Buying tickets off eBay?

[flyers fan]

Has anyone done this? Is it safe? Any advice greatly appriciated. Thanks

[GusMan]

Simply put: Dont do it. Too many people getting burned and at the same time, the tickets are non-transferable. This is even more the case with the use of the biometrics.
If you would like legit discount tickets, take a look at Mousesavers.com - they can lead you in the right direction.

[efoxx]

Simply put: Dont do it. Too many people getting burned and at the same time, the tickets are non-transferable. This is even more the case with the use of the biometrics.
If you would like legit discount tickets, take a look at Mousesavers.com - they can lead you in the right direction.

super ditto's on this. don't buy from Ebay unless you really want your family vacation ruined, and your money lost.

[tjrj]

ITA with everything Gusman said. With the use of the finger scanners now, those tix ARE really tied to the person-and there's no way to tell prior to purchase whether they've been used. So the seller may say "unused" but there's no way to know for sure. So, check out Mary's site above, if you want to get legitimate "discounts" on tix.

[mom22gls]

I purchased tickets from Ticketmania, which is a legit discounter, and the tickets were waiting for me at the hotel when we checked in, at my request. You can also get discounted tickets through AAA. There are several Disney authorized discounters, and you should not buy from anyone except Disney or an authorized dealer. Small disadvantage to buying from anyone other than Disney, your tickets will not be on your key card, and you may not be able to get them replaced, if lost. Ticketmania provided copies of the tickets with our package. Buying from Ebay is a very bad idea, as you have no idea whether you are buying a partially used ticket, which is tied to the original user, or a fully used ticket. Not worth the chance.

[flyers fan]

Thanks everyone...Interesting..I had bidded, but was out bidded right away, so I thought, that is weird. So that is when I asked on line here....I didn't bid again, but last night we got a e-mail from E-bay, saying they had removed the seller from their site, that it wasn't legit....very interesting! Good thing I didn't buy them....

[pumpkin5156]

I buy our DL tickets every year on eBay. Always works great and I've never had any problems! But do what feels safe for you. have fun!

[rentayenta]

We have friends who always buy their tickets from ebay and then upgrade with them to get AP's. They have never had an issue.

It's not something I would do though.

[sleepytoo]

Well as far as Ebay goes...just ALWAYS be sure to check the seller's feedback - maybe some are reputable.

But I too would be very careful in doing so.

[swalke6]

I do quite alot of Ebay purchasing and selling. I cannot guarantee that tickets to a park would be safe. Even if you checked the sellers feedback profile and went with someone who had at least 100 feedback transactions, is it worth the risk for a family vacation? If you did go through one of the Ebay ticket brokers, I would try buying tickets for a local venue first.

I did notice that you mentioned you had put in a bid and posted your question while the bidding was going on. Bidding any time other than right at the close of an auction only jacks up the price you pay at the end. The other bidders now know you are out there and will increase their highest bid or you will end up in a bidding war. I have used Auctionsniper.com successfully for over 5 years. This service puts your bid in during the last 3-5 seconds of an auction. This gives the other bidders no chance to outbid you and ensures you don't get caught up in the bidding frenzy and spend more than you were willing to spend. You also don't have to sit by your computer waiting for auction close. The BEST part of it is that you can cancel your bid (as long as it isn't within 5-10 minutesof auction close), so you aren't stuck with a bid if you have changed your mind or found a better deal elsewhere.

[stan4d_steph]

I buy our DL tickets every year on eBay. Always works great and I've never had any problems! But do what feels safe for you. have fun!


We have friends who always buy their tickets from ebay and then upgrade with them to get AP's. They have never had an issue.

It's not something I would do though.When you're discussing WDW tickets, it's a whole different story. You can't purchase partially used passes for WDW due to the biometrics that attach the tickets to a specific person.

[efoxx]

Well as far as Ebay goes...just ALWAYS be sure to check the seller's feedback - maybe some are reputable.

But I too would be very careful in doing so.feed back on Ebay is very missleading. I have been on a crusade of sorts of people who have had their EBAY accounts hijacked for illegitimate purposes. one way that helps is if the buyer uses paypal. without this you are asking to be taken. be very wary of anybody who asks for either western union or a cashiers check to a PO box.

[spacemtngirl]

I'm not sure I buy that whole biometrics thing- the finger scan? I went with a big group & we were going in and out of the parks and at times we were in a rush to get in and just got the tickets from the person who was holding them to get fast passes and they didn't always get into the right hands. No problem- fingers were scanned and we got right through. If it is real- it's not an exact science. I think it's just a deterrent.

[ahecht]

When I was at WDW last summer, every single time I went through the scanner it came back that my finger didn't match my ticket. Although they insisted that I must have had someone else's pass (impossible, since the ticket was always in my hand, in a FP machine, or in my wallet), they recoded the ticket to my fingers and let me through anyway.

Moral of the story: the biometrics don't work 100%.

[Cheshire Figment]

I'm not sure I buy that whole biometrics thing- the finger scan? I went with a big group & we were going in and out of the parks and at times we were in a rush to get in and just got the tickets from the person who was holding them to get fast passes and they didn't always get into the right hands. No problem- fingers were scanned and we got right through. If it is real- it's not an exact science. I think it's just a deterrent.

If your tickets are purchased directly from Disney at WDW all of the tickets which are purchased on one transaction are linked together in the Automated Ticketing System (ATS). If people manage to mix up their tickets the message shown on the Greeter side of the turnstile is "different person". If the tickets were from any other source, or purchased in multiple transactions, each is separate.


When I was at WDW last summer, every single time I went through the scanner it came back that my finger didn't match my ticket. Although they insisted that I must have had someone else's pass (impossible, since the ticket was always in my hand, in a FP machine, or in my wallet), they recoded the ticket to my fingers and let me through anyway.

Moral of the story: the biometrics don't work 100%.

Quite often the first time a person does a scan there may not be a good read for one reason or another. Then when it gets a good read on a subsequent entry it does not match the original. The Greeters do have a way to tell ATS to accept the latest scan as the correct link for the ticket; this is done when a person has been having problems and we have a way to find out if the person is correct for the ticket.

[ourtrip]

Just a point about EBAY and PAYPAL - If you have a problem with any transaction you have a limited time to notify them AND receive any help with getting your money refunded - something along the lines of 30 days or so. This adds more difficulties in buying tickets online for a trip and keeping yourself safe as well. Unfortunately I learned this the hard way when making a purchase for a "pre-order" item. The security window lapsed by the time I was to be sent the item and neither EBAY or PAYPAL could or would do anything about it. :mad: