How to Use and Print E-tickets for Sporting and Concert Events

Buying sporting or concert tickets online can be expensive when you add in the high commissions or service fees we as consumers pay. Now add in the extra $10-$20 charge for shipping the tickets!

Good for us that ticket companies like Ticketmaster have added the option of downloading and printing the tickets using our home printer for a much cheaper fee. In this article I will explain how e-tickets exactly work.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• computer
• printer
• Adobe reader

1. Understand how e-tickets work. Somewhere on the face of your printed ticket will be a bar code. This bar code is essentially your ticket. The rest of the pictures or words on the tickets can be mangled, however the bar code needs to be clean and legible.
   The venue that you go to use your e-tickets will only allow one person in per bar code. Although, once you download your ticket you could print multiple paper tickets out, only one ticket with that unique bar code will be allowed in. So make sure you protect your e-ticket!

2. Find ticket services that allow you to print tickets out. Now a primary ticket service like Ticketmaster will allow you to select a e-ticket delivery for $1 at almost any time.
   
   However, on the secondary market, ticket brokers like Razorgator, Ticket City, or even a ticket service like Stub Hub, will not give the option of a e-ticket until it gets very close to the day of the event. The main reason behind this is to reduce risk of selling duplicate copies of the same event.

3. Most e-tickets will be delivered in a PDF file. A easy way to download and open this file is through Adobe reader. You can download the Adobe reader for free at www.adobe.com.

4. Once you have an Adobe Reader you can proceed in purchasing your e-tickets from your selected ticket service. Make sure that the ticket service you a re buying from is a reputable ticket broker or service that issues a confirmation number and contact number. So if any thing goes wrong with the tickets, this ticket broker or service will have the resources to fix the problem right away.

5. Once you purchase the tickets you will receive an email with the attachment of the tickets. Simply download the attachment and open up the file using Adobe Reader.

6. Once file is open, simply print the tickets using your home printer. If you do not have a printer, you could go to a library or your local kinkos and print the tickets there.

7. On the day of the event, simply bring your tickets to the venue door. The ticket collector will scan your ticket using the bar code on your tickets and presto, you are in!

Tips & Warnings

• Don't print your tickets out until the day of the event
• Do not email your tickets to your friend risking duplicate copies
• Keep your ticket file safe
• Beware of shady ticket services
• Do not buy e-tickets on the street or on free classifieds like craigslist.