January 4, 2010

Ten things you could buy instead of a Bon Jovi tour ticket

It's no surprise that fans are less than thrilled with the skyrocketing prices of Bon Jovi's tour tickets - both from the Lost Highway tour, and now The Circle. For the first time since I joined the fan club, I actually bought tickets to their shows on Ticketmaster instead of through the FC. Why, you ask? Because Backstage was asking a good $10 MORE than Ticketmaster for a seat restricted to OUTSIDE the circle section (meaning higher than row 10)...put it this way: I could pay a total of $154.25 (including service charges and tax) and get a chance at anything row 1 and up, OR pay $164.50 (and put money in Matt Bongiovi's pocket) for anything behind row 10. Call me crazy, but I'll save the $10.25.

And that's not to mention INSIDE the circle section - the apparently now-coveted 10 rows within the catwalk's ring that cost a whopping $354 for ticket only. Or don't forget the 5 different VIP packages, all at varying prices as well.


In any case, prices are outrageous. So Bjorn and I composed a list of ten things you could buy with a standard ticket price, and a fan club ticket price. Mind you, I bought three tickets, so I am by no means shoving this in anyone's face.

It's just for perspective.

For the price of ONE $155.00 average Ticketmaster ticket:

1. Two tickets to see Nickelback or Bruce Springsteen on tour.
2. Two-day park hopper pass to Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
3. Two iPod shuffles.
4. Two Blackberries.
5. A multi-tool Leatherman pocket knife
6. A weekend's hotel stay on the Las Vegas Strip.
7. I could pay the monthly installment on my $10,000 car ($144), my car insurance ($126), or my cell phone bill for two months ($75/month).
8. Groceries for an average 4-person family for a week.
9. A Guitar Hero game pack.
10. All of Bon Jovi's studio albums...and have $$ left over.


These days are looong gone...


For the price of ONE $355 fan club Inside the Circle ticket:

1. An 8GB iPod touch with protection plan, black protective case, and headphones w/ remote and mic - or the 32GB iPod touch with protection plan.
2. An iPhone 3G 16GB
3. A Nintendo Wii console, plus a couple games.
4. A Palm TX PDA
5. A Coach designer purse
6. A brand new full set of all-season tires for your car or truck.
7. A standard 5 piece dinette set (4 chairs + 1 table) at Jerome's or Ikea.
8. Three nights at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
9. A round trip plane ticket from San Diego, CA to New York City, NY (that's cross-country, folks)
10. Ten days at Disneyland or Walt Disney World, with souvenir and food money left over; OR a 3-day vacation package including a hotel suite and dining plan.


Of course, there are a zillion things you could buy for a TOTAL of $155 or $355, but we tried to find things that were close to that price - things you could buy in exchange for a ticket.

So. Make ya think?

3 comments:

The Goddess Hathor said...

It could make one think, but there are dozens of frivolous purchases I make every year that could be used for something else.

In fact, I'm feeding my Jovi habit this year by trading one frivolity for another.

In order to fund my 7 shows, for which the tickets and travel come in at right around $1200 (lodging is free, as I'm staying with friends, or the venue is close enough to home to drive), I've traded in the ~$100/month I spend on hair/nails at my local day spa.

Now, that being said, $100 a month is by no means a substantial portion of my disposable income, but it's still money that isn't going toward family vacations, car payments, mortgage, etc., etc.

But that's my choice.

I haven't seen any stories (well except for that one loony who was going to trade H1N1 vaccines for tickets) about people taking out second mortgages or personal loans to fund their concert goings this tour.

How much you wanna bet that even at the FC prices, the "inner circle" at all the shows is jam-packed?


People will do what they are comfortable doing, and as long as people are willing to pay the prices, tickets will be priced accordingly. You could try to convince people to boycott some shows because of the ticket prices, but frankly, that'd never work. Ever. For every one person who has decided the ticket prices are two high, you have seven battling it out on eBay for tickets.

~ Hath

Becky said...

Hath, I totally agree with you. I fully understand that it's a choice to spend the money on these tickets - like I said, I bought three! This was not intended to rub it in anyone's face or reprimand anyone on their spending habits - and certainly not a lesson on priority. It was just some interesting perspective that Bjorn and I thought of the other day - we realized that for the price of just one of the tickets we bought, we could buy this or that, etc. It was particularly interesting to notice that so many gadgets (phones, PDAs, iPods, etc.) that are so popular now could be bought instead. For example, some people could think $350 for an iPod so-and-so is crazy, but for a fan club ticket, they'd gladly shell it out.

I know the FC section will be packed - as will the $1,500+ VIP slots. It is every time. This was just some interesting perspective that I for one had never thought of before - and I thought it would be interesting to share.

Unknown said...

I would spend more money to see them, BUT they always sell the expensive tickets on Ticketbastard in pairs, and I don't know anyone in my circle of friends that would want to spend 2 or 300 to see Bon Jovi. And I don't want to sell my ticket to some random person and they have them or myself feel obligated to hang out together all night.

I think if you enjoy something you pay for it, I like football so I have NFL season tickets. They cost a lot more than Bon Jovi Tickets and if your team loses its not as enjoyable. I like the Yankees and since I don't like in NY/NJ any more I pay extra money for something I get pleasure from. :)

You also have to understand your own financial situation and live within your means, some people find this very difficult, but they enjoy their lives even if every penny is sent back to a bank @ 26.99% APR. I bought my Bon Jovi ticket while I was unemployed, BUT I had received some severance money and figured I would be employed by the time the concert rolled around, and do you know that afternoon I got my current job offer. That is an awesome day!