Ticket Talk -- Tickets are …In The News!

By Dennis A. Jose
ChicagoTix.com
 

If you’re interested in Tickets as Sports collectibles there is good news, and very good news.

How often do Tuff Stuff, Sports Market Report and Mastros Auctions all agree on anything? Well, all recently highlighted Tickets as important collectibles that are both significant and attractively priced.

To quote the October 2007 issue of Tuff Stuff, “Ever since PSA started slabbing tickets a few years ago these cardboard relics have been gaining popularity at a tremendous rate.”  Better yet, as Tuff Stuff notes, “You can still pick up stubs from significant sporting events at fairly reasonable prices.”

Sports tickets offer an exciting avenue for collecting – whether you are “100% hooked on tickets,” as the main area of hobby interest, or are a collector of a particular player or team or era and want to enhance your collection with several tickets relevant to the theme or player that most interests them.

With the advent of bar code technology, gate attendants simply scan in a ticket upon admittance to many sporting events, rather than tearing off the audit stub as was customary before.  What this means for the novice ticket collector is: more full tickets, in better condition, at more affordable prices. 

Ticket scanning only goes back a few year at most sports venues. Older untorn tickets, depending on the event and the desirability of the particular ticket, range from under a dollar, to thousands, so there is an opportunity for all sports enthusiasts to participate.

While it is true that searching for particular full tickets from notable sporting events such as the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the All-Star Games can be pricey, it should be noted that most collectors seek out and buy ticket stubs, which are much more affordable.

Ticket values depend largely on three factors: condition or grade, scarcity and demand (collector interest in a particular ticket).

Similar to baseball cards, the first step in grading sports tickets is to determine their authenticity.  This part of the process involves research and examination.  Once the ticket is determined to be authentic – through exemplar comparison and forensic evaluation -- it is generally given a grade from “Gem Mint” all the way down to “Fair to Poor.” 

While supply and demand, and grade or condition, are key to the valuation of a given ticket, it is worth noting that tickets are available at many price points because everyone’s interested in different teams and collects for different personal reasons. 

Do you have questions about getting started in ticket collecting? Are you interested in info on Tickets that relate to players, team or themes of special interest to y-o-u?

We’re always happy to “talk tickets” at ChicagoTix.com !

Call 773-404-2298, Chicago, for Dennis, Freddi, Kay or Miko, days, eves or weekends or email us at ChicagoTix@aol.com .

Happy Collecting!