Major League Baseball Tickets for 1¢? Yep, Even for Teams in Playoff Hunt

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Who says it has to cost a fortune to go to a pro sporting event? Sure, the average ticket to an NFL game officially costs around $80, and seats on the secondary market average closer to $200. But as the Major League Baseball regular season comes to a close, tickets can be had for substantially less, even for ball clubs at or near the top of the standings. Like for as little as 1¢.

At 162 games, baseball’s season is a long one. Fans can’t be expected to pack ballparks from April through September, of course, especially not when the average ticket runs $27 at face value, and beers cost $6 or $7 a pop inside. Early in the season, before many fans had really gotten in the mood for baseball, tickets on the secondary market regularly sold for under $5, sometimes as cheap as $1.45.

Lately, however, it looks like the fans snatching up those early-season deals were overpaying. Earlier this week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noticed that tickets to Monday night’s Braves-Brewers game were being offered for as little as 27¢ apiece at the resale site StubHub.com.

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A more recent look at Brewers tickets available at StubHub showed that through Tuesday afternoon, tickets were priced starting at a single penny each for the game that night, and just 8¢ each for Wednesday night’s game, both versus the Atlanta Braves. These ultra-cheap tickets are being offered even as the Brewers still “have a slim chance of making the playoffs,” as the Journal Sentinel mentioned.

Before rubbing two pennies together and considering whether to bring a date to the Brewers game, however, take note that there are a few fees tacked on to purchases at sites such as StubHub. Namely, there’s a $5.45 “instant download” charge (so that you can print out tickets at your home or office—there’s no will call for these seats), plus a $5 service fee. When it’s all added up, a pair of 1¢ tickets actually comes to $10.47. Another example: A package of four tickets to the Brewers-Astros game on Friday, September 28, currently priced at 85¢ each on StubHub, costs a total of $13.85 with all fees add in.

It’s not just Brewers games selling for a song. Tickets for home games of the Los Angeles Dodgers, another playoff contender, are priced as low as 60¢ each at StubHub for a Sunday afternoon game against the Cardinals, and under $1 apiece for a handful of other remaining regular season games.

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Reflecting astonishingly low demand for tickets, official seat prices for some Major League Baseball games are also remarkably cheap right now. Upcoming ticket specials being run by the Washington Nationals—a highly likely playoff team, currently with the best record in baseball—are going for $1 or $2 per ticket. A “$2 Ticket Tuesday” is available for the Nationals’ home game on September 18, and senior citizens can purchase up to two $1 tickets for a “Senior Day” game on September 24. Guess who the Nationals are playing in these games? Yep, the Dodgers and Brewers, respectively.

Brad Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.