The first round of the NHL playoffs has been announced. If you’re a hockey fan, this is exciting news. If you’re a ticket broker like me or looking to get into the ticket buying and selling business, then this is also an exciting time. The NHL is unique from other leagues because it doesn’t have a completely national following. About half of the NHL teams exist in “hockey cities”, while others are located in cities with too many other events and activities competing for attention. When you think of hockey, you probably think of cities such as Detroit, Montreal, or Pittsburgh. These are major hockey cities.

The NHL has now released its 2011 schedule for the first round of the NHL playoffs. The match-ups are:

• Lightning vs. Penguins
• Coyotes vs. Red Wings
• Rangers vs. Capitals
• Blackhawks vs. Canucks
• Predators vs. Ducks
• Canadiens vs. Bruins
• Sabres vs. Flyers
• Kings vs. Sharks

Now, if you’re looking to buy and sell NHL playoff tickets, you shouldn’t just pick your local team and buy anything you can get. You need to be methodical and make sure you’re buying the right tickets. In general, NHL playoff tickets are very expensive. When someone buys a ticket, they’re largely paying to be there, and not necessarily for the seat. So you need to look at the pricing and determine which tickets to buy. Purchasing the “best” seat, which is often defined by the price of the ticket, is not necessarily the way to go. In many hockey arenas, the real bargains are the tickets up top. While these might not offer you the highest dollar profit, they will offer you the highest return on your money. And with the tight time frame during the NHL playoffs of when you can buy the ticket and when you must sell them, this becomes important. If you have to dump $350 tickets on the day of the game that is going to hurt unless it’s a hot market.

When looking at the the match-ups for the first round of the 2011 NHL playoffs I can tell you that some of these match-ups are going to sell very well, and some will just sell okay. As a ticket broker or ticket reseller, you don’t want to buy the “okay” series until at least the second round. For the first round, you should focus on buying games for only the best match-ups.

If you’re new to buying and selling hockey tickets, you might think that the Red Wings vs. Coyotes would be a good series to buy tickets for. The Red Wings are probably the only team in the NHL that can be considered a dynasty. However, the Coyotes aren’t an exciting opponent and Detroit itself, as you know, has been hit hard economically. With an unexciting opponent and lackluster ticket sales throughout the year, don’t buy this first round series. The Penguins vs. Lightning is a similar series. Pittsburgh has similarly been hit hard economically, and the Lightning is not a team that is going to excite fans to come out. Look for both of these teams to have a second round series worth buying.

So, which 2011 NHL Playoff match-ups should you buy? I think there are three match-ups worth buying anything you can get your hands on. Those three are:

• Rangers vs. Capitals
• Blackhawks vs. Canucks
• Canadiens vs. Bruins

You should look at purchasing any tickets from the above that you can. Selling tickets on Stubhub is likely to be your best bet for reselling. Just make sure to practice your Ticketmaster tricks and skills and get a good set of seats.

I hope you have found this information useful.  Check back here for updates, and if you are wanting to become a ticket broker click here to learn more!

Your friend and #1 supporter!

With the amount of fees that Stubhub charges to sell tickets, it can often be difficult to make money when learning how to start a ticket broker business. For anybody who isn’t familiar with Stubhub, it’s an online ticket exchange that’s owned by eBay. It allows you to buy or sell tickets to nearly any event. While the fees charged back Stubhub will absolutely cut into your profit, from my personal experience Stubhub transaction prices are often higher than those of websites such as Craigslist because people trust Stubhub and Stubhub offers protection to buyers. It’s because of these higher transaction prices that, even with its fees, Stubhub often yields the highest profit for ticket sellers.

As a seller, Stubhub has a number of benefits that you should be aware of. Firstly, shipping to users via Stubhub is extremely easy. The shipping costs are built into the fees and as a seller you will never have to pay to ship your tickets. Stubhub will also allow you the ability to sell your tickets before you actually receive them in hand. This means that if you’re a season ticket holder you can place your tickets for sale before or as the tickets go on sale to the public and you can often sell for a higher price this way. The peak of demand is immediately when tickets go on sale because hundreds of people will have tried to buy tickets and not been able to get any (assuming the event sold out fairly quickly).

Unfortunately, for all of these benefits, Stubhub is going to charge you a 15% fee to see on there. This is why it’s important to utilize all of the tips for selling tickets on Stubhub. There are a number of Stubhub secrets that professional brokers use, and I’ll share a few of these with you.

Firstly, when you price your tickets on Stubhub, you should avoid listing them at an excessively high price “just to see” if someone will pay that high price. You’re wasting time. If there’s three people selling similar tickets for less, then you’re not selling yours. This is a good rule of thumb to use. As you’re posting your tickets on Stubhub you’re going to be able to view what others have recently sold for as well as what others are charging for your tickets. Now, don’t go comparing across sites. If you’re selling tickets for $150 and you see a bunch of similar seats on Craiglist for $125, don’t worry. As I said before, people will pay more for the protection from Stubhub. So just compare to other tickets on the same site.

Another tip for selling on Stubhub is to not blindly reduce your prices as the event gets near. Stubhub can do this for you automatically, but it’s better to manually do it and just stay on top of pricing. Remember, you always want to be in the five lowest prices for comparable tickets. The only way to distinguish yourself on Stubhub is by the type of ticket you offer, and pricing.

For the type of ticket to use when selling tickets on Stubhub, I usually go with an instant electronic ticket. It’s cheaper for buyers and you’re more likely to get your tickets sold. Plus, it’s more convenient for everyone involved.

Hopefully these couple of tips help you to sell your tickets better on Stubhub. If you’d like to learn some of the real secrets to selling on Stubhub, I recommend that you check out this guide.  It is the #1 guide on how to sell tickets on Stubhub and other methods, and I personally recommend it!  Check it out today!

Your friend and #1 supporter,