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Whether for a sporting event, a concert, or a show, buying tickets to an event can be an overwhelming experience.  While the Internet has made purchasing tickets easier and more legitimate than ever before, it’s not easy to understand all of the ways you can purchase tickets online, and ultimately, save money when buying event tickets.

Shopping around is the best way to save money on event tickets.  There are two types of ticket sellers: primary and secondary.  Primary ticket sellers have first access to the tickets and, obviously, are the first ones to sell the tickets.  Ticketmaster is the best example of a primary seller.  The price is set by the league/team/artist/venue/etc. and you buy the ticket at face value, typically along with a service charge or fee on top of the face value.

Secondary ticket sellers re-sell tickets that have already been purchased in the primary ticket market or through other channels not available to the general public.  Scalpers are probably the best known secondary ticket sellers, but there are many official ticket resellers online today that can be a great way to buy hard-to-get or sold out tickets.  A few examples of marketplaces for resellers are eBay, StubHub, and TicketsNow.

When buying tickets through the secondary market, I find that it is worth the extra few minutes to shop around, as often times you’ll find not only variances in ticket prices for similar tickets, but you’ll also find different fees charged by the different resellers.

One site that I use to shop around is www.SeatFetcher.com.  This site lets you select an event, then search any of the major ticket resellers all from one place.  It saves you time and can save you money, too.  It only has a limited number of events currently, so it’s not great for all events, but if you’re looking to go to a number of different concerts, professional baseball games, NASCAR events, or the show Wicked, it’s a great help.

 It seems like I go through a razor blade at least twice a month.  Gillette and Schick have a virtual monopoly on the razor blade business. It’s a classic business model were they give you the razor system at below cost and make their money on selling you blade cartridges which can cost up to $2-3 a piece.

 A recent article from the Chicago Tribune shares some tips on extending the life of your blade.  The primary thesis of the article is that razor blades wear out mainly from rust and not cutting hair.  Because blades are often left wet after use they develop micro-rust which dulls the edge of the blade.  The article suggests drying your blade after each use with either a hair dryer or a soft cloth will greatly extend the useful life of the blade.  The article comments on a few people whose tests of drying their razor blades after use has led to a life of several months versus a few weeks.

The savings:  Well if you assume $2 a blade and you also assume you extend the life of the blade from 2 weeks to a month you would save 12 blades a year at $2 for a total savings of $24.  Of course results, costs can vary quite a bit.

Extending the Life of Razor Blades  (Chicago Tribune)

 I remember term after term I would have to shell out hundreds on college textbooks.  It seemed universities had us over a barrel in terms of extracting what little cash we had to purchase required textbooks. Here’s a few simple tips that can help you save hundreds possibly more on textbooks over the life of your student years.

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