How to avoid World Series ticket scams and price-gouging

Demand for World Series tickets between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros may have cooled off in the last few days, but they are still selling at record high prices.

Buying tickets directly through the official Phillies website is no longer available, and the lottery to enter for a chance to purchase tickets ended on Tuesday, so you’ll have to go through third-party resellers like StubHub, SeatGeek, or Vivid Seats for a chance to see the Fightin’ Phils clinch another world championship.

But, keep in mind, those sites list tickets for hundreds or thousands of dollars. A single ticket to Citizens Bank Park for the World Series can go for as much as $13,000. In some cases, it is cheaper to book a flight, hotel room and cop a ticket to a World Series game in Houston than it is to get tickets to the games in Philly — trust Inquirer’s Ximena Conde, she did the math.

But, if you’re ready to pay high prices for tickets to the games in Philly, you want to be especially wary of online ticket scams and make sure you’re not getting completely ripped off.

At this point, you have to look to third-party resellers for tickets to the World Series at Citizens Bank Park.

There are many websites still selling tickets, but you’ll want to go with a popular, known reseller. That way, if any problems should arise, there will be better customer support available.

Here are some of the biggest resellers who have tickets to the World Series:

Lesser known resellers may offer cheaper tickets, but that could also mean less support on the backend if you do run in to trouble with a seller.

Ticket prices on third-party resale sites are already marked up — that’s their whole business. So, knowing that prices will already be high will help you get past the sticker shock quicker. According to an Inquirer investigation of resale sites, many people pay high prices for tickets from resellers, even for events that aren’t sold out yet.

Don’t click on Ads. Google places paid advertisements that look identical to regular search results at the top of the webpage. You’ll recognize if the result is an advertisement or not by the “Ad” in bold font next to the URL.

Use popular ticket resellers. They will have better customer service than smaller, lesser known resellers. If issues come up with your ticket, you want to be sure there’s someone you can reach to resolve it — especially if you spent thousands of dollars.

You can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and your state’s attorney general’s office.