Don't get scammed by phony Reds tickets

You can feel the buzz in the air outside Great American Ball Park.

And like countless other Cincinnati Reds fans, Robin Wessler and her daughter Erica would love to attend a divisional playoff game this week.

"We would love to go," Wessler said. "But we don't have a ticket, so we'll probably watch it on TV."

Tuesday tickets going fast

The good news, according to local ticket reseller 333-SEAT : Plenty of tickets are available, and still at decent prices compared with two years ago when the Reds went to the playoffs for the first time in years.

That's because there is a whole National League Championship series to start planning for, which looks very likely at this point, so fans are not all fighting over seats to one game as they did in 2010.

But tickets to the Tuesday evening game are now going fast, as there's a chance the Reds could wrap up the first series against San Francisco with a three-game sweep. 

It looks unlikely that a game 5 would be needed (the Reds have to win just one more), so all the demand is now for the Tuesday, Oct. 9 game at Great American Ball Park.

Indeed, when 9 News checked StubHub Monndy morning, Oct. 8, we found:

       -Upper deck View Level and Bleacher seats starting around $75, and going well over $100.

       -Lower mezzanine seats start around $90 each, though most Mezzanine seats are now over $100.

Caution about bogus tickets

But how can you be sure you get legitimate tickets, and not some counterfeit reprint?

The Reds had an issue with invalid tickets on opening day, and with the move toward downloadable, printable tickets, scammers are finding new ways to defraud buyers.  

Downloadable tickets are supposed to be coded so they can be printed and used only once, but con artists are always finding new ways to get around security precautions.

How to protect your purchase

The Reds say you should use a legitimate reseller that has a good Better Business Bureau rating, and a money back guarantee if you get conned. ( StubHub and 333-SEAT meet both criteria)

With a street vendor or a private party eBay seller, you are taking your chances. If someone has already entered the ballpark with that bar code, your ticket will be denied at the gate. And you can't get your money back.

So be careful so you don't waste your money.
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