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How to find the best deals on event tickets

Check out these free Web tools for finding the best deals on sports, events, and concert or theater tickets.

Sharon Profis Vice President of Content, CNET Studios
As the Vice President of CNET Studios, Sharon leads the video, social, editorial design, and branded content teams. Before this role, Sharon led content development and launched new verticals for CNET, including Wellness, Money, and How To. A tech expert herself, she's reviewed and covered countless products, hosted hundreds of videos, and appeared on shows like Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and the Today Show. An industry expert, Sharon is a recurring Best of Beauty Awards judge for Allure. Sharon is an avid chef and hosts the cooking segment 'Farm to Fork' on PBS nationwide. She's developed and published hundreds of recipes.
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  • Webby Award ("How To, Explainer, and DIY Video"); Folio Changemaker Award, 2020
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Sharon Profis
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When it comes to looking for event tickets--football games, musicals, plays, and concerts--everyone wants the most bang for their buck: great seats at the cheapest price. Dozens of ticket-vending sites have sprouted in hopes of offering you the best prices, making the task to purchase event tickets pretty frustrating. Who has the best deals and where do you start?

To help you find the best tickets (and be the first person to snag them), we're sharing a few tips to use on your next ticket hunt. Watch the video to find out.

Watch this: Find the best deals on event tickets

Create a Google Alert for Craigslist and eBay
Some of the best deals can be scored on Craigslist and eBay, where tickets are often sold at less than face value. The catch, however, is to be the first person to respond.

To help you monitor new posts, set up Google Alerts.

  • Head to Craigslist.org and find your city. Copy the URL in the address bar.

  • Go to Google.com/alerts and enter site:[craigslist URL] [ticket search term]. For example: site:sfbay.craigslist.org sf giants tickets

  • Decide how often you want to receive new e-mails (as they come, or once a day). Select "All results" for volume. Finally, select the e-mail where you'd like to receive the alerts and click "Create alert."

  • The same process can be applied to keeping tabs on eBay. Simply replace the Craigslist URL with http://www.ebay.com when creating the alert.

Check all ticket vendors at the same time
Instead of checking every single ticket vendor (like StubHub and TicketsNow) for the best price, use SeatGeek.com.

This free Web site gather tickets from many popular vendors and shows you the best prices available. Just head to SeatGeek.com, then find the event you'd like to attend. Select the number of seats you need, and SeatGeek will scour the Web for the best prices from sites like StubHub, Ticketmaster, and Ticketsnow.

SeatGeek has other useful features, like price forecasts and low-price e-mail alerts.