Buying EPL Tickets
This reply is way too late for your trip nomoney25
, but I notice there isn't much advice on the forum for bros to buy EPL tickets.
I've been to watch 3 games over the years at Old Trafford and bought tickets from both a hospitality agent as well as direct from the Man Utd official website.
Anyway, I will share my experience here and hope others who have suggestions/trust sources to buy tickets will chip in too.
There are several ways to buy tickets, and I'll go through the pros/cons for each:
1. Buy direct from the club
2. Buy from fan-to-fan ticket exchanges
3. Buy from an official hospitality agent
4. Buy from online operators
5. Scalp for tickets at the stadium on matchday
1) Buying direct from the club is definitely the safest. As you are purchasing tickets at official prices without any "markup" this is also the cheapest option. For fans of other teams, the process should the same as below.
For United fans, sign up to be an official member on the Official Manchester United Website (it currently costs 35 Pounds for an annual membership and the club will mail you a nice membership pack that includes an annual review, decals, a Man utd pin and membership card).
You'll then be able to buy tickets and choose your seats on the website for Old Trafford matches when they are released. The membership card you receive in the mail is used for entry into the stadium. Please note from experience that tickets on the club website sell pretty fast so some forward-planning is required here.
2) Buy from ticket exchanges .
Now this is where my fun begins... My next trip falls during an away game at Sunderland and unfortunately its proving to be very difficult to get tickets from "official" sources.
Buying tickets officially from Man Utd is out of the question because of the system...Seats for away games are balloted and only season ticket holders can apply. Furthermore, the allocation to away fans is generally very small (depending on stadium size maybe 2k-3k tickets).
I tried to buy from Sunderland AFC club directly to sit in their "home" section but a) this is technically not allowed as I'm not a Sunderland fan and risk being thrown out of the stadium and b) they have a points system where I must clock up enough points (from previous match ticket purchases) before I qualify to buy for a "big" match like this!
I've done some research and there are some ticket exchanges. These marketplaces appear to be quite legit and are where season ticket holders sell their unwanted tickets at any time up to a few days before the match. Tickets usually go for close to the face value of the ticket but do note that the exchange will charge a booking fee on top for the transaction.
The official exchange for Sunderland AFC is listed as StubHub UK. For united fans there are unofficial ones like Red Mancunian, and for all other fans, check out Viagogo (sorry, it seems I'm too junior to post the actual links).
I'm still waiting for the Sunderland v Man utd tickets ballot to be announced and hope to pick up a away seat ticket on one of these exchanges after. Will keep you guys posted if I am successful.
3) Hospitality agent
I've dealt with hospitality agents before to purchase tickets at Old Trafford. One of note that services a few big EPL clubs is Sporting Affair Ltd (search for Soccerlensweekends) Please not they may not be the "official" or "authorised" agent for your club. They typically offer packages which include hotel stay, match day tickets and lunch in a hospitality suite before kickoff. You could just opt for match day ticket without all the frills if you want. I recommend these guys for fellow Man utd fans because the tickets they are the official hospitality agent. Furthermore, the tickets were delivered to my Manchester hotel the day before kick off as promised and their staff were always on hand to answer my queries.
4) Buy from online operators
This is really touch-and-go and the price you pay can be seriously inflated. Be warned that many of these online operators often don't have the tickets yet! How they operate is they will accept your money (with no refund for cancellation) first, and then look for sellers to fill your order. There are a lot of things that can go wrong here and some of the horror stories you commonly hear is non-delivery of tickets and split seating (especially if you are looking for more than 2 tickets). Another problem is that non-season tickets are generally dispatched only one week prior to kickoff, so even if there is a genuine willing seller you are at the mercy of the UK postal services.
I am generally very weary of these guys but if you must use them, make sure you do your research online for reviews, pay with Paypal if possible, and opt to have the tickets delivered to your UK hotel or address - they won't have enough time to deliver overseas.
5) Buy from scalps
This is really the last resort imo. Scalps will always be outside sporting events and concerts selling tickets at inflated prices. Beware that some of these tickets may be fake. Also, for people travelling so far to see our teams in action, and in my case a 3 hour train ride from London, is buying at the door really a viable option?
I hope this helps people and hopefully more seasoned bros can share their experiences too!
