Twins Ticket buying strategy

Just as I did on March 1...I spent a good twenty minutes in an online "waiting room" for tickets to the rest of the Twins games this season at Target Field. Might I say, buying Twins tickets through their Web site is one of the most infuriating experiences you'll ever have.

I sat with five browsers open, each for a different weekend game. Many times I saw messages telling me the transaction activity was too high or the number of seats I was looking for was unavailable in a particular section.

After much perseverance, I finally did score tickets in the Family Section on August 1 against the Mariners.
Please note, this will be my last time purchasing tickets through the Twins Web site.

However, there are alot of other reputable sites through which to purchase Twins tickets. I'd like to share some of them with you:

http://www.ticketkingonline.com/ - a Hudson, WI-based company who guarantees their tickets. They are pricey however. Tickets for the opening game against the Boston Red Sox are taking in anywhere from $200-$400 a ticket, and that's just in the upper reaches of the stadium. Team performance can sometimes affect the going rate for tickets here, and they can substantially go down during the season.

http://www.stubhub.com/ - A ticket broker service that, if memory serves correctly, is the "official" secondary ticket supplier for Major League Baseball. Note of caution, the "fees" and other charges associated with this particular service are rather high. Buyer beware.

http://www.ebay.com/ - I think everyone knows eBay. eBay is an online auction site, and I've seen several listings for Twins tickets in the last few days. Incidentally, my tickets for the Oct. 4 game last season were purchased via a contact I made through eBay looking for tickets to another game. Of course, with eBay, the highest bid wins, and shipping charges are usually reasonable.

Of course, there's always the old-fashioned way of going to the Twins ticket office at Target Field and purchasing tickets walk-up. Games this year are in very high demand however, and I'm beginning to wonder exactly how many tickets will be available for walk-ups once the season starts.

After two successful but irritating experiences buying from the Twins Web site, I have opted to stick with eBay and a "ticket exchange" group that is being started with members of a blog site I frequent which has been tracking the construction of Target Field since the funding bill was originally passed in May, 2006.

It still promises to be a great season, and I can't wait for my first game on April 14.