebay.  Pretty sweet seeing as the BUY NOW button was at $200

I checked the tickets and the face value was $56.00 plus $4 facility charge plus $9.60 convenience charge a total of $69.60 or $139.20 for both. 

Ricky Gervais is so freakin’ funny.  Very much looking forward to the show!

My friend Kymberlee had her first taste of eBay today.  Front row VIP’s were going for a really low price of $179.  She did everything right, waiting until the last minute to put her bid in.  But she made a fatal flaw, one that she will no doubt learn from.  She didn’t put in her ceiling price as a max bid and got outbid by just a few dollars.  Seeing as those tickets are going for $175-$240 each on the broker sites, she was happy to throw down close to $300 for the pair.  She only put in $225 and they got snagged.  

I’m going to be on the lookout for her so we’ll get her something.  Lesson learned!

Got the chance to treat a group of friends last night to the Dodgers/Braves game thanks to a deal that Travelzoo did on it's Weekly Top 20 list.

They offered Dodger Fans a better than 50% off with a special promotion code.  We got our $31 tickets for $12 each including the service charge (which I hate paying but was willing this time because of the huge savings).

To get on the weekly Top 20 list for Travelzoo, just go to their website www.travelzoo.com and sign up.  It's free.  I end up getting great deals when I travel on that site also.  It's just plain good to be a part of it!

Enjoy!

Max

This is the new 30 second spoof commercial we just made for the book.  It is extremely silly on purpose.  Enjoy!!!  We are extending the Pre-Release special til the end of the week.  

Thanks to my buddy Matt who just sent me this article.  It's getting worse for us out there.  Well, for those who don't know about the book :)

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121028659029779015.html?mod=blog

StubHub Enlisted in Resale
Of Madonna Concert Tickets

Madonna's coming concert tour is to feature what appears to be a first in the concert business: An official ticket reseller that will peddle seats at marked-up prices to fans who couldn't get them through normal channels.

In the U.S. and Canada, eBay Inc.'s StubHub will serve as the "official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace." In Europe, the role will be filled by Viagogo Ltd., a ticket reseller that also will sell "VIP packages" -- higher-priced tickets that include amenities like backstage passes and meetings with performers.

The endorsements highlight the growing popularity and influence of so-called secondary ticketing companies, which let both fans and brokers sell tickets to others at prices that often far exceed their face values. Concert promoters and artists have long complained that they are locked out of the secondary marketplace, putting money in the pockets of speculators and middlemen who aren't involved in staging or promoting concerts.

Sports teams and leagues have entered partnerships with secondary ticketing companies. But executives at Viagogo and StubHub called this the first time a major music artist has officially embraced the secondary market on this scale.

"It's the future of the ticketing business," said Chuck La Vallee, StubHub's head of business development for music. "Promoters have always complained that we don't have skin in the game."

Terms weren't disclosed, but people close to the deal said Viagogo is paying promoter Live Nation Inc. and Madonna a flat fee, while StubHub is offering a percentage of revenue on top of a fee. Despite the official status of the two companies, fans would still be able to buy and sell tickets on other online marketplaces, such as TicketsNow, RazorGator or Craigslist. But Viagogo and StubHub will be promoted in emails to fans and other marketing materials.

The tour is the first for Madonna since she announced a $120 million partnership with Live Nation in which the promoter is to participate financially in nearly every aspect of the pop star's career. The album she is promoting, "Hard Candy," is the last under her record contract with Warner Music Group Corp. The "Sticky and Sweet" tour is to start in August, with nine dates in Europe, followed by 18 U.S. shows in the fall. There will be several stadium shows in the U.S., including at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium -- far larger venues than the arenas Madonna has historically performed in. Prices weren't announced.

Live Nation's contract in the U.S. with IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ticketmaster expires at the end of this year. At that point Live Nation will begin selling its own tickets for its concerts. Arrangements like the one with Viagogo -- in which Viagogo handles a portion of the so-called primary ticketing, in addition to resales -- could become more common on Live Nation tours once Ticketmaster is out of the picture.

Wow!  Just want to give a quick shout out to my new friends over at The Beer Belly (www.thebeerbelly.com) for promoting my book.

You guys Rock!  For those of you who aren’t in the loop, I am running a “Pre-Release Special” for the Beer Belly customers for my book “Sold Out…SO WHAT!”

For every order that comes in this weekend, I am giving $1 to the BEST DAY FOUNDATION (www.bestdayfoundation.com) as well as a copy of the book will be donated to our troops fighting overseas. 

Thanks for taking a look!  New commercial coming tomorrow!