By Rich Johnson, WTOP.com
WASHINGTON — Sold out? It’s not such an ironclad concept anymore, thanks to dozens of brokers, resellers and individuals trying to make a profit on high-demand concerts by music superstars.
Such is the case with two of 2016’s biggest concerts: Bruce Springsteen and Adele. The boss plays the Verizon Center on Jan. 29, while Adele’s two shows in the same venue are set for Oct. 10 and 11.
Both shows sold out in minutes. But the reseller sites quickly came alive with offers ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Individuals are also trying to cash in, posting tickets on Craig’s List.
A quick scan of several reseller sites came up with tickets for both The Boss and Adele starting at around $240. But that’s for the upper deck behind the stage for Springsteen, and in the nosebleed seats clear across the arena for Adele.
At the top end, $3,300 will get fans a seat on the floor for Adele between the two stages she’ll be using. For Bruce, it’ll cost concertgoers about $2,900 for an up-close seat. But it’s a side view. The stage will front a General Admission standing room section on the main floor. Resellers are asking about $500 for one of those spots.
Elsewhere, good seats for both shows are running anywhere between $400 and $900, depending on the site and the seller. Some sites are actually selling tickets, while others (most notably StubHub) act as a broker between individual buyers and sellers, who set their own prices.
Given that $600 is somewhat near the average price on reseller sites, here’s a tip: For fans with a lot of money to spend up front and who are really good at organizing fellow fans, there are a few suites still available for both the Springsteen and Adele shows.
StubHub is advertising an 18-seat suite for the Springsteen show for $10,500. That averages out to about $600 a seat. A site called TicketNetwork has a 28-seat suite for Adele selling for $17,550. That also pencils out to around $600 a seat.
