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ScoreBig attempts to revolutionize crowded market of selling online tickets

With a bevy of recognizable names in the online ticket marketplace, such as Stubhub, TicketsNow, and Ticketmaster, ScoreBig entered the fray in 2009, backed with over 8 million dollars in venture capital funding. When I was recently introduced to the site by a friend, I decided to check it out and decide if it was simply another ticket site, or if it was an impressive new idea.

ScoreBig basically works like this: It sells tickets for 10-60% off face value, with the added bonus of no service fees, which you have to pay on any other ticket site. This intrigued me, so I purchased tickets to a Warriors basketball game, and also to a Giants baseball game. (In case you were wondering, ScoreBig also does sell concert, play, and comedy tickets.) The results were mixed. I found the same Warriors tickets I bought were being sold for a lower price on Stubhub; however, in the case of my Giants tickets, I saved over 100 dollars off face value, yet the tickets took excessively long to be delivered.

The site works like this: You choose a range of seats, on a rating of 1-5 stars. It lists the face value, and then what percent of money you will be saving by buying the tickets off their service. You do not know exactly where your seats will be. However, you get to see on a seating chart where your seats possibly will be after purchasing them.

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After choosing what seats you are interested in, you then make an offer, and you are told instantly whether you scored these seats or not. If you did not win the tickets, then you will not be able to bid on that same seating section for the next 24 hours. However, the site does not actually involve “bidding” like it is may seem. Before you make your final offer, you are essentially told whether or not you will win the tickets with your prospective bid; basically, you do not have to worry about not winning the tickets and having to wait another 24 hours.

When I purchased tickets to the Warriors game, I felt great that I had supposedly saved lots of money. After all, the face value of the tickets were 20 dollars each. I received mine for only 10. However, after visiting Stubhub, I found those same tickets to be 4 dollars each. I actually had not saved money. Keep in mind that “face value” is the original price on the organizations official website; Stubhub usually sells tickets much cheaper. As for receiving the tickets, they arrived within 2 days.

My experience with the Giants tickets were mixed. I saved around 100 dollars off face value, and sat only a few rows behind home plate. Even compared to Stubhub prices I saved around 50 dollars. All in all, I was extremely pleased when my order was placed. I had just saved a fortune! However, what irked me was that even though I purchased the tickets a day before the event, I received the tickets only 2 hours before I was about to depart to the game. Though customer service was extremely nice, I did get a little worried that I would not have the tickets in time.

What I learned from ScoreBig was this: If you want great seats, ScoreBig will save you a huge amount of money. I got premium seats to the Giants game for an amazingly low price. However, if you are simply interested in buying the cheap seats, stay away from ScoreBig. Instead, I would recommend using StubHub, or any other of the hundreds of ticket sites out there. If you are a sports, concert, play, or comedy junkie, I highly suggest you check out ScoreBig. Though not all of its ticket prices will save you a lot of money, it is relatively easy to find a low priced gem.

What do you think?

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Written by John Siano

John Siano is a writer on all things technology. Send him an email.

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