This past month has been an adventure that I had no intention of participating in. Well…not exactly. On July 19, I went online on eBay to find tickets for the October 5 Vikings-Packers game at the Metrodome. Rumors at the time were that Brett Favre was going to make his comeback, so I thought if I bought tickets to that game in advance, I could sell them after he made his announcement for twice as much.
I researched the layout of the Metrodome and finally settled on a pair of tickets near the 35-yard line only 13 rows up. I purchased the two tickets for just over $600. Trust me, I don’t have $600 for Vikings’ tickets, but I thought this would be an easy way to make $400. I would sell the tickets after Favre announced his comeback and then I could buy two tickets to take my son Adam to another less publicized Vikings game.
My tickets to the Vikings- Packers game would double in price as Favre tried to get back at his old team in front of the whole nation on Monday Night Football.
Then on July 29, Favre shocked Minnesota fans when he stated that he was going to stay retired. I had yet to receive the tickets in the mail, but I had already paid for them. Now I was just hoping I could break even on my tickets.
Another two weeks had gone by and still no tickets in the mail. I emailed the guy, and asked if we could just cancel the deal. He responded, “I just sent the tickets out today.”
Two days later on August 18, Favre comes out of retirement to play for the Minnesota Vikings after all! After another week of waiting, however, I still had no tickets. I called up the seller and he gave me the FedEx tracking number. It confirmed that the driver had indeed delivered the tickets to my address two days ago!!
The night before this revelation, Cook County had the storm of the summer with severe rain and winds. I checked every outside door around the house and found nothing! I then called up FedEx and told them of my dilemma. Theyput in a request to talk to the driver, but I would have to wait over the weekend to hear anything back. They suggested I check my neighbors’ homes in case it was delivered mistakenly to the wrong location.
I checked my parents’ house next door and the neighbor’s across the street. No tickets. When you spend $650 that you really can’t afford to lose, you become a bit anxious. Thenext morning, I decided to walk the property to search for a FedEx envelope in all the possible places it may have been blown by the wind.
After hours of searching in the soaked woods, I too was completely drenched and still without tickets. I was no longer worried about getting Adam to see his beloved Brett Favre and the Vikings; I now just didn’t want to lose my $600 investment.
Two days later and still without tickets, I went to work at Superior National golf course. Everyone at work knew the story, so when I came into the pro-shop in the late afternoon and someone told me that my dad had found the tickets, I thought they were just playing with me. Theconversation turned real and I felt great relief. How did he find the tickets? I couldn’t wait to get home!
My dad had received the FedEx envelope from his neighbor to the west. The FedEx guy did deliver to the wrong location after all! I don’t know how you mess up fire numbers that are nothing alike, but at this point, I didn’t care. I had the tickets!
The envelope was soaked so I had to dry out the tickets a bit. Aftera few hours of letting the tickets dry out, I went upstairs to get them so I could re-list them on eBay for $1,000. If I could make $400, I could easily get two tickets to another game and have gas and parking money as well.
As I looked at the tickets closely, a sudden lump went from my throat to my gut. They sent me the wrong tickets! Here I had waited over a month to get the tickets, then they were lost, then I found them, and now they were the wrong tickets! I had been pretty calm to this point, but now I was starting to boil over.
After thinking about it, I now just wanted my money back. I no longer wished to get the original tickets. I emailed the seller and stated my point in terms that would be hard to misinterpret. I did quickly receive my money back electronically. I will send back the tickets this week.
What started out as a good idea took more twists and turns than I could have imagined. I didn’t get the big payday I was looking for, but I did get my money back. I guess watching the game from our couch at home is the best ticket in town!
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