Thursday, January 3, 2013

Check your 2013 SF Giants Pre-Sale Tickets for Overcharges

Did you buy any Giants tickets for the 2013 season during the period from Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to December 31, 2012?  You might want to check your tickets if you were overcharged.

The SF Giants offered a pre-sale of their tickets to be sold for all games from March to the end of June 2012 (except the first series for home opening).  I was one of the lucky ones to go to the Giants Dugout at AT&T Park on Black Friday at 10AM to purchase tickets at the first opportunity available and not pay the surcharges versus buying online or at satellite Dugout Store locations.

While my father and I was able to get the game tickets we wanted, a week later, I wanted to compare the tickets we paid for to the updated dynamic pricing list.  As you may be aware, Giants tickets are sold on a marketing system where high demand tickets will be sold at higher prices, and in 98% of cases, buying a ticket at first availability will be the cheapest and the cost will rise until the day of game.

It turned-out, while the ticket prices rose on a handful of them, I noticed an unusual anomaly on one of our game tickets.  On the day we bought our tickets, I printed the dynamic pricing list and was supposed to pay $62 per ticket in the Lower Box section.  Instead, the ticket printed out at $80 each, an $18 difference.  On the day I discovered the problem, the correct price was raised by $1, from $62 to $63.

Since the dynamic pricing doesn't change the same day you print-off the list, I had the price list in hand as evidence we got ripped-off, and especially since the price only was raised by a dollar within a week.

After making some calls to the Giants to get this problem fixed, they acknowledge something went wrong when we purchased the tickets and refunded my father and I the difference.

I suggest to everyone to inspect your tickets.  If the price you printed looks too suspiciously high, you should contact the Giants ticketing services office.  But before you start accusing them of bad business, be aware that you may have been charged extra for any of the following: Ticket service surcharges, paid for a ticket that includes a special ticket to an event or promotional item (e.g. Cinco De Mayo), or included "Splash Ticket" funds which gives fans extra ballpark spending money (such as: Give them $10, get $12 in funds on game day).

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