Buying a Deutsche Bahn ticket
 

We decided to go to Amsterdam tomorrow and wanted to know if there is a price difference if we buy the ticket online tonight from the DB website or whether we buy it from the ticket machine tomorrow. We are not sure how early we want to go so it would be more convenient to buy at the train station. But if there is a price difference, we will pick a train tonight.

Please advise. Thanks.

What is your point of departure?

DUS flughafen. A friend is flying in and wants to see Amsterdam with us.

I think your only option will be the "normal" price. Most "Sparpreis" (discount) options on DB require a 3 day advance purchase. So, you should get the same price from the ticket machine as online. (Actually, the discount fares are also usually available from the ticket machines, although the online system occasionally finds connections which the machines don't find...)

You'll save a few Euro buying from the machine instead of at the ticket counter, but that's about it. You're too close to your departure time to get a discount online.

No, you don't even safe some money if you buy from a machine. The regular full-price-ticket costs between 52,70 EUR and 38,50 EUR depending on the exact train.

Standard fares are the same whereever you buy them. The only advantages of online booking are: a) you don't have to bother with the ticket machine, b) a better chance to get hold of seat reservations if you want them.

Thanks everybody.

Well, online tickets usually only bother other people (because the ticket check takes longer, the ticket and your credit card both must be scanned).

But b) doesn't necessarily hold true, as there are last-minute reservation contingents which only become available about one hour before the train's departure (the seats are usually located in coaches 21/31 for second and 28/38 for first class and marked by "ggf. freigeben"). So, if a train is heavily booked, chances may even be better if you only purchase a reservation 10 minutes before departure.

The ticket machine was fast and easy. As for seat reservations, I need to sit facing forward and the reservations don't guarantee that at all. I haven't found a train in which I could not find my own seat easily. To pay nearly an extra ~$3.60 for a seat assignment? Not worth it IMHO.

Take an ICE train from Frankfurt to Hamburg on a Friday evening and you might think otherwise... ;)

Depends on the time and day of travel. I would never take an 8 or 9 am or 5 or 6 pm service without reservation. You might yourself find standing. And even the seats especially reserved for top tier customers are taken, either by top tier customers or by foreigners trying to safe the money for the seat reservation (and be sure, the conductor will kick you out of these seats). And the reservations certainly does not guarantee a seat facing forwards because en route between eg Munich and Hamburg the trains will/might change direction in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Cologne.

Even if the thread-opener may have taken his tour-ride, here is a hint for all people who wanna take a train from Germany to the Netherlands:

www.nshispeed.nl
This is the Dutch High Speed Rail System. Often tickets for the same train from Germany can be found cheaper here. Can be bought with normal CC.

The prices are indeed cheaper. But let me ask this question: if I buy a ticket from this Dutch website from let's say Hagen to Schiphol, will I be able to print my tickets using the Deutche Bahn machines in Hagen? Will the DB machines even recognize that I made the purchase already?

Unlikely. You'll need a printer and a piece of paper to print that ticket.