Growing up in Boston, seeing baseball games at Fenway Park was always a special experience. I liked baseball and seeing games in person was much better than watching on TV. It was always difficult to get tickets to Red Sox games but sometimes my family was able to get tickets. I was also invited at times by a friend and went a few times as a camp trip. Over the years, I have become less interested in baseball and have not seen a game at Fenway in years. However, it is good to know about the opportunity to buy tickets at Costco. I had no idea they sold them! As baseball season is just starting up, this timely article about pros and cons of purchasing tickets at Costco will hopefully help some readers.
Before discussing the pros and cons of buying tickets at Costco, the author points out how expensive the baseball game experience can be. He mentions the cost of tickets (especially for reasonable seats), food and drinks, parking, and merchandise.
After having read my posts, I’m sure it will not be a surprise that I don’t spend money on anything at baseball games beyond the tickets themselves. (Although before becoming kosher, when I went with others who view the food as part of the experience, I did get to try some Fenway food.)
Pros
Costco sells cheap ticket bundles at fixed prices
The author explains that most major league stadiums charge different ticket amounts for different days and games (e.g., most expensive to see rival teams play on a weekend). With the fixed Costco prices, all games will be the same price. These fixed prices can enable members to save $70-90/game.
I would not have thought of this pro. It makes sense that the most desirable games would cost the most.
Costco also doesn’t charge you merchant fees
Buying tickets online can add $20 per ticket.
Thus, buying through Costco enables members to bypass this fee.
I don’t tend to buy items when there are fees so I would not have thought of this pro either.
May get voucher for food or drink
Some ticket deals may include vouchers so that members can buy food and/or drinks at the game.
I imagine it’s even worse now but when I used to go to games, the prices for food and drinks seemed outrageous to me. Water bottles were $4 and I think ice cream bars were probably the same. I am a huge fan of Seinfeld (Seinfeld: the Costco series) and the prices remind me of his bit about buying food at the airport. He talked about buying a sandwich at the airport and says, “do these people know what things cost anywhere else in the world???” Therefore, being able to buy food or drinks for free would be a benefit, unless you can sneak some food in because games can get quite long.
Cons
Costco does not sell tickets for every team
The author points out that Costco sells tickets for many, but not all teams. Therefore, not everyone will benefit from this service.
It would certainly be disappointing for people who wanted to take advantage of this Costco deal to not have tickets available for their preferred teams.
Doesn’t reserve seats
The article explains that the ticket bundle does not include specific games or seats. When people want to redeem a ticket for a specific game, they receive an e-voucher. However, although it usually only takes three hours to receive the e-voucher, it can take up to 72 hours. Therefore, from the time that one tries to reserve seats for a game, there may be a delay of several hours.
For people who are set on certain games, the inability to reserve them immediately upon buying the bundle is definitely a disadvantage. However, I suppose it is a tradeoff of being able to purchase tickets at lower prices.
No refunds
As mentioned above, the bundle of tickets does not contain specific games or seats, presenting a problem if people have specific games and seats in mind. These preferred tickets may get sold out during the time between when one orders the tickets and when one receives the voucher to redeem specific games and seats. However, even if members are unable to attend their preferred games, the ticket packages cannot be returned. The tickets can still be used for the rest of the season but the author suggests picking games in advance if there are ones people really want to see.
Given Costco’s return policy (Returning at Costco); (Ridiculous Returns), it is surprising to think about not being able to return something. I am not sure why they cannot be returned. Perhaps the store worries that people will return them too late in the season to them sell them to other members.
Did you know Costco sells baseball tickets? Have you bought them? Any other Pros and/or Cons you can think of?
Cruising Costco 