Life used to be so simple back in the day.

Clean up your room. Do the dishes. Mow the lawn.

All simple orders and directives to ensure you don’t get confused with expectations. Tickets were no different in the beginning.

Hard tickets and will-call seats were the only game in town up until the turn of the century, and they did their job admirably.

However, like many industries ripe for change, box offices began to transition to different forms of ticket delivery: PDF, mobile, credit card entry. There is even technology to support ultrasonic audio as your key to entry!

While some may appear obscure, they’re all potential options you may see during your checkout process from a primary ticket seller. With that in mind, let’s examine the most common ticket delivery types:

Hard tickets

• These are your traditional cardstock paper tickets. Tried, tested, and slightly rugged, they’ll either be picked up from the box office or mailed/shipped directly to you. The option of choice when buying tickets in person. This ticket delivery type is slowly being phased out in favour of digital tickets
• Very easy to transfer/sell locally, but becomes more difficult/expensive when expanding outside of your region
• Delivery costs range widely (from $3 – $50) depending on your shipping method selected (Canada Post/USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc)

Will-call

• Another oldie but a goodie in the ticket delivery world. Tickets are held at the box office (or ticket distribution centre) for pickup by the original ticket buyer. Pickup of tickets can range from weeks in advance of the show, all the way down to a couple of hours before show-time. Only the order confirmation and photo ID are typically required for pickup of the tickets, though the credit card used for purchase is requested as well depending on the venue
• Transferability of tickets is difficult as the window between ticket pickup and event time is normally very small
• There is typically no cost associated with this option, though it’s still possible to see a $3 – $5 charge on occasion

E-tickets

This is more of a classification rather than an actual ticket delivery type. The most common tickets delivered as e-tickets are PDF/print-at-home, and mobile:

Print-at-home

• One of the most favoured options available, these tickets are normally sent to your email address in a PDF delivery format or downloaded through a platform. As their name suggests, you can print these tickets out at home, the office, school, or even on the street should you have a portable printer (and portable paper)
• Transferability and convenience are the greatest benefits associated with this delivery type
• Delivery costs can range from the low low cost of free, all the way up to $10 per ticket

Mobile

• These tickets are displayed on your mobile device only as a QR code or barcode. Attending an event without your cell-phone is akin to not being there: pics or didn’t happen. As a result, forgetting your tickets at home is a thing of the past (unless your phone battery dies…whoops)
• Mobile tickets may or may not be transferable, depending on the event and/or artist
• Delivery costs range from $0 – $10 per order on average

Pro tip: Print-at-home and mobile tickets are both classified under e-tickets when checking out on Ticketmaster. Be sure to pay attention to the options displayed as only one classification may be available for e-ticket delivery (i.e. only mobile).

Credit Card Entry (aka paperless)

• A relatively new ticket delivery type where the credit card used for purchasing the tickets acts as your ticket to swipe into the event. Ushers will typically request your credit card and a form of photo ID which shows a matching name to the credit card (not all venues/events). Additionally, all party members must enter at the same time
• This delivery type is often criticized for its lack of transferability and constant delays with entering venues (going to see U2 in Vancouver was a bit of a mess) but like all new technologies, things take time to work out the kinks
• There is typically no charge for selecting this delivery option as nothing is delivered

Flash seats

• A paperless ticket specific to Flash-seat eligible venues/teams using the AXS ticketing platform (ie: Cleveland Cavaliers, Colorado Avalanche, Forest Hills Stadium, etc. Full list of Flash-eligible teams and venues can be found here)
• Transferability is relatively easy, but controlled through the Flash seat platform; some events may not be eligible. All you need is your phone, credit card, or ID to enter the venue
• There is no delivery charge for selecting this option to encourage adoption and use

With so many delivery methods, it can be daunting to know which option is right for you. Fear not though, for this will be discussed in a future post. Your future nerves and stress levels will thank you!

Additionally, this list is not exhaustive, but rather discusses some of the most common ticket delivery types on the market today. As newer technologies and ticket delivery types are introduced and supported, this list will be updated to include them.

Do you have a favourite ticket delivery type? Comment below with yours!