the purpose and rules of this 'blog

i've been kutrating shows for about 30 years (and i guess i'm sort of known for it to my friends).  i do it not only because i'm cheap (which i most definitely am), but because i can.

the grumbler -an avid reader of mine- suggested i start 'blogging about it and that is why i am doing this.  i will not be writing a lot about my tips and tricks for getting cheap tickets.  i do this in part because i don't think it would be that interesting for people to read (that's why i haven't talked about this 'blog on the arch) and largely because i'm not interested in educating an audience here ... i'm playing in the margins and don't want to teach a competitor to get better than i am.

at first, at least, it'll mostly be accounting and boring stuff ... like the archipelago, the purpose of what i'm doing here may change over time, but that's what i'm doing right now.

the underlying principle of the KKK:
the price of all tickets, one hour after an event ends, is zero.

tenets of the KKK as i see them:

• with a few notable exceptions, most concerts or events have an intrinsic value of about US$20.  if the event costs more than that, kut it.  
• ticketmaster is an evil organization and should be actively worked against.  (one example: the most recent bridge lawn tickets had *$12* of service fees attached to a $35 face value ticket.)
• never pay face value with two caveats.  one: if the event is less than $20, pay face value to support the organization and encourage the long-term sale of cheap tickets.  two: extremely good seats are sometimes worth face value.
• kutting non-sold-out shows is easier when done in quantity.
• never sell a ticket for more than face value.**
• you don't need 10,000 tickets, you only need one (or two if you're with a friend.)
• changes in venue or date dramatically increase kutting potential
• judge your ticket ticket location based on event, not seating price.  for example, you want to sit further back for the opera, but close for bela flec.

does what i do actually work?  i've probably kut something like 500 events (saving an absolute dead minimum of US$15,000).  to give you a few examples off the top of my head, in the past i have:

• been given a ticket to the world series (american baseball)
• been given a ticket to a sold-out no doubt show
• had oval-side seats at the sold-out cycling velodrome for the barcelona olympics at 85% off face
• saw ten sold-out hockey games for US$5 each at the albertville olympics
• recently saw lady gaga at a solidly sold-out show at the MGM in las vegas for $25 on a $185 face ticket
• due to buying and selling of tickets, i have effectively been paid to see the rolling stones, several bridge concerts and a few other events

i've only been shut out of an event twice: los lobos at the fillmore in san francisco (for a myriad of reasons it's a really hard venue to kut -- the warfield is considerably easier) and another event i can't remember off the top of my head right now.


** i won't act as a seller of something that i also wouldn't buy and for this reason never sell a ticket for more than face value.  solid G, on the other hand, doesn't believe this.  more than once i've gone with him kutting to kut an event watched him score tickets only to then sell them away at a profit, occasionally above face value -- in some cases leaving us out of the event (but profiting) in others putting me in but leaving him outside.  i'm certainly willing to make a profit, but it's not the reason i sometimes buy and sell tickets ... i do it to get mine for less and i never sell for more than face value.

{if you've read this entire article, you may also be interested in the history of the KKK.}