ScoreBig: Save big cash on unsold live event tickets [Invites]

If you’re an avid attender of live events, chances are that you’re pretty particular about the exact seats that you want, you know what you’ll need to pay to get them and you’re fully willing to do just that. But what if you don’t fall into this category? Live event ticketing is a $26 billion per year business, and yet some 40% of tickets still go unsold, leaving another nearly $20 billion on the table.

It’s a unique business problem. On one hand, venues artists and the rest don’t want their product to be seen as devalued by offering “discounted” purchase options. Conversely, the market is aching for a way to have a budget-conscious consumer put his or her butt into a seat that would otherwise go unsold.

ScoreBig is a site, presently in private beta, that is bridging the gap. Understanding that the average concert-goer spends roughly $80 and the average sporting event ticket sits around $50, the pricing is out of reach for many. Avoiding the dirty word of “discount”, ScoreBig is partnering with anyone that holds a significant number of tickets that might go unsold.

Let’s say, for instance, that a venue knows that an average basketball game will sell out 75% of its tickets. That venue can then partner with ScoreBig to have the remainder available through the site. ScoreBig then puts those tickets up in a reverse auction, allowing you to enter the amount that you’d be willing to pay, then receiving your confirmation or denial in real-time.

With tickets being divided by ratings from 1 to 5 stars, if you offer too low for any one of the divisions, you’re then blocked from another attempt on that division for 24 hours. Essentially, the idea is to keep the pricing from being a race to the bottom. While ScoreBig does assure you that you’ll save from 10-70% off of what you’d otherwise pay.

There are no fees paid to ScoreBig. The site takes a direct revenue cut from the ticket sale, instead. So if the venue provides the tickets at a 25% savings, then you take that same 25% savings with you.

Now there are a couple of things with which you’ll need to be flexible. First, as we talked about picking your specific seat, you have to understand that seats are given a star range, instead. While you’re assured that a 5-star seat will be a great seat, it won’t be a specific seat that you choose. Prices are not published, and lowballing is generally a bad idea because of that 24 hour lockout. Finally, there are a number of ways that tickets are delivered (e-ticket, pick up at door, parcel service, etc) so you’ll need to be open to all of them.

If you’re OK with these few areas, then ScoreBig can quite literally help you to score big on a ticket of your choice. Backed by over $8 million in funding, the company is doing well for itself and continues to grow daily. Given that it’s invite only, you’ll need to know somebody to get inside. Fortunately for you, you’re a reader of TNW and we’ve teamed up with ScoreBig to help.

The first 200 of you that head to this link can register for ScoreBig. Once you’re in, you can invite your friends and you’ll even get a bonus for doing so. Once you’ve signed up, take a browser around. If you’re in a major metro area of the US, you’re likely to find some great deals. Smaller markets might have to do a bit of travelling, but you can easily switch your location to look around.

We’re fans of problem-solving sites. Considering that ScoreBig is solving a problem that leads to billions in annual revenue, we’ll be the first ones to get on board.