Have you ever wondered which of your clients are willing to spend $200, $500, or even all the way up to $20,000 dollars for a single event ticket? Do you hesitate to suggest steeply priced events out of concern that your clients will be put off?

Well, these are all normal thoughts to have! Fortunately, one of our team members, Melanie Zachariadas recently paid more for an event than she is typically willing to, and decided to give the world her two cents on the value of an experience.

On Wed May 17th, my friend K texted me asking if I was interested in seeing the Alabama Shakes.

She said tickets went on sale that Friday (5/19)  for a show on the 26th.

“Wait, what?”

Being an avid concert goer, not surprisingly I was confused. “The show is on 5/26 or tickets go on sale then?”, I asked.

“The show is on 5/26, with tickets going on sale this Friday” she repeated.

Typically I purchase tickets anywhere from 6 – 7 months in advance. If I go to a last min gig, it’s typically because a friend of mine can’t go and is selling his/her ticket (or the show just happens to be an under the radar band that’s not sold out).

This was different.

The tickets went on sale on 5/19 for a concert a week later, and for a band that plays to sellout crowds of at least 5K+

Somewhere along the road the Alabama Shakes had added in last minute gig. Not just a last min gig, but a last min intimate gig in one of my favorite venues in NYC, The Bowery Ballroom with a capacity of 575!

Cut to Friday morning at 11:45, I’ve refreshed the ticket sale page since 11:15, both on my mobile and desktop. I even tried to bribe my co-workers into helping me nab tickets by offering to buy lunch for whoever gets them.

I was ready, I was going to get the tickets. The clock struck 12 Noon, and…

And…

Nothing.

No tickets.

No inventory.

What? It’s 12:00pm exactly.

This was my Facebook status at 12:13pm:

But guess what, by 3:17 pm that day I had swallowed my pride and decided to get tickets on the resale market, 2 tickets to be exact, and on Stubhub to be even more exact.

Were they expensive? Yes. Were they more than I wanted to pay? Yes. Did I have a damn good time? Hell yeah.

Did I see a woman who plays guitar like Jimi Hendrix and sings like Janis Joplin with such extraordinary stage presence that everyone in the audience was transfixed? Yeah… I did.  

The Alabama Shakes’ lead singer-guitarist, Brittany Howard doesn’t hold anything back. She’s emotional, energetic, captivating and bares her soul.

I had a tremendous night. I fell even more in love with the band and with live music in general.  What’s more, I got to share that experience with some of my best friends and family members (OK, and about 500 other hipsters)

So to those who gawk at the price. I say, “What’s an amazing experience worth to you?”

Melanie Zachariades is a UX/Product Manager for Ticket Evolution