GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The Wisconsin Badgers are in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2013 and that means fans are going to be scrambling to pick up tickets.
Tickets officially went up for sale at the University of Wisconsin’s official ticket website on Tuesday. As ticket supplies dwindle from official sources people may turn to the secondary market where the Better Business Bureau’s Susan Bach says there may be some danger.
“We know excitement is high,” Bach said. “But we just want to keep people from showing up in Pasadena with no hotel room, no tickets, no travel package…”
That’s happened before. Bach says the last time the Badgers were in the Rose Bowl they received several complaints of fake tickets and merchandise being sold by third parties.
“All ticket brokers are not the same…you want to make sure you check their reputation on places like BBB.org before you purchase,” Bach told WTAQ.
If you wind up using a site like Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook marketplace, Bach says to use extreme caution.
The BBB offers these recommendations for fans, no matter how they’re purchasing their tickets:
- Try to purchase tickets through the team’s official websites. If tickets are sold out and you need to go through a re-seller, make sure to look the business up on bbb.org to see its BBB rating, complaint history and reviews from past customers. Before buying, read the refund and guarantee policies carefully to see if there are any buyer protections.
- If purchasing from an online auction site, like eBay, never leave the website to finish a transaction; you will lose protection a website like eBay provides.
- Try to buy from someone who is local and has a good history of satisfying customers. Check other consumers’ feedback before purchasing tickets from the seller.
- If you are buying tickets through an online classified ad site, never pay the seller by wire transfer. You will have no way to get your money back if the tickets do not arrive or are counterfeit. Use either a credit card or Paypal, so that charges can be disputed if there is a problem with the tickets.
- Ask the seller to email you a picture of the tickets, including a receipt or other proof that the tickets are not counterfeit. Scrutinize the picture carefully, looking for any alterations or inaccuracies, and cross-check the seat assignment with the map on the venue’s Web site before you buy.
- Never go alone to pick up tickets purchased from someone online, and always meet in a public place. The “seller” knows when and where you’re going to be, and that you’re carrying a lot of cash. He/she may be setting you up to get robbed.
- If purchasing a package, ask for the name, address and phone number of the hotel where the room is located, and call the hotel to verify that the room actually exists. Check the hotel’s website or a well-known travel site to be sure that the location is convenient for getting to and from the stadium.
- Be wary of ads that pile on incentives to make the package look better. Often the items – such as lanyards, T-shirts or other trinkets – have limited value.
- Be careful buying tickets from someone on the street. When you get to the gate and find out your tickets aren’t real, the seller will be long gone.
- Lastly, no matter how excited you are for the upcoming game, do NOT post photos of your tickets on social media sites. Scammers often try to replicate tickets using bar codes that could prevent you from getting into the game in the first place.
The BBB also offers this advice to keep fans from purchasing counterfeit fan apparel:
- Make sure you’re buying from the college’s official team site or a reputable website that’s legally allowed to sell NCAA gear. Authentic apparel will always have the correct fonts, colors and spelling, attached tags will usually have hologram stickers, and there won’t be any loose threads or other signs of poor quality
- Beware of phony websites that appear to sell official team merchandise but instead are selling poor-quality, counterfeit merchandise. Look for valid, working contact information for the company on its website, and that the company is located in the United States, before making a purchase. Also, confirm details like a promised delivery time and refund or return policies.
If you do come across a fraudulent business, share your experience. Write a BBB Customer Review or post your experience on BBB Scam Tracker and help other fans avoid the con. For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002.
