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A Breakdown of MLB Ticket Surcharges

Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times has been breaking down the order charges associated with baseball tickets for some time.  Yesterday he posted about some of the new numbers for this year.  The Mets were roughly middle of the pack until Citi Field opens, but now as most of you are probably aware, there is a ticket fee and an order fee.  This year they’ve added a fee to mail you the tickets, so the cheapest option is a $2.50 surcharge to print them yourself.  All teams seem to do this, despite it basically costing them nothing to email you the tickets.

 

Dilbert.com
Felt applicable to me.

 

I poked around a little bit myself with what I could find in my email regarding ticket prices over the years.   Jaffe has total costs listed back through 2007, but I found some from before that.

 

For the 2007 and 2008 Playoffs there was a $12 per ticket fee, but no order fee.

 

Jaffe lists the Mets price as $6.50 in 2007.  I don’t doubt him, but the only receipt I have from that year is for the Yankees, and it’s  $9.25. ($4.75 + $4.50)

 

In 2005 there appears to be no per ticket fee, or it was built into the price on the receipt, and there was a $3.00 order fee.  The prices of the tickets appear $6 higher than the price of the same ticket in 2004, so I suspect that’s the order fee.

 

In 2004 the per ticket fee was $6.00 and there was a $2.50 order fee.

 

So lots of order fees and surcharges through the years.  Luckily there are also ticket deals, and you still can get tickets at the ballpark without any fees at all.

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New Mets Ticket Specials

Way back before Citi Field’s construction, and a playoff berth, prompted a surge in attendence at the Mets home ballpark they often offered ticket deals via Wendy’s, or LIRR, or the always popular “Bring a Pepsi Can, sit in the picnic area” deal.

Well, with dwindling demand this year the Mets have again started in on some of these promotions. 

You may have noticed an increased presense by Pepsi this year, particularly Pepsi MAX.  Pepsi is really pushing their diet soda this year, and being a big sponsor of the Mets it’s particularly evident at Citi Field.  Last Wednesday they were giving away samples before the game next to a giant inflated Pepsi MAX bottle and a pitch speed tent they had set up. 

On Friday they had huge bins of free Pepsi MAX cans to give away to Mets fans as they exited the park.

They also have a ticket special;  Pepsi MAX Mondays. 

“In partnership with Pepsi, you can now maximize your outing at Citi Field with Pepsi MAX Mondays. Starting at $80 you can get 4 Monday game tickets in the Pepsi Porch and 4 Pepsi Fountain Sodas.”

 

They’ve got the BJs Club-House sections, specially priced at $10 for kids and $20 for adults.

McFadden’s always has special happy hour packages than include tickets.

And McDonalds has a deal where if you donate $1 to the Ronald McDonald House you can get select tickets 50% off to value games in May and June.  Tickets will cost anywhere from $14 to $48 after the discount.  Plus the donation and normal ticketing fees of course.