Jacked Up Ticket Prices

[rickh150]

Not sure if others have seen this, but Brewers really moved ticket prices up this weekend for many games this season. With dynamic pricing, that movement of increases is a constant, I realize. However, I have never seen this drastic movement of prices. The only reason I know this this time is that I have been monitoring prices almost daily since I will be purchasing soon once family/friends get game dates decided.

I won’t go into all the changes, but Cubs games, Friday games, Labor Day, Loge Diamond seats, and Thursday games have greatly increase in a day’s time hence the word jacked up.  Usually, prices eek their way up slowly based on limited availability.

Not now. Increases steeper and bordering on ridiculous.

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/tickets/pricing

[bigred]

11 hours ago, rickh150 said:

Not sure if others have seen this, but Brewers really moved ticket prices up this weekend for many games this season. With dynamic pricing, that movement of increases is a constant, I realize. However, I have never seen this drastic movement of prices. The only reason I know this this time is that I have been monitoring prices almost daily since I will be purchasing soon once family/friends get game dates decided.

I won’t go into all the changes, but Cubs games, Friday games, Labor Day, Loge Diamond seats, and Thursday games have greatly increase in a day’s time hence the word jacked up.  Usually, prices eek their way up slowly based on limited availability.

Not now. Increases steeper and bordering on ridiculous.

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/tickets/pricing

It's because of 1 of the biggest problems here in America. Greed. It's the same thing with gas prices. I've seen gas go up $0.25 in a day, but we NEVER see gas prices go down the same amount in a day. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, bigred said:

It's because of 1 of the biggest problems here in America. Greed. It's the same thing with gas prices. I've seen gas go up $0.25 in a day, but we NEVER see gas prices go down the same amount in a day. 

I don't think that's a uniquely American problem. That's more a byproduct of capitalism. You charge what people are willing to pay. I also wouln't call it "greed," I'd just say it's the free market. I'm sure there are plenty of Soccer games that are significantly more expensive to go to...Cricket, whatever. 

I equate this to working on a Holiday. The time is more valuable, your work is more valuable. 

Is that "greedy?" Not by the literal definition in my opinion, but it sucks for the consumer.

I'd say there is certainly corporate gouging that qualifies as Greed, but I don't want to get too political here, so...I'll leave it there. 

[MrTPlush]

June 29th, lol wow.

You can blame ticket flippers for this. All you see is the Brewers trying to get the fair price for games up front. Why sell tickets for $100, if they are worth $180?

Just go buy on StubHub. If the price is comparable to StubHub, well, then I don’t understand why one would complain. If the price was cheaper (face value if you will) the tickets would all be sold out by now and you would be looking at StubHub already anyway. 

This is a good thing:
#1 It means the Brewers are a hot commodity and people are wanting to go to games (spend money).

#2 The Brewers are getting the money, not some sleezy douche bag ticket broker.

[bigred]

On 4/8/2024 at 3:50 AM, BrewerFan said:

 

 

[Frisbee Slider]

34 minutes ago, bigred said:

Yeah I understand. How I usually say it, is companies/corporations that are owned by people aligned with both major parties(1 or the other) are guilty of corporate greed, corruption, and unethical practices.

Since no one is required to attend a Brewers game, there really are no victims or impropriety. People decide whether the price of a ticket is worth it to them or not. 

There are many ways to lock in a price of a ticket for the season using 10 or 20 game packages. Or, buying single games far in advance.

There are almost always affordable ways to attend a game.

Dynamic ticket pricing is a terrific idea. 
 

[rickh150]

Here's the difference from prior years.... I noticed in prior years when inventory was less, and it was obvious it was less, the prices went up. Demand up, prices up.  Nothing new... been doing this for several years. This year, we have several Thursday and Friday games (half price days for seniors/kids or Wisconsin residents, in general) where inventory is not much less NOW.  Prices have gone up crazy ($20 or so in different areas).   

No argument that Brewers can do what they want with tickets and prices.  Obviously, higher prices are going to keep some away or going less.  That is me right now... going less.  I do not want to sit in the cheaper Terrace Level and have no desire to pay the jacked up "half price" for tickets that I have sitting in (Loge Level Infield/ Loge Level Box or Preferred) for 20 plus years.  

It's a reach for the Brewers and it will be interesting to see how fans react once they go to buy a pair of Thursday tickets in July or August.  Also, in past years, the team often said to buy early because prices will not go down.  I did notice they lowered tickets for a couple of games against the Giants in August by a few bucks.  Not sure what they are doing but it is different.  

[Frisbee Slider]

It is interesting speculation by the Brewers. Maybe they are losing money on parking this year?

[TURBO]

I used to go to 8-10 games a year (pre-pandemic), up until about 4 years ago.  Now I get to one, MAYBE 2.  

Can't stand paying the prices for food, tickets, parking, and gas to get to a game.  I'm to the point that I find it a lot more enjoyable watching from the couch at home on the big screen.  lol  Don't have to make the hour and 45 minute drive one way, fight the crowds, or pay the stupid prices.

Timber Rattler games are going up too.  From parking, concessions and tickets, it is no longer family affordable fun, which is how they used to market themselves.  Family of 4 probably costs at least $100 if you plan to eat while there, way more if you buy them anything in the team store.   Not long ago, probably would have cost $60 for the same thing.  (tickets, eating and parking)  Still going to a ton of the games, in fact, they have benefitted from me not going to Brewers games, I choose to spend that money at the t-rats games...

It is all "choice" though.  Either you go to Brewers games, pay the ridiculous prices or you don't.  No one is making anyone do anything, but it sucks that the cost prohibits a lot of people from going to games these days.

 

[rickh150]

Labor Day, Monday 1:10 start

Loge Diamond Box $88

Loge Infield $72

Not full, not packed.... largely not sold tickets yet.   Crazy different.  Who pays these prices?

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I used to have a you pick 'em 20 pack. I got rid of them 5- 6+ years ago when the Brewers went to the level picking of games. Now, I maybe go 1 or 2 times a year. Since they got rid of On Deck I have no interest in going to the games. I'd rather listen at home now.  The Brewers talk about how they appreciate the fans, but I don't see it. 

[Jopal78]

48 minutes ago, rickh150 said:

Labor Day, Monday 1:10 start

Loge Diamond Box $88

Loge Infield $72

Not full, not packed.... largely not sold tickets yet.   Crazy different.  Who pays these prices?

The same people that buy $120 Packers tickets off StubHub for $300-$400 each.
 

Clearly, the Brewers wouldn’t charge the prices unless they already had the research showing they can sell them at that cost,  and the increase in revenue from demand pricing is enough to offset any alienation of other ticket buying fans. 
 

The reality is Brewers want to lease suites and sell expensive  tickets because the people who buy them are most likely  the people who also drop a pile of dough at the game on liquor, beer, merch and food. The fans who grill their own hotdogs and drink beer in the parking lot have a $28 ticket and carry in their own food from home aren’t that valuable 

[Frisbee Slider]

57 minutes ago, rickh150 said:

Not full, not packed.... largely not sold tickets yet.   Crazy different.  Who pays these prices?

If tickets remain unsold, they will lower the prices either this year or possibly for next year. I also assume cost inflation affects Major League Baseball teams on some levels, too.

[nate82]

11 hours ago, bigred said:

It's because of 1 of the biggest problems here in America. Greed. It's the same thing with gas prices. I've seen gas go up $0.25 in a day, but we NEVER see gas prices go down the same amount in a day. 

That is not how pricing works.  It is all based on supply and demand.  In order to get a reduction past or equal to the increase demand would need to meet supply at that price point.

It is not greed it is just what the market is willing to pay.  If the market is not willing to pay at the prices then prices tend to go down.  The Brewers just like any other business needs to maximize revenue.

[rickh150]

27 minutes ago, nate82 said:

That is not how pricing works.  It is all based on supply and demand.  In order to get a reduction past or equal to the increase demand would need to meet supply at that price point.

It is not greed it is just what the market is willing to pay.  If the market is not willing to pay at the prices then prices tend to go down.  The Brewers just like any other business needs to maximize revenue.

And yet for my example on Labor Day, there are large amounts of tickets left and the tickets were JUST this weekend (not in February/March) raised to unprecedented levels.  It's the same for most Thursday and Friday games, many not half full.  I totally see it if demand is high.  I cannot fathom why they do it when demand isn't that high yet. 

And no I do not think there are large amounts of people who are paying those levels.  I saw it in the Loge Preferred sections last year for weeknight games... so many empties.  Really good seats they would rather see go empty.  It is similar with the food too... playing the maximize profits game and upsetting your base in the process.  Keeping fans away from the stadium more or even worse keeping them away all together.

So to buy Family Section 217 Loge Diamond Box (80% empty).. Monday day game for 4 = $352, Loge Preferred 4=$264, Loge Outfield Box mind you down the line= $228     

So out of touch with the consumer right now.  But, yep it is their right.  Just saddening when they just reaped millions from the taxpayer and this is the year they choose to pull this.  

[tmwiese55]

Of course their algorithm could be off (especially if the team crashes and doesn't do well). But what you're describing doesn't seem crazy to me.  Labor Day is 4 months away, they're not just gonna give away tickets right now because its not sold out yet.  They have years and years worth of data for themselves and other teams that tells them demand will be greater closer to the date and that they can get the higher prices later on. Or that jsut in general being half full now doesn't mean anything.    They know that most people buy a few days to a week or two before a game so they're not going to just slash prices way beforehand for that or Fri/Sat games.   The spike you noticed I'd guess was tied to an increase in online traffic as the season has started and team has looked good.    Also, if you've bought on resale over the years for anything, the 'seller' usually asks for the world this far in advance and if they don't sell it comes down closer. Essentially what you're describing is the team doing same thing. 

This discussion would come in if you get to like a day before a game and they don't slash to sell out. However, the algorithm probably would be against that too because if the customer learns that prices drop the day before a game everyone will just wait until last minute, thus costing them money long term.    But really, as someone else said just go to stub/seatgeek and compare what the team charges vs what the market is giving.  For the Sat Mariners game I bought direct from the Brewers at about 3pm as it was clearly cheaper than what was on the resale sites. I bought field level just past the dugout.

I actually had forgotten this was in place until this thread though, so thanks for the reminder. When deciding what games to go to last weekend I noticed different prices for the same tickets each day and it didn't make sense to me as I didn't remember it like that in the past. I'd totally forgotten about this coming in.   And as frustrating as things you're noticing can be, we should do our best to remind ourselves home brewer games have typically been among the most affordable in MLB.  The complaint would be more about the entire industry of sports/concerts post covid, but the market seems to be supporting these new high prices as of now. 

[MrTPlush]

I am sure they have smart people creating the algorithm and making sure it is effective. I am confident the Brewers aren't idiots and going to find themselves with a half empty stadium on Labor Day and cost themselves $1mil. This type of pricing is far from some new concept and many industries use it. Though as a business-ey person I see a few potential issues:

#1 There is a bit of quirk when it comes to people like @rickh150. When you have one person buy it today for $80 and then someone three months from now pays $50, that can certainly ruffle some feathers. Mainly because I don't think most people are hyper aware this dynamic pricing is going on. If I am excited to go to a game and see it is $80, my jaw may hit the floor, and I may just not buy tickets. Even worse, I may just assume all games are that expensive. In an industry that heavily relies on fandom, this is a sensitive model to toy with. 

#2 This model doesn't exactly make people want to go buy tickets far in advance. The risk with that, if the Brewers decide they aren't very good, no one is going to want to go out and buy tickets...especially after so many years of success. Instead of people being 'stuck' using tickets they bought in March/April, they can simply just not even go. It is the same exact problem with a monthly service to watch the Brewers. By doing so it is very easy to just drop Bally Sports at any given time if they suck.

Of course, on the flip side, there could be some good. Dynamic pricing like this motivates you to put a good product out there and hopefully win. Maybe even improving the fan experience in general. You certainly don't want to have dynamic pricing and have a crappy team that isn't fun to watch. 

[rickh150]

I do not remember a time that prices went down with dynamic pricing, at least with the Brewers.  If they did, you would not get a response from me.  I would not have started this thread.  For years, the Brewers said to buy early to get the best prices.  If prices will possibly come down in the future before a let's say Labor Day, then so be it.  I would say nothing about this whole process.  The first time I saw any seats go down in value were this year.... the two games in August against the Giants.  A few bucks down in the sections I was monitoring.  So who knows what's going on.  And no way will the Brewers tell fans to just wait out prices to get lower ones in the future.  What they have done is a "Flash Sale" or other gimmick if there are too many empties. 

They hadn't been lowering dynamic pricing.

[tmwiese55]

Wait, when did this start?  I thought it was the first year based on how this talk went and just that I didn't remember this from last year. But I don't know for sure.

If its year one we really don't know how it will go.  But also, it wouldn't surprise me if they do set it that tickets never go below the 'face' or whatever preseason normal price is per section. I'd generally disagree with that if it is the case, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did it that way.

[brooks_quichenick]

They've been using dynamic pricing for a few years now at least, IIRC. There's no real algorithm, my understanding is that it's similar to Platinum ticketing for concert venues, where a pricing team monitors what similar tickets are going for on the resale/secondary market, and then prices their Platinum tickets to be more in line with those prices.

[owbc]

The one thing I don't like about dynamic pricing is that the goal is to maximize profits rather than maximize attendance. They would rather have empty seats than sell tickets for less than their perceived value. 

Anyone who tracks dynamic pricing will tell you that it almost always pays to wait. Wait as long as possible. Buy the tickets after you parked your car and are walking to the gate. It will almost always be cheaper than buying in advance. 

What I've found frustrating is that the dynamic models have gotten smarter in the last year or two and it's near impossible to get ahead of them. They started jacking up prices in pre-sales and right when tickets go on sale, so now it makes even more sense than ever to skip the early purchasing and wait for prices to drop. 

[tmwiese55]

57 minutes ago, brooks_quichenick said:

They've been using dynamic pricing for a few years now at least, IIRC. There's no real algorithm, my understanding is that it's similar to Platinum ticketing for concert venues, where a pricing team monitors what similar tickets are going for on the resale/secondary market, and then prices their Platinum tickets to be more in line with those prices.

OK thanks.       OK, then I noticed nothing weird the last few years so I don't have anything negative to say.  This weekend was the first time I ever noticed differences. 

Since Covid, the brewers have rarely sold out for whatever reasons so to me the prices for good seats have been perfectly fine. As of now due to the generally low demand the fans probably haven't been hurt too much by it and if it is possible for them to dip below the preseason 'face' some have probably come out ahead at times.   If they get really good again with a fun offense like say in 2011 when the place was rocking then maybe it'll be a bit different but right now they couldn't even sell out playoff games last year. 

Also, the idea here is that the Brewers get the money rather than scalper or resaler, generally it makes sense to me. I'd rather the team get it than ticketmaster.  Think of big concert stuff now too, unless you're using a way to prevent resale/scalping the artist might as well sell for $400 rather than a fair $80 only to have someone else take that $320 difference, same thing here. 

[MrTPlush]

5 hours ago, brooks_quichenick said:

They've been using dynamic pricing for a few years now at least, IIRC. There's no real algorithm, my understanding is that it's similar to Platinum ticketing for concert venues, where a pricing team monitors what similar tickets are going for on the resale/secondary market, and then prices their Platinum tickets to be more in line with those prices.

No way they are wasting money on people to do it. Definitely a computer, mostly. Last I knew the Brewers were cutting off a lot of ‘fat’ as far as employees. No reason to have employees track prices…if a dude can make a Twitter page to track celebrity airplanes, ticket tracking software is elementary stuff.

It isn’t entirely due to secondary prices as Labor Day is dirt cheap, yet Brewers are pricing very very premium.

[JosephC]

Since I no longer go to games, I had no idea that ticket prices have jumped as much as they have.

Just want to point out that Attanasio cut the opening day payroll by 13.1+ million from 2022 to 2023, and then cut it another 14.4+ million dollars from 2023 to 2024.  Over a 20% cut in the last two years.  The 2024 opening day payroll is $87,351 more than it was in 2015 (yes, less than 100k).  All this can be verified over at Cot's Baseball Contracts, feel free to go over there and double-check the math and figures.  Add in the free 500 million Attanasio got from the state, and it sure seems the fans are getting the short end of the stick.

Stuff like this is exactly why I stopped going to games, have no desire to visit AmFam Field anytime soon or buy any Brewer's merchandise.

[wiguy94]

12 minutes ago, JosephC said:

Since I no longer go to games, I had no idea that ticket prices have jumped as much as they have.

Just want to point out that Attanasio cut the opening day payroll by 13.1+ million from 2022 to 2023, and then cut it another 14.4+ million dollars from 2023 to 2024.  Over a 20% cut in the last two years.  The 2024 opening day payroll is $87,351 more than it was in 2015 (yes, less than 100k).  All this can be verified over at Cot's Baseball Contracts, feel free to go over there and double-check the math and figures.  Add in the free 500 million Attanasio got from the state, and it sure seems the fans are getting the short end of the stick.

Stuff like this is exactly why I stopped going to games, have no desire to visit AmFam Field anytime soon or buy any Brewer's merchandise.

So you're on a Brewers fan forum bragging about not being a Brewers fan anymore? That's a bit confusing.