Buying tickets a couple of years ago meant going down to the stadium and standing in line to see what (good) seats were left. Hopefully the lines were not too long, and the interaction with the person behind the window was pleasant and could guarantee a decent seat with the right choice of words.

Fast forward to today where you can go to sites like Ticketmaster and buy tickets without getting dressed, often considered paradise. Tickets are shipped and all you have to worry about is how you’re going to get to the stadium (and whether your friend will ditch you at the last minute).

The online purchase method cuts down on the staffing needed and security around the stadium. Let people take a few minutes and figure out if they want the seats shown to them or not.  And  invite people to a pre-sale event to buy tickets before the general public.

Tickets are shipped by regular mail for free or via express shipping. If you feel so inclined, you can even pay to print an e-ticket. Forgive me if I’m cheap, but they charge you per ticket to display an e-ticket for you to print out at home. That means you pay for the privilege, for the ink, and for the paper on top of the ticket cost. The privilege costs more than the ink and paper.

If that wasn’t already a fantastic experience to look forward to, you get to solve a captcha while still waking up in your PJs.  And to put even more pressure on you after you get through the captcha, you have a specific amount of time to complete each step of the process. If you don’t load the next page before the time is up, you forfeit your “best tickets.”

If you don’t mind the extra fees they tack on for the convenience and the show, it’s a great deal.