Check your 2013 SF Giants Pre-Sale Tickets for Overcharges

Did you buy any Giants tickets for the 2013 season during the period from Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to December 31, 2012?  You might want to check your tickets if you were overcharged.

The SF Giants offered a pre-sale of their tickets to be sold for all games from March to the end of June 2012 (except the first series for home opening).  I was one of the lucky ones to go to the Giants Dugout at AT&T Park on Black Friday at 10AM to purchase tickets at the first opportunity available and not pay the surcharges versus buying online or at satellite Dugout Store locations.

While my father and I was able to get the game tickets we wanted, a week later, I wanted to compare the tickets we paid for to the updated dynamic pricing list.  As you may be aware, Giants tickets are sold on a marketing system where high demand tickets will be sold at higher prices, and in 98% of cases, buying a ticket at first availability will be the cheapest and the cost will rise until the day of game.

It turned-out, while the ticket prices rose on a handful of them, I noticed an unusual anomaly on one of our game tickets.  On the day we bought our tickets, I printed the dynamic pricing list and was supposed to pay $62 per ticket in the Lower Box section.  Instead, the ticket printed out at $80 each, an $18 difference.  On the day I discovered the problem, the correct price was raised by $1, from $62 to $63.

Since the dynamic pricing doesn't change the same day you print-off the list, I had the price list in hand as evidence we got ripped-off, and especially since the price only was raised by a dollar within a week.

After making some calls to the Giants to get this problem fixed, they acknowledge something went wrong when we purchased the tickets and refunded my father and I the difference.

I suggest to everyone to inspect your tickets.  If the price you printed looks too suspiciously high, you should contact the Giants ticketing services office.  But before you start accusing them of bad business, be aware that you may have been charged extra for any of the following: Ticket service surcharges, paid for a ticket that includes a special ticket to an event or promotional item (e.g. Cinco De Mayo), or included "Splash Ticket" funds which gives fans extra ballpark spending money (such as: Give them $10, get $12 in funds on game day).

Standing in Line for Four Hours for Giants Tickets on Black Friday

Can you believe it? We are less than a month away until Christmas. Time does fly fast, doesn't it?

Well... time doesn't fly as long as you stand in line for four hours with only twenty people in front of you to buy Giants tickets...

The Horror of Buying Giants Tickets on Black Friday
Did any of you get any Black Friday bargains? For me, I'd say yes, but here's what happened when I was in line buying Giants tickets on the first day of early sales...

• On Black Friday, Giants tickets went on sale at 10AM, and in order to buy tickets without paying the outrageous surcharge, I went to AT&T Park's Giants Dugout store to buy my tickets.
• I stood in line at 9:30AM with 20 people ahead of me and was expecting to get in the door at 10AM, stand in line for no more than 20 or 30 minutes, and get out as quickly as possible. But the horror came when the line was hardly moving...
• Why? They only had one computer working to sell tickets. Their other computer wasn't operational. With only one computer, it took the average person 10 to 15 minutes to buy the tickets they wanted, and a good majority of the fans was unprepared, thinking on the fly on what games they wanted to see.
• To make matters worse, the Dugout store realized after two hours, they needed extra workers to run the other ticket computers at the glass window sales booths on King Street. One they got those working, they decided to mishandle the next in line customers by allowing the people in the back of the line to get to the glass window booths first, therefore someone like me, #20 in line, got royally screwed over in this fiasco.
  
• In the end, I stood in line for FOUR HOURS just to buy twelve Giants tickets.

Okay, so the Giants Grinch got me again, Giants management making me waste many hours of my life because they were too stupid to use common sense by being prepared for the masses waiting to get game tickets.

On a better note, let's all remember something important:
The holidays are not the same because John Toomey, a.k.a. Santa Claus whom was fired from Macy's Union Square and hired by Lefty O'Doul's, died in late July.

During his stint last holiday season at Lefty's, the message put out showed that us citizens should be generous and donate to needy people in the Bay Area. I decided last year to buy some toys and bring it to Lefty's to donate it to the SF Firefighters toy program, and I was stunned to see the barrel overstuffed full of toys from great people of our city.

This year, I will make sure to donate again, because I know that while I'm thankful to have a job and income, the less fortunate may not be able to buy a toy for their child.

I want to propose a challenge to you readers, make a donation, whether it be a toy, dropping off food at the local food bank, or even spend time at a program like Glide to serve food. Make sure to share the holiday spirit with others, and I'm sure someone out there will appreciate what you have donated.

Akit's (Not So) Secret Tips to Giants Games

With baseball season coming-up fast and the classic Bay Area rivalry of the Giants vs. A's going on for the next few days, I'd thought I'd share with you my favorite secrets, from how to score good parking, save money, time, and to make the game more fun.

Things are going to get a lot more crowded ever since earning the title of World Champions. My best advice is old fashioned patience and have plenty of time before and after the game.

Parking

• I never park my car at AT&T Park because the main lot charges $30, while other nearby lots charges at least $20 or more.
• For free or nearly free parking for night games, park your car near a SF downtown parking meter near the I-80 overpass. Enforcement ends at 6PM and if you arrive early, just a little money in the meter can cover your back, but don't park overnight.
• If you are willing to get free parking in exchange for taking public transit, park at Daly City BART (free parking weekdays after 3PM and all day on weekends).
• Another place to park for free in exchange for taking transit is in the West Portal district or near St. Francis Circle. Once there, you can take the T-Third train and go directly to the ballpark.

Transit to and from the Ballgame

• If you don't have a Clipper card, pre-purchase your return ride home on Muni metro by going to the Muni ticket booth between the Willie Mays Gate and main ticket windows/will call. Do this prior to entering the ballpark, otherwise wait in line to buy when you leave the game.
• If riding BART and taking Muni metro, use a Clipper card for payment and save 25 cents on your Muni ride to and from the ballpark (use the same card).
  
• Beat the mob waiting for a Muni metro train to the ballgame and maybe get a seat too, board at any underground station EXCEPT Embarcadero.

Save on Giants Tickets

• Since ticketing works on a market demand system, it is likely the price of tickets will go up throughout the season. Buy tickets early to save money.
• Defeat the crazy surcharges, buy your tickets for face value at AT&T Park's ticket windows, the Dugout Store (ballpark only), or the advance ticket window (if you are in the ballpark on game day).
• Try your luck with StubHub. Some comes with parking passes, and sometimes the ticketholder will sell it for less than current face value.
• Keep your eyes peeled on the SF Giants website for random ticket deals throughout the year.

Just Fork It (Food)

• Want to go super cheap? Bring your own food and sodas. Just be warned, security will confiscate your plastic soda bottle if the tamper evident seal is broken.
• Bring your own hot dogs, and go for the free (cough!) condiments at the ballpark.
• Can't beat a hot slice of pizza at Amici's for $5.
• Safeway's built to order $5 sandwiches are huge and kick ass.
  
• Best in the park food: Crazy Crab sandwich (behind scoreboard), Club Level's garlic fries because it's cooked crispy, and seat delivered ice cream sundaes.
  

Good Seats

• Without a doubt section 315, view reserved. Best view directly behind home plate.
  
• Want to interact with the nastyness of Giants vs. Dodgers games? Always sit in the View Reserved or bleacher sections. You get the nutcases, loud yellers, and jokers. Any other section is just too... well... civilized.
  

Others

• It's giveaway day? Bring a paper grocery bag, it's especially helpful for big item giveaways like bobbleheads.
• If it's a sunny day at the game, bring sunblock. Seriously folks, you'll fry.
  
• Free wifi in the park, the best "F" word in town! It's been unreliable and slow for several months and hopefully they'll fix it.
  
• Love wearing Giants gear, but don't want to pay full price? Check Amazon and the MLB online shop for occasional sales of all merchandise. You'll pay much more at the ballpark for certain items, example: Giants jacket at ballpark is $165, MLB website costs $124.
  
• Get a ticket holder & lanyard. You can't lose your game ticket, and doubles as a transit pass/transfer holder.

Let's go Giants! Clap clap, clap clap clap.

If you are wondering about the photo, I snapped a shot of Larry King at the ballgame in 2007.

Buying Giants 2011 Tickets - World Series Title a Curse on Ticket Prices?

UPDATE: I compared the price list I printed on 1/31 to today (2/3) and the games I chose to purchase tickets all went up in price, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC DIDN'T EVEN GET A SHOT AT PURCHASING UNTIL SATURDAY AT 9AM! This is highway robbery. Read more from a more recent post.

(Original Post)
I've been a San Francisco Giants fan all my life as I've been living in one of the most gorgeous cities in the world my entire life. As a fan, I carry a fun collection of items, from orange Giants logo neckties, a hat with tons of pins I've collected throughout the years, Giants jacket and jersey, and so many more great items and photos I've taken.

I'm proud our team won the World Series title in 2010 and our city will be cherishing it forever, but I feel there's a big curse placed on all of us for earning the title of "champions."

That curse, overpriced 2011 Giants tickets.


History about Giants Ticket Pricing
In 2010, the San Francisco Giants imposed the "Dynamic Pricing" ticketing system on all seats where tickets was based on an algorithm (for you non math folks, a demand system) where ticket prices would vary every day and would go up or down based on factors like opposing team, day or night, weekday or weekend, pitcher, giveaway, winning streak, and other factors. The dynamic pricing system gave the power to the SF Giants to change the pricing of tickets at any moment.

Prior to 2010, Giants tickets was always sold on a rigid pricing schedule. At least a few years ago, all single game tickets cost the same, regardless if it was a rival team or one that was easy to defeat. In 2009, the Giants decided to experiment with a modified version of dynamic pricing by charging fans a slightly higher price for tickets for "feature games" and "premium games." Those teams that are doing well or was the big bad rivals of the Giants (e.g. Dodgers). Interestingly, the Giants still have their 2009 pricing list online.

In my opinion, the dynamic pricing schedule is more of a way to rake in more money while the rigid pricing schedule made it easy for us fans to know how much we can spend in our own personal budgets. Based on the 2010 tickets I purchased, I noticed all the ticket prices go up from just a few dollars to double the cost of what I purchased. I was smart to buy my tickets early to get the best deal, but others who buy spontaneously gets penalized with much higher ticket prices for the same section I'd be sitting in.

But now that our team is the world champions, the fame and glory comes at a heavy price to us, the fans. Just today, the Giants allowed fans with Visa cards to purchase tickets two days prior to the sale of single game tickets to the general public. Due to dynamic pricing, some ticket prices have jumped to drastic levels, even for games against our rivals, the LA Dodgers.

Here's a comparison of ticket prices for Giants vs. Dodgers home games:

• 2011 dynamic pricing for View Reserved Infield: From $31.25 to $45.50 (as of 2/3/11). Average ticket price is $35.94 (using the mean average).
  
• 2009 "premium game" pricing for same section: $32.00 for all SF/LA games.

Would you pay $45 to see the Dodgers? Hell no. I wished the Giants disbanded this awful dynamic pricing system and just set-up the old fashioned rigid schedule so everyone can get a fair shot at buying tickets. Baseball tickets is not an airplane flight where the person next to you paid $20 less and the one in front of you paid an extra $30.

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Here's some pro tips to good ticket prices:

• Stubhub is the legal scalping marketplace, but you will pay a surcharge. Many season ticketholders want to sell their tickets to games they can't make it to, so you benefit with lower prices and extra perks like parking included.
  
• Buying at AT&T Park waives all surcharges, except if you use the automated machines at the park, you'll pay a one time 50 cent fee regardless if you buy one or 50 tickets.
• Costco is still selling the Giants ticket vouchers. $62 for two view reserved infield tickets to any game (except opening day and night), and includes $20 for day-of-game food and souvenir purchasing ($10 per ticket). If you can find a game valued at more than $21 per ticket for the same section, you save money. If you can find a game valued at $31 or more, the day-of-game food/gift benefit is literally free.
  

Comparing SF Giants Dynamic Pricing and StubHub - Many can Save a Lot of Money

If you buy San Francisco Giants baseball tickets directly from the Giants, you may be paying more than what you bargained for. I've previously argued the new dynamic pricing system is flawed, and while the Giants has made an effort to keep their prices up-t0-date, it's highly likely you could get better prices and better seats by doing some research.

There are three types of Giants ticket buyers:

1. Season ticket fans always get the best prices because they agree to buy a ticket to every home game and usually comes with the right to buy postseason tickets. Depending on where you want to sit, the per ticket price is typically lower or the same as the price for single tickets. See ticket pricing and map.
2. Pre-season and early ticket buyers: Since the SF Giants now uses the dynamic pricing system to sell their tickets, once the ticket prices are released, it's generally the best time to buy single game tickets. In many cases, its likely the ticket prices will be raised as time progresses to game day. Review dynamic pricing list.
   
3. "Fair weather fans:" If you are the type that decides to buy last minute or decide it's a beautiful day to attend a game, you are going to pay the highest ticket prices for a baseball game when buying direct from the SF Giants. If you were to purchase a ticket for this Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, you will currently pay $34.00 for a view reserved infield seat. The starting price was $13.50, and the dynamic pricing system slowly raised it to $17 just a few weeks ago.

This blog entry is to help all you "fair weather fans" get a better deal in buying Giants tickets without screwing around with the rip-off dynamic pricing system.

So... what's my answer? Ticket scalping.

No, I'm not going to tell you to see one of those ticket scalpers across the street from the ballpark because people could sell their tickets to the scalper, but the ticket could be a fraud or voided thanks to the new barcode system on every ticket that allows a ticket holder to sell their tickets or transfer them to a friend electronically.

As some of you may know, Major League Baseball has allowed StubHub to be the official online marketplace for baseball ticket holders to sell their tickets, and for fans to buy seats at a steep discount. It's a popular choice for season ticket holders because if they can't make it to certain games, they can attempt to sell their ticket and make money off of it.

How can a "fair weather fan" score a great deal?

• One big advantage of StubHub over buying tickets directly from the Giants is you can choose what specific section you want to sit in. It will also tell you the row and seat numbers too. Some ticket sellers also gives a description of the location, such as "behind home plate" or "near Kville."
• Using your web browser's tab features, open a new tab for StubHub for the SF Giants, and a new tab for the Giants dynamic pricing page. (PC users: hold control and click; Mac users, hold the Apple key and click). Pick a game you are interested in with StubHub and start comparing tickets.
• When comparing tickets, I recommend selecting a seating zone you may be interested in sitting in (e.g. left field bleachers, lower box, etc.). Based on what you select, compare the prices between the dynamic pricing list and what the ticket sellers are offering. In many cases, you will find tickets that costs LESS than what the SF Giants will sell to you, especially in the case if you are buying with less than week before the ballgame.
• Lastly, when comparing tickets, don't forget to take into account the surcharges. StubHub will always charge a surcharge of about $4.95. If you buy direct from the Giants, either online or an official retail outlet such as a Dugout Store, you will pay about a 17% surcharge; you can get a ticket surcharge free by going to a ticket window at AT&T Park, the advance ticket window inside the park, or the Giants Dugout Store at AT&T Park. Remember, the dynamic pricing list changes frequently.
  

Let's try one, shall we? Here's the criteria:

1. I want to buy a view reserved infield ticket to this Friday's game against the Diamondbacks (May 28th).
2. The SF Giants dynamic pricing page tells me a ticket will cost me $22 each (not including surcharges). If I were to purchase online, one ticket with surcharges will cost me $25.75 (with free will call option).
   
3. StubHub sellers are selling their view infield reserved tickets starting at $10 each. The e-ticket surcharge is $4.95 for a total of $14.95 a ticket. If I purchased two or more tickets, the e-ticket surcharge is a would not multiply by how many tickets I ordered, it's just one flat price. Two tickets would be a total of $24.95.

In the end, StubHub's ticket sellers can sell me two tickets for less than the price of one! If I went surcharge-free by visiting AT&T Park today and only bought one ticket, just an extra $2.20 would get me an extra ticket for the same ticketing zone.

A little bit of digging around can help you save lots of money. Now go spend the money you saved on some garlic fries and I'll see you at the game!

SF Giants Dynamic Ticketing System Could be Ripping You Off

The San Francisco Giants is the first Major League Baseball team to sell all their tickets through "dynamic pricing" where tickets are sold at market value and varies on a number of factors:

• The popularity of the team. Dodgers games always costs more.
• Who will be pitching at the games.
• How the Giants are doing. Winning streak or getting a major ass kicking?
• Giveaways such as bobbleheads and tote bags.
  

The ticket pricing structure is similar to airlines that raise and lower prices depending on factors like the travel season (major holidays, events, etc.), and popularity.

From my understanding, the Giants are doing this so they can fill-up the stadium. Very popular games and giveaways will always bring in the fans, no matter how high the price will be. For very unpopular games or situations where the Giants are not doing so great, they will lower prices to reflect it so they can fill-up the stadium for bargain seekers.

The old way they used to do it is the prices never changed regardless of whatever team was visiting. Just a year ago, they changed the structure to a program where the most affordable seats was during weekday games, second most expensive was Friday-Sunday, and they also had "premium" games for those popular visiting teams visiting AT&T Park regardless of what day the games were held.

I find the dynamic pricing structure to have some serious problems. (Crazy Crab would be pissed) The dynamic pricing master list is posted on the SF Giants website and reflects pricing for all games this season, including ones that have already concluded. I would assume many of you would believe this is the official market pricing for games, if I were to buy a ticket immediately through their ticketing contractor, Tickets.com.

Actually... that is the big problem. The dynamic pricing list doesn't reflect the actual prices offered by Tickets.com. When you click on the "T" square on the far left, the prices don't match up for games for about the next 30 days.

• Example: I want to get a ticket for the view reserved infield section on May 29th. The dynamic pricing list shows a ticket will cost me $13.00 (face value). But, when I click on the "T" symbol, the ticketing website tells me the area costs $15.50 per ticket, an increase of $2.50 per ticket.

Nearly all the games I've checked-out for the next 30 days shows a similar pattern. The dynamic pricing list shows a lower ticket cost, but Tickets.com continues to sell the Giants tickets at a higher face value cost.

I've written to the SF Giants about this problem and they said "the price list is the base price at the beginning of the season." I argued that is not true. They have changed prices on a frequent basis on the dynamic pricing page and it has been properly reflected on the Tickets.com website, until now. The example I provided is I purchased a ticket to an exhibition game against the Oakland A's at AT&T Park and paid $3.50 per ticket (face value) and the price was the same as the dynamic pricing list I printed out earlier that day. When the game approached, the dynamic pricing list was updated and reflected the new price, $5 a ticket. Basically, their representative who replied back to me basically said something that is not true.

It leaves fans confused about how the system works. Who is maintaining the accurate market rate prices on the tickets? Should we trust the dynamic pricing list to tell its fans what the actual prices are, or should we trust it in the ticketing processor, Tickets.com? Fair weather fans may just decide to abandon buying tickets from the Giants (via Tickets.com) because they would refuse to pay a higher price for a ticket when the dynamic pricing list mentions a lower price.

It would be in the best interest of the SF Giants to simply continue to update the dynamic pricing list while Tickets.com has the same exact prices reflected.

I find that people depend on that pricing list to see if the tickets they previously purchased has gone up or down, but also for those who want to buy tickets to rely on that list when purchasing, whether it be online or in-person. Also, the list is useful for those people selling their extra tickets on Stubhub; if they want to sell their ticket with a minimum financial loss, they'd view the dynamic pricing list and sell the ticket at a lower cost than what the Giants are offering. But if it's for a popular game and they want to sell it quick while making extra money, the list is also helpful to see how much the Giants are charging.

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Here's my e-mail conversation with the Giants:

Initial question:
I want to make you aware that while your dynamic pricing list shows the pricing of seats in all the sections, I was looking at a few games for the next month (including 5/29) and while upper deck reserved infield on dynamic pricing says $13.00, clicking to order the tickets online says the price is $15.50. Other games reflect a difference around $1 to as much as $2.50 difference between the dynamic page and online ordering via Tickets.com.

SF Giants Response:
Thank you for contacting us. Yes, we are aware of the current price changes from the pricing list. Although some prices change, some stay the same. Keep in mind that prices change as we sell tickets for those events in advance. The price list is the base price at the beginning of the season.

Regards,
Ticket Services SF Giants

My reply:
Thanks for the e-mail, but I need to inform you that people will always believe the dynamic pricing webpage maintained on the Giants website is the true prices, and will reflect it when purchasing it online or through an official ticket office (e.g. Giants Dugout stores).

Here's a perfect example:
Once the dynamic pricing list was released to the public, I purchased a ticket to the first two pre-season games against the Oakland A's. The price I paid for at the Giants Dugout at AT&T Park was $3.50 each (no surcharge) and the same price was reflected on the dynamic pricing page. But, when the game day was approaching, the price on the dynamic website was raised to $5.00 a seat and was also reflected on the ticket purchasing as well. In this example, there is no grounds to your claim that the "price list is the base price at the beginning of the season" as your list has been shown to change on a near daily basis on the dynamic pricing list.

The fans depend on your dynamic pricing list to see if it's a good time to buy a ticket; and that price should be immediately reflected if they buy it immediately online or buy it in-person at a tickets.com outlet with a list very recently printed from their computer.

$10 tickets for $20? AT&T Park ticketing surcharge crazy

Have you ever seen such a rip-off on event tickets?

AT&T Park is hosting the Supercross event where motorcyclists race against each other on a huge dirt track for one night only.

So... AT&T Park is promoting these great seats for just $10... or is it?

Take a look at the photo and you'll see that when you add all the service fees, you are paying 100% more (double) the cost of the face value of the ticket. THAT TOTALLY SUCKS.

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Even crazier is that the UFL is coming to AT&T Park by hosting three football games for the new team known as the "California Redwoods." Since season tickets are not that expensive, I went down to the Giants Dugout Store at AT&T Park to purchase tickets, knowing well that by buying advance tickets at the event site, you DON'T PAY A SURCHARGE. I saved over $35 for this Giants baseball season and picked out the best seats in the house.

With that in mind, I spoke to one person who could not find it in the computer. A co-worker came by and said that non-Giants tickets are sold there, but a surcharge would also need to be paid. I refused to pay the fee because every person knows that it's surcharge free when purchased on-site.

I even tried the automated machine (which I was told was not working by the idiotic employee), and they only sold Giants tickets.

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What's your thoughts? Should surcharges be levied on people who wants to see events?

Should there be a state law that regulates the maximum a service fee/surcharge can be levied? Some charge 17%, UFL tickets average 13%, while the Supercross event can charge up to 100%.

Costco Selling Discounted Tickets for KING TUT Exhibit at De Young Museum - $26.99!

Just yesterday (Tuesday), I visited Costco El Camino to grab a copy of the new Family Guy DVD, and a great bargain showed up...

If you have not purchased your tickets for the King Tut exhibition happening at the De Young Museum starting in about ten days (ends in late March), now is the time to purchase your tickets.

Costco is selling the King Tut exhibit tickets WITH audio tour for ONLY $26.99 EACH. (No tax)

To compare prices, here's what you get by going online through Ticketmaster:

• Regular ticket price: $27.50, $3.75 service fee, free will-call or standard mail, and $7 for the audio tour. TOTAL: $38.25.
• American Express cardholder special: $22, $3.75 service fee, free will-call or standard mail, and $7 for the audio tour. TOTAL: $32.75.

Using COSTCO: You SAVE AT LEAST $5.76 and up to $11.26.

(When you buy it at Costco, you are given a voucher with a special code. You go online to the the website specified, claim the code, and purchase your ticket any day and time of your choice.)


Some tips for you crazy folks trying to get to the De Young:
TAKE THE BUS. Yeah, I hate Muni, but it's going to be totally worth it. Although the CultureBus will eventually have a painful death, the 44 bus takes you right in front of the museum. If you don't mind walking a little, the 5 and 71 drops you off at the entrance of Golden Gate Park, and the N-Judah is an extra block walk from the entrance of the park.

If you feel nuts to take your car, use this train of thought: "How early should I arrive to park my car?" Now, add an extra 2 hours to that.

In all honesty, if you have to take the car, be prepared to make it an all day trip. You may want to find a parking space deep in the avenues of the Outer Richmond District and take 5-Fulton to the museum. Good luck finding a space in that expensive garage or something nearby (yeah right).

SF Giants Ticket Deals - Like Insane Deals

Some bad news, Costco doesn't sell the discounted ticket cards anymore because the cards were only valid to buy tickets for the months of April, May, and June. But don't worry folks, if you still have a card and don't claim it for tickets, it's converted into a gift card and redeemable for concessions and general tickets.

Never fear! Ticket bargains are still here!

• The "K-Zone" program will offer $6 discounts per ticket for the Giants/A's game this Friday, June 12th. Buy tickets here and use promo code "GIANTSK". Valid sections for discount: Club level outfield and left field, lower box, bleachers, view box accessible, view reserved, and view reserved outfield.
  
• SF McDonald's restaurants have discount codes (I can't tell the promo code here, might get me in trouble) for you to buy two tickets for $26.00. With all the surcharges for buying it online (it's the only option), it comes out to $34.00 (use will call or standard mail). But on the brighter end, upper reserved seats are just $17 each, a minimum savings of $1, but can save more on the better teams and weekend tickets. Not valid on A's and Dodgers games, but the code is valid for ALL GAMES remaining in the season.
• In celebration of Randy Johnson's 300 wins, $10 gets view box and view reserved outfield tickets for Saturday, June 20th's game. Order here and use promo code: "RANDY". What a bargain since regular view box seats for that evening cost $30 each.
• "K-Ville" offer gives you a lower box or arcade seat with a t-shirt, foam "K," and a stored value to buy food and gifts. It costs $55, but the stored value can be up to $20 if you choose an arcade seat, meaning you chew on $20 worth of garlic fries and spend $35 for the ticket, free shirt, and foam novelty item. Order tickets here. Limited selection of games.
  

Just so I don't get in trouble, here's my sources for the discounts:
K-Zone info. Promo code posted online at Giants site.
McDonald's promo information. Promo code only available at restaurants.
$10 tickets for Saturday, June 20 game. Main Giants website, promo code posted in the "Giants Jottings" section of page.
K-Ville tickets information page. No promo code needed.


Also, a tasty food deal at McGraw's Grill locations in the ballpark: Burger, fries, and small soda for $8.75. It's not advertised heavily as the hot dog meal (hot dog, peanuts, and drink) at the Doggie Diner locations, but it's hiding on the regular menu board at McGraw's. Upgrade for garlic fries is a small surcharge, but well worth it.

Plus, save 50 cents if you take BART and Muni metro to/from the ballpark. Remember to pre-purchase your Muni fare before exiting the Embarcadero BART station, or grab a BART/Muni discount coupon before leaving any of the other stations. For the discount coupon, claim the first portion with the Muni station agent, and when buying your return ticket from the ballpark, surrender the other half to the ballpark employee. More info here on how I advocated to get AT&T to accept the discount coupons.

For more ballpark deals, visit the "Fan Value Corner" section.

Save Money: Costco (Xbox Live Renewal) and SF Giants Tickets, but not Virgin Megastore

In this economy, every dollar counts. Some like to call it "stretching the dollar" but in reality, if you literally stretched that dollar, you'd tear it and the bank will shake their head and ask why did you rip that bill.

What can you really find these days that are a huge savings? Let's take a look at two places you can go to save some dough, and one place that you should just avoid.

Costco: As pictured, my Xbox 360 Live "Gold" membership was about to expire and I didn't notice until I walked around that they were selling the 12 month renewal cards for $10 less than at normal retail at other places like Best Buy. The renewal card at Costco is $39.99, while other places sell them for $49.99.

Costco.com used to be the only place that would sell the discounted renewal cards; now they are available at the warehouses!!! Right now, Costco.com is selling the renewal cards for the same price, the only catch is you still have to pay for shipping.

Interesting fact: Typically if you buy video games, the prices stay the same wherever you go, but Costco can shave at least $5 off the bill. Even the video game console packages sold at Costco is like getting an extra controller and a couple of games for free.

San Francisco Giants Tickets: Sports games tickets are so damn expensive... I've heard that plenty of times. It's so easy these days to buy them online or at your nearest ticket outlet retailer, but when you see how much you paid for that ticket, the surcharges makes you want to vomit.

The big secret is to spend a couple of dollars for Muni and an hour of your time to visit AT&T Park's Giants Dugout store and buy your ballgame tickets at their office in the back of the store. You buy them at face value and pay nothing extra. If you are in the ballpark for a game and buy a future ticket at the advance ticket window, there's no surcharge, but may charge a one-time 50 cent fee; plus, go there if you want to upgrade to a better seat.

Say a ticket on the upper deck costs $20, AT&T Park's ticket office sells them for $20; but head online and pay a 17% surcharge and an extra fee for will call or print-at-home, or buy them at an official ticket outlet (any other Giants Dugout store) and pay the 17% surcharge.

I bought four tickets for the season for $159 at the ballpark's dugout store ticket office, but if I bought them all online or at a different ticket outlet, I would spend an EXTRA $27.03.

One place to stay away from is the Virgin Megastore. While they claim that "everything is up to 40% off" it's really just a laughing joke. I was there yesterday and "40% off" was only on the magazines. DVDs were only 25% off, and any accessories such as iPod speakers was a measly 15%. But you need to read the price tags very carefully. They had new copies of the film "Milk" on their shelves and the sticker price was $25.99, but even with the discount price, you might as well spend your money at Costco where you can get it slightly cheaper.

AT&T Park (SF Giants) - America's Ripoff Joint

I love AT&T Park (aka: Pacific Bell Park, Pac Bell Park, SBC Park, and Telephone Park) because it is a beautiful stadium to watch games. Even sitting at the upper deck gets you great views of the park, the views of the water and East Bay, and doesn't require you to use binoculars to view the game.

But have you noticed that we are getting really ripped off? Like real badly...

Here's a list of things I think is terrible about the ballpark:

• Outrageous prices on tickets. They offer three levels of prices:
• Cheapest tickets are for games on Monday-Thursday.
• "Weekend" tickets are for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games.
• "Premium" games are always against the Dodgers, New York teams, and some A's games.
• Then, the tickets for certain sections go for outrageous prices. Want the crappiest seats in the park? Go for the centerfield bleachers. Worst upper deck seats are the last five sections in left field. They sell for cheap, but who the hell can watch a game in those seats?
• The best seats, therefore the most expensive seats are in the "Lexus" dugout seats, equipped with padded seats, and you are so close to the home plate.
• Just how much for face value? It cost me about $125. This does not include any additional fees.
• The best seats for A's tickets is no more than $90. The cheapest seats for the A's is just $9! Come on AT&T Park.
  
• And how about those ticket fees? They try to nickel and dime you for every time you buy a ticket. If you purchase at a Giants Dougout location (except the ballpark location) or any tickets.com outlet, you get charged a 17% FEE. What the hell is this?
• The best time to buy tickets is when you visit the Dugout store at the ballpark or the advance ticket window. They have a much lower service fee.
• Here's an interesting fact, San Francisco Muni wanted to get a little more money to provide service to the ballpark. They wanted to propose an additional tax on game ticket fees. Hell no.
• To add insult to injury, Muni DOES NOT ACCEPT BART-TO-MUNI transfers when purchasing your ticket to return from the ballpark to BART. What little bitches! I get a 25 cent discount, and I WANT IT!
• And how about the food?
• These guys rip you off so badly. I can easily spend $25 at a ballpark for a half-assed meal. For that money, I can go across the street at Amici's and get myself a large New England Clam Pizza with a soda and possibly some pesto pasta!
• Why half-assed food? Here's something. I ordered a clam chowder in a bread bowl, and while the soup was OK, the damn bread was STALE! So dry, that the bread bowl soaked in soup was dry enough to make me cough for five minutes.
• And to add insult to injury...
• The Giants have now BANNED ALL OPEN BEVERAGES from entering the park, including bottles that have their seal broken.
• Their reply is that this is to prevent underage drinking.
• My answer: It is just another way to rip us off by making us fans purchase beverages that cost nearly three times its regular price at grocery stores and other places.
• Plus, I can't bring in my iced coffee drink from McDonald's

If the Giants wants to stop ripping us off with these outrageous prices, it's time for some changes.

1. Barry Bonds is gone, he was the star attraction, and now you are selling games with about 9,000 seats still available (this happened at last Friday's game). Also, the team is doing terrible. Reduce prices on admission tickets. Eliminate the SRO (standing room only) and use those prices to offer the hardest seats to sell (upper deck left field).
   
2. Lower food prices. It should not cost $4.00 for a Churro (Costco is only $1), and no little hot dog costs $4.50.
3. Cut back on some of these bogus "park safety" rules. Open bottles are OK, as long as it is not beer or liquor. Why not have the staff sniff the liquid? Alcohol has an obvious smell.
4. If you love watching them on TV, write to KNTV (aka NBC 11, the second worst local TV station in San Francisco) and tell them to give it back to KTVU, the ULTIMATE KING OF BASEBALL AND NEWS.
5. It is time to follow other major league parks and offer ALL YOU CAN EAT plans. Our neighbors, the Oakland A's have nosebleed top deck seats with all you can eat food and drink, like hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, sodas, and ice cream. All for the starting price of $35 a ticket. AT&T Park management should use the upper deck left field seats (crappiest in park), and use them for all you can eat plans for a fair price. You'll get a great attendance boost, and with a good choice of food, will be extremely popular.

Well, there's my thoughts. Thanks for reading. If you have any comments on this, please post them on my blog site at: http://www.akit.org/2008/05/at-park-sf-giants-americas-ripoff-joint.html