I'm trying to figure out where to go to buy tickets once I get to Beijing? Should I just hang around the stadium area or is there a designated place where most of the touts stand?

This whole idea you've got about just heading to Beijing and just picking up tickets isn't really how it works with regards to the Olympics.

Typically China works on a fairly 'flexible' basis. I've been to more than one sporting event in China where I simply walked through the masses of Chinese, and as a foreigner was simply waved through. Now, I'm not in Beijing at the moment - but I'm guessing that's not quite how things are working in relation to the Olympics. As to getting tickets - no chance.

Your best bet is probably to stand on the street and watch the marathon.

Greetings,

Good luck to you.

I had some extra time in Shanghai this weekend and looked into hopping up to Beijing. I was actually more interested in getting to the Great Wall (which I'm sure is overrun with folks there for the Olympics), so I didn't even start looking for tickets.

Getting flights looked like a breeze. Round trip was going to be around $300.
Hotel was another matter. Most options were in the $500/night range.
The one I wanted had a "posted" rate of 2500 RMB (in the mid-$300 range), but when I tried to book it using Amex Platinum Travel (calling them directly), they wanted over $1,000 for it. Same was the case for a few other examples that "showed" available for rates which allowed me to keep all my body parts - but try to book it and you're a goner.

Needless to say, I backed out and ended up camping in Shanghai this weekend.

I hope you already have a room. I'm guessing life will be interesting (and expensive) if you don't.

Setting aside the fact that many people within our community have tickets on offer that they are willing to part with, hotel concierges and the like can also assist --> chances are significantly greater than zero.

Yes, and apologies - I think my response was more in response to the OP's idea/attitude that getting into any event is just a case of rolling up and buying them off a scalper outside the stadium.

It's worked for every big event I've ever tried to go to so I'd expect it to work at these Olympics as well. I was more asking for info from people in Beijing now who may have heard where the touts are plying their trade. I'm quite sure that hotel consierges are a good bet but I like the "thrill of the chase" of buying them off the street!

You sure have more money than I.
Not sure what they're specifically asking, but I tried to get a Hockey ticket in Salt Lake City in 2002. I just showed up, and they were asking $80 for a $50 face value ticket---AFTER it had already started. Before the event, they were $150 and up. Expect to spend 3-5x face value for anything significant. YMMV

Also, you can't just "hang around the stadium area." The Green is closed except to ticket holders, so you wouldn't be able to get close. There may or may not be people selling somewhere outside those gates.

Yeah, I've been in Beijing now for about 30 hours and I have yet to find an easy way to buy additional tickets at "good" prices. The locals seem to have their sources (a local colleague was able to score me some US water polo tickets at face value though a "neighborhood association"), but it doesn't seem so easy for foreigners. There are certainly scalpers floating around, but if you want to buy in advance for the premium events, you will pay a substantial premium. As mentioned above, there isn't a logical physical location to trade seats because the Olympic Green is closed to non-ticket holders (and folks seem skittish about the anti-scalping laws). I went up to a subway stop just outside the Green today, and I saw several people holding up signs looking for tickets, but I didn't really see any tickets for sale. In general, the area I saw outside the Green looked dead and very un-festive.

In Atlanta, I was able to buy all the tickets I wanted from the Russian weightlifting team staying at my hotel, but so far all I've run into are tourists. If anyone has a source of affordable tickets, please PM me (or post it here). Thanks. As I already have tickets to 8 events, I'm not so willing to stand on a street corner and "hunt" for them. Also, I need 4 tickets, which can be hard to find on a street corner!

On more than one occasion during the last few months, I have tried to warn people on this forum that the casual visitor who is not "plugged in" to the local network and/or who can't deal in Mandarin, is going to find it tougher going out there on the battlefield. And that the ticket reselling activity would be highly decentralized and relatively invisible. There ARE tickets available to just about everything, if you know where to look and what buttons to push. However, this doesn't mean that you are going to get things at anywhere close to face value, particularly since "face value" was so absurdly low, even by Chinese standards much less international ones. And premier events such as swimming and mens' basketball finals remain extremely pricey and difficult to pry loose without some connections.

My suggestion for the visitor needing to score some more tickets is to 1) get yourself a local mobile phone number--prepaid SIM for GSM phone is quick and cheap. Get a cheap, bare-bones GSM phone locally (if you come from a country that has incompatible phone service/equipment.) Also 2) use your laptop if you have one, or get to an internet cafe or business center and get on beijing craigslist--ticket subcategory....also thebeijinger.com classified ads. Chinese contributors to these places have at least minimal English skills to do a deal, or are expats. Work the phones as quick as you can...most people who have tickets want to move them immediately...and are willing to deliver or meet you at a mutually convenient (public) place.

It's best to familiarize yourself with the current general "street value"--what goes on ebay or Cosport or back home is irrelevant--and be prepared to jump fast as soon as you see something you want at a price you can swallow. Some sellers negotiate, some don't, and some will with a large enough purchase. This is China...it's always OK to ask politely for "a discount" and that includes from ticket scalpers. No askee, no gettee.

Interestingly, I just watched a piece on MSNBC TV that showed an area where tons of tickets were being scalped at outrageous prices (I think the number mentioned was 30X face value). There were also plenty of Chinese police/security walking around the area pretty much ignoring the activity.

They had a brief interview with an Italian fellow who had a pile of tickets he was selling. He said it was a public service since if he didn't sell them, there would be even more empty seats than there are now. Well, except for swimming of course.

So it didn't appear much "plugging in" was required, at least not at this venue (don't recall if they mentioned where it was).

Oh, one other item I just recalled. They talked to a Chinese scalper (who spoke fairly good English) and he said all the tickets he had sold had been to foreigners, not Chinese, because Chinese could not afford the prices.

There are many Chinese who can afford to pay scalper prices, but most of those particular people don't need to go to the resale market, as they are already well-connected enough through gov't or Chinese companies to have gotten their tickets by other means. Without going into details, I can report that I have found Chinese buyers for tickets at substantial markup. But foreigners are seen by all as the cash cows, so of course that is the most lucrative target.

Whatever you saw in the MSNBC report, I stand by my comments. The point is that the OP's image of how he might find tickets in Beijing, based on past experiences, may not be realistic. I've been to lots of venues already over the past 5 days, both on the Green and off, and I can tell you that inside or outside the venues, there are no OBVIOUS touts hawking their wares, where you could just rock up and do an efficient on-the-spot deal.

OP: I've PM'd you.

This link should provide you all the information you need
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/new...yhoo&type=lgns

Sam

Your stand is appreciated.

I'm not in Beijing, so what do I know? Just reporting what I saw in what MSNBC (or whoever) taped and recorded. Lots of scalpers with lots of tickets and Chinese security doing nothing to stop any activity. A few shy Westerners ran off from the cameras, not willing to be taped/interviewed.

Thanks for all the replys and for the PM. I managed to get 2 class A tix for the track and field 100m finals on Saturday night for face value using cosport! I'll hang around the green earlier in the day and maybe on Sunday morning to see if I can nab a few more tickets. I'll report back more later.