9 Tips To Avoid Buying Counterfeit Tickets for Major Sporting Events

Event ticket search engine Ninja Tickets outlines 9 ways buyers can make informed, safe ticket purchases on the web and in person

Potomac, MD (PRWEB) November 12, 2008 -- Despite improvements in technology and security measures, fans continue to fall victim to counterfeit tickets sold for major sporting events. Recent incidents - including a major college football game where 500 fans were scammed - speak to the need for diligence when buying tickets in person and online.

Ninja Tickets (http://www.ninjatickets.com/), a leading event ticket search engine that scans the Internet for the best event tickets and provides fans with unbiased, comprehensive and real-time access to tickets available for major sporting events (http://www.ninjatickets.com/?ag=1), concerts (http://www.ninjatickets.com/?ag=59) and theater shows (http://www.ninjatickets.com/?ag=65), has assembled 9 essential tips for consumers to avoid buying counterfeit tickets on the Web or in person for the Superbowl, College Bowl games, NFL playoffs and other major sporting events approaching in the next few months.

BUYING TICKETS FOR EVENTS ON THE WEB

9. Use Protection - When buying tickets online, buyers should use payment methods that offer the most extensive buyer protection and familiarize themselves with buyer rights for each payment method in the event counterfeit tickets are purchased.

8. Check Legalese - Buyers should locate the ticket holders' rights section of a venue or team Web site. Because this information is often identical to content on back of ticket, matching legalese and content styles can provide an important final check of the ticket's authenticity.

7. Be Wary of Overseas Sellers - International counterfeit ticket sellers are known to price tickets lower than the going rate to reel in U.S. buyers online. If the overseas seller suggests not using Paypal in favor of payment options with less buyer protection - or insist using online payment tools unfamiliar to the buyer - that is a major red flag.

6. Leverage Event Ticket Search Engines (http://www.ninjatickets.com/) - Reputable event ticket search engines have established relationships with the leading online ticket sites and eliminate the need for buyers to hop from site to site speculating on whether the source is legitimate.

5. Vet Online Classified Ads - Craigslist and other online classifies serve as a convenient and popular source for tickets, but are a haven for counterfeiters drawn to the lack of buyer protection.

BUYING TICKETS FOR EVENTS IN PERSON

4. Catch Seller Off Guard - Unscrupulous sellers may carry multiple counterfeit tickets with the same seat number. Buyers can try to catch the seller off guard and ask to see other tickets, and certainly should be suspicious if the seller resists or seems hesitant to fulfill the request.

3. Turn and Tilt - For major sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Series or College Bowl games, legitimate tickets will often use multi-dimensional and multi-color holograms. Turn and tilt the ticket to ensure the holograms - and tickets - are authentic.

2. Examine the Paper - Like cash, an important security feature of tickets is the paper they are printed on. Buyers should look for heavy card stock printed with multiple colors front and back as opposed to lighter paper that doesn't have the feel of a normal ticket.

1. Use Sleuthing Skills - For obvious reasons, counterfeit sellers who lurk around the stadium venue in search of desperate buyers do not want to be anywhere near the gate where buyers enter. If a buyer sees a seller unload tickets and scamper out of sight that is a strong sign he or she is selling counterfeit tickets.

Since launching in 2007, more than $16 billion worth of event tickets have been made available at NinjaTickets.com - in large part because the site has established itself as an unbiased source of event ticket information for buyers. "While the ability to purchase event tickets online has simplified the buying process, an explosion of Web ticket sources raises the risk of confronting counterfeit ticket sellers if proper steps aren't taken," said Cliff Mark, co-founder of Ninja Tickets. "One of the reasons we founded Ninja Tickets was to help eliminate the guesswork for buyers, and provide them with a trusted source for comparing the best event tickets available."

About Ninja Tickets

Potomac, MD based Ninja Tickets searches the Internet for the best event tickets so consumers don't have to - providing ticket buyers with unbiased, comprehensive and real-time access to tickets available for major sporting events, concerts and theater shows. Ninja Tickets unmatched event ticket search engine (TicketEngine™) is powered by its Ninja Tickets Price Rating™ functionality, which ranks tickets based on the 'market value' of each seat - providing buyers with a unique and unbiased view of the best seats for each event. And with the firm's downloadable toolbar, all online ticket results are delivered directly to the user's desktop in real-time - offering access to the hottest tickets at the most in-demand events. Find your ticket at http://www.ninjatickets.com

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