Timmy_Smith Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I am considering upgrading my 400 level seats for club level. The TO has offered me Zone A for $2475 per ticket and Zone B for $1900 with a three year contract. I would appreciate any thoughts or insight regarding this deal that anyone with club level contract experience may be able to offer. Particularly, I am interested in opinions on whether I may be able to recoup the cost of the tickets for the games that I do not attend. Assuming I eat the preseason games, I figure I will need to sell each ticket for $310 (Zone to break even (includes $350 parking pass cost and Stub Hub commission). Is this realistic? Would those of you with club level contracts do it again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Those prices are discounted pretty nicely. Unfortunately, regarding reselling, I can assure you still won't get anything close to what you paid. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOSH8572 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 club seats are always nicer then they sound. remember for most games last year you could get club seats from asc.com for around 100 each. once you signed that unless you really want them for all ten games. i wouldnt want to be locked into tickets at a price higher then market value. from what ive seen over the years it's going to be hard to get 310 per ticket except for the dallas game. which most people use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 OMG. Zone A club seats are now half the price they've been for the last few years. Still not worth it when you weigh in the cost of preseason at a 20% loss. Not to mention the ease of obtaining comparable club seats on a single game basis for less than $310 per seat. Now if I were a seven figure man who didn't care, this would be a great 'in your face' kind of deal. I'd brag to my buddies who are paying over $5000 per seat for a season of Zone A clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BudIce75 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I am a Club ticket holder now and have been for 5 years. I enjoyed my seats the first 2 years. After that there was a great influx of people obtaining tickets for the club level on a game to game basis. (I believe the TO was selling the tickets dirt cheap through ASC and StubHub). The club level is now to crowded. Long lines for food, long lines for beer, long lines for the bathroom. Once I transfer my contract (which doesn't look likely from the prices they offered you), or run through the course of my contract...I'm done with the club level. No I will not do it again. The only thing that I will miss about my seats is they're are in the last row and under cover. Are those prices "intro" prices for the first year? Hope this helps you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da#1skinsfan Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Negotiate down. Tell them you want lower level seats and will do the club level but only for 1 year and a guarantee you get lower level after that. They will probably counter with 2 years, then you've got something to think about. You WILL get hosed on reselling the club seats...just know if you do this you are essentially paying a fee over 2 years to get down to the lower level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have seen far too many resales of tickets for the club level. People getting stuck in these long-term contract deals and then under circumstances that they need to move or can't afford the tickets they are stuck trying to resell them. If money is no object and you are not worried about trying to resell them, then I think that you go ahead and get them. If you are worried about selling these tickets this season and next, you are better off passing. That is my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy_Smith Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 The price is not an "intro" or "teaser" -- the tickets are discounted at 50% for all three years. The TO offered me a teaser deal about two months ago (50% off in year one, years two and three at full price with a guarantee of lower level seats after year three). I think the Skins are having a tough time moving these tickets. Who knows what the deal will be come August... I appreciate all of the feedback on my question. My gut tells me to stay up top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madredskinsfan Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The TO strongly urges ticket holders to resell on StubHub. I wonder how much of a kickback the TO receives from SH since they charge the seller 15% and I believe that charge to buyer 10% upcharge as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madredskinsfan Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Great, the TO is selling seats much less than what those with current contracts have to pay. WOW! That is another kick in the face by the TO to those stuck with contracts already. Maybe if they lowered their prices to these levels at renewals, perhaps they wouldn't lose so many seat holders when their terms expire. Hard to try to resell club seats at face value when the TO is undercutting you left and right and center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madredskinsfan Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I have contacted several known and reputable ticket resellers and their responses range from 'we don't want premium seats as they are overpriced and we cannot resell them' to "I don't want the pre-season games and I'll offer you 50% of what you paid for the remaining regular games.' I've even tried selling them at face value on Craigslist and have had no takers. I've tried as a package and as individual games. That should tell you something about trying to recoup your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlinginSammy HOF '63 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 the word contract would scare me. Committing my money to something. I assume you would be financially obligated to honor it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 First of all, I am pretty certain the TO (i.e. Ticket Office) has nothing to do with the goings-on within the premium seating division. Secondly - the premium seats have been over-priced for years. There are umpteen threads about it. Anybody who's been on this site and has been paying attention knows you can't resell premiums and get anything close to what you paid. Third - What is the team supposed to do? Let the club sit empty? They need to fill the seats, so they're coming up with imaginative ways to do that. What choice do they have? They don't have a choice. Fourth - The current premium seat holders are under contract. Did somebody hold a gun to their head and make them sign? No. They signed with their own free will. Fifth - What's the team supposed to do - grant everybody in the club a discount all of a sudden? This isn't the Mickey Mouse Club. This is business. What about all the people in 1997 and 1998 and 1999 who snagged season clubs for $995 each and kept a fixed price for ten solid years? Did they have to pay more when prices went up? No. Because the price to the fan was guaranteed by contract. Just as these prices to the team are guaranteed by contract. It's business. Regarding the people who contracted clubs for $995 each, the team could have kicked those people out early and resold them to somebody else for higher prices if it wasn't for the contract. Or the team could have raised the prices to the current seat holders if it wasn't for the contract. But they didn't because they were legally obligated to the terms of the contract for the length of the contract. That's the purpose of having a contract. With all due respect to current premium seat contract holders, responsible adults don't sign a multi-season legal contract and then cry about it later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump84 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 For what its worth, I first had season tickets in section 443 (4 seats) in 2007. For 2008, I called the TO and traded for 2 full price tickets in club level section 315 and an orange parking pass in exchange for a guarantee that in 2009, I would have 2 sideline tickets, section 118-125, 101-104, 139-142 (basically between the 5 yard lines) and a green parking pass for 2009. This season, I'm the happy owner of 2 tickets in the middle of section 125 and a green parking pass without any tailgate club affiliation only 3 years after first having season tickets. Believe me, they really want to get rid of those club seats. Tell them you'll take them full price for a similar deal that I got if you want to move quickly to the lower level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madredskinsfan Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Just a note about those who say the TO doesn't hold a gun to your head. Well they really don't, BUT, since they are the only game in town they certainly use that exclusivity to their advantage and make one-sided offers for tickets. For example, if you are one of the many 200,000+ wait list people who received letters that you can get season tickets now by sending in a $100 deposit, you need to read the fine print carefully. If they are no seats available, you do get your money back. However, if the seats the team offers you are not to your liking, and you decide not to take them, you lose your $100. I do not believe you given the opportunity ahead of time to see where the seats might be 'before' you send in you deposit. Not exactly a total 'free choice' option being extended to the buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stugein Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 If they are no seats available, you do get your money back. However, if the seats the team offers you are not to your liking, and you decide not to take them, you lose your $100. I do not believe you given the opportunity ahead of time to see where the seats might be 'before' you send in you deposit. Not exactly a total 'free choice' option being extended to the buyer. Just one note on this - if you make your deposit and don't like the seats that are available to you, yes they hold on to your $100 deposit. However if this occurs you remain eligible for the following season when perhaps different seats are available. So it isn't as if they take your hundy and send you back to the bottom of the list. As for the club seats..I love my club seats. I really do. Great views and I'm fortunate to be in a great section with lots of real fans. The indoors is great. You can watch the other games before or after the 'skins game. The bathrooms are terrific compared to most sports venue bathrooms. The balcony party after games is fun and a great way to wait out the traffic. I highly recommend club level to anyone who can afford them. It's tops. But, as has been said..make sure you can afford them. If you can't be comfortable taking a multi-hundred dollar loss on each game that you can't attend and thus have to try to sell..then club isn't for you. You will not, outside of maybe a Dallas game that has playoff implications, get your money back on resale of club seats. Ever. Don't go into it thinking that or you will be disappointed. They are a luxury item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 However, if the seats the team offers you are not to your liking, and you decide not to take them, you lose your $100. I've yet to read of anyone on this board who felt they were burned by that policy. I think most people understand that the $100 is non refundable before they stroke the check. I've also never heard of the Redskins having 'nothing available' after a deposit has been paid. And as far as not liking the seats they offer, what sort of locations do you expect them to offer a first year STH besides the endzones of the upper deck? I'm w/ you on the notion that nearly all STs are overpriced above their actual value, but I'm not seeing where the TO is wrong here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Just one note on this - if you make your deposit and don't like the seats that are available to you, yes they hold on to your $100 deposit. However if this occurs you remain eligible for the following season when perhaps different seats are available. So it isn't as if they take your hundy and send you back to the bottom of the list.... Good point, Stuge. This didn't really occur to me until now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madredskinsfan Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I had premium seats for the first ten years at the fixed price. Yes that was a good deal for the fans. Remember, The Cooke family set that up that pricing program. After Snyder took over and realized that he wanted to charge more for such seats, he had his TO people contact those with remaining years on the their deals asking them to give up the fixed prices in return for padded seats (whopee!) and a smaller yearly increase on the new seat prices if they signed a new deal starting immediately. I believe they tried this on me for 3-4 years in a row. Each time I said 'that if you are willing to re-negotiate now, how about I just give you back the tickets and my obligation is ended and you can resell them to new prospects at the higher prices.' Their reply basically was no, we don't have a waiting list of new prospects so we do not want to terminate your deal, we just want to renew you at higher prices. It seems to me that the TO started the precedence of possible renegotiated deals back then but now they don't want to even discuss that possibility with current seat holders. They are more inclined to try to sell the permiums at lower prices than what current holders are paying. As I stated before, if you want to keep your current customer base happy and hope that they renew when their terms are up, if necessary you cut them deals similar to what you are giving newbies now. At least that way they don't feel taken to cleaners. I think if the TO took that approach they wouldn't have premium seat renewals falling. In order to keep players happy and to get salary cap room, the team does renegotiate contracts. All they have to do is apply the same logic and reasoning to keep their premium seatholders happy. And one other point. The TO keeps telling us to sell our seats on StubHub (15% upcharge) or elsewhere (but not for more than face value), yet the team is out there in the secondary market selling tickets as well from their own inventory and selling them at large discounted values. For those trying to recoup their costs, that is another obstacle in their path. Hard to sell premium seats at face value or close to face value when the team is selling similar seats for 30-40 or more % below face value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Regarding your last point, there's been zero enforcement of that for a good 6-7 years now. You can pretty much sell your tickets wherever you want for whatever you want. And I agree it's hard to sell premium seats at cost. But it's always been hard to get cost. Impossible is probably a better word. It doesn't really matter if the team is selling cheap or not. But we do know these cheap tix don't show up until the week before the game. Therefore, IMO, the best strategy for premium seat holder who has tickets to sell is to sell them below cost and as early as possible. Now, for example, would be a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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