Where is the best place to sell your tickets you can't use?

[babysun]

Hi,

We have a couple of return tickets to Bali (with Jetstar) that we can't use. I've listed them on Gumtree but have had only one person vaguely interested in them. It's still a couple of months away but I would like to know they're sold sooner rather than later.

Is there a "best" place to sell these?

The name change is free and they're reasonably flexible (date change is to equal or higher priced fare without fee) so I had hoped it would be reasonably easy to get rid of. We have moved interstate and it's not worth the effort to fly 2 hours in order to fly back past here. The extra travel time with domestic transfers would be exhausting. So changing the date is not worth it for us.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[eric2011]

A name change.... and date change....on deathstar....for free, what Irish leprechaun did you kiss yesterday

 

[babysun]

A name change.... and date change....on deathstar....for free, what Irish leprechaun did you kiss yesterday

Starter Plus bundle. I think it even gets QF points. AND luggage!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Starter Plus bundle. I think it even gets QF points. AND luggage!

Perhaps that's why you're having difficulty selling? Fares from Australia to Bali are pretty cheap ATM - $169 each way or so from the east coast, cheaper from Perth (and I've seen $99 from Darwin).

Recent sales promos from Air Asia were in the region of $270 return flat bed premium. A friend of mine got $200 return on Jetstar through a price match off Tiger (departing in two weeks).

I guess it depends how much you paid, and how much you're willing to sell them for. Have you looked at ebay for price comparisons?

 

[Mattg]

Starter Plus bundle. I think it even gets QF points. AND luggage!

Be aware that if you make a name change (or date change), you'll have to pay the full fare difference based on the price at the time of the change - even if the new person travels on the same flight. The Plus bundle just removes the extra change fee.

 

[babysun]

Be aware that if you make a name change (or date change), you'll have to pay the full fare difference based on the price at the time of the change - even if the new person travels on the same flight. The Plus bundle just removes the extra change fee.

Even on the name change alone? I didn't read that in the booking information. That's very sneaky of them.

 

[babysun]

Perhaps that's why you're having difficulty selling? Fares from Australia to Bali are pretty cheap ATM - $169 each way or so from the east coast, cheaper from Perth (and I've seen $99 from Darwin).

Recent sales promos from Air Asia were in the region of $270 return flat bed premium. A friend of mine got $200 return on Jetstar through a price match off Tiger (departing in two weeks).

I guess it depends how much you paid, and how much you're willing to sell them for. Have you looked at ebay for price comparisons?

That's a bargain for a flat bed. I haven't looked all that closely at prices yet. We paid $1500 in total including extra luggage, upfront seats and meals and entertainment etc are included in the bundle and have them listed for $1000 on gumtree. I have never flow with Air Asia. I've never been to Bali but I'm happy to put it off for another time. We would need a holiday after the return "overnight" flight and domestic trip back to Brisbane from Melbourne.

 

[AnnaB]

You could always try Facebook and the two groups Australians that visit Bali island Indonesia and Bali Tourist Info.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/atvbii/?ref=ts&fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/groups/368875783259796/?ref=ts&fref=ts

At least these groups contains a lot of people that frequently visits Bali or is looking for information and deals. Probably just the target groups you are looking for But as someone has mentioned before, it also depends on how much you want for the tickets, cost of name changes etc.

 

[Mattg]

That's a bargain for a flat bed. I haven't looked all that closely at prices yet. We paid $1500 in total including extra luggage, upfront seats and meals and entertainment etc are included in the bundle and have them listed for $1000 on gumtree. I have never flow with Air Asia. I've never been to Bali but I'm happy to put it off for another time. We would need a holiday after the return "overnight" flight and domestic trip back to Brisbane from Melbourne.

To be completely honest, I don't think you're going to be able to sell 2 return economy tickets for $1000. I recently got tickets for less than $250 return just by booking during a sale.

 

[jetpack]

I've seen Jetstar fares for sale on eBay. I think the combination of a not so cheap price, fixed number of seats, fixed dates, potential fees in changing dates and overall hassle will put off 99% of people.

Since you get free date changes you could just keep changing it to a date in the future and hope for a schedule change. If the schedule does change Jetstar will offer you the option of a full refund. If you do change dates, Just take into account the fare difference as you will pay more if the new fare is higher and you will lose some value on your ticket (called a spoilage fee) if you change to a lower priced fare.

 

[JohnK]

Why not just fly to MEL and utilise the flights? The few extra hours of travel are nothing.

 

[babysun]

Wow, that is ridiculously cheap! I just did a dummy booking for the cheapest prices around the dates we are booked at it's $1000 for 2 people with the plus bundle plus whatever booking fees they charge. So you might be right. Closer to the date things might change but if not we could always change the date again and book it to coincide with a visit to family in Melbourne so the trip doesn't feel so long.

I'm going to check out the facebook groups mentioned above and see what suggestions they have.

Have you been to Bali a fair bit Mattg?

 

[babysun]

They offer a full refund for schedule changes??? I did get an email ages ago that it was changed but it was only half an hour and we had still intended on going then. We have travel insurance. I'd hoped for a little puff of volcano smoke except that it inconveniences everyone else too. Thanks for that change information. That's really good to know.

 

[babysun]

You could always try Facebook and the two groups Australians that visit Bali island Indonesia and Bali Tourist Info.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/atvbii/?ref=ts&fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/groups/368875783259796/?ref=ts&fref=ts

At least these groups contains a lot of people that frequently visits Bali or is looking for information and deals. Probably just the target groups you are looking for But as someone has mentioned before, it also depends on how much you want for the tickets, cost of name changes etc.

Thanks RoseAnna,
I hadn't thought of facebook groups. There might be a buy, swap, sell group for Bali too. This is a great resource. Thanks!

 

[Mattg]

Wow, that is ridiculously cheap! I just did a dummy booking for the cheapest prices around the dates we are booked at it's $1000 for 2 people with the plus bundle plus whatever booking fees they charge. So you might be right. Closer to the date things might change but if not we could always change the date again and book it to coincide with a visit to family in Melbourne so the trip doesn't feel so long.

I'm going to check out the facebook groups mentioned above and see what suggestions they have.

Have you been to Bali a fair bit Mattg?

Actually, next month will be my first trip to Bali.

I think the suggestion of changing to a date well into the future and hoping for a schedule change is sensible. But personally I would try to just use the tickets if you can. Yes, you might have to position to Melbourne, but that's not the end of the world. As you say, you can try to make it coincide with a visit to Melbourne.

Even though I live in Sydney, I quite regularly buy international long-haul tickets with QF originating in Brisbane. I have to travel via Sydney anyway, but it's usually exactly the same price to start in Brisbane and get a domestic connection added on. I then just buy a one-way positioning flight from Sydney to Brisbane a few days before the start of the trip, and I get to visit family in Brisbane for a few days for the cost of flying one-way. It works for me. Anyway, the point is that combining trips is a sensible plan.

Also, you do realise that Jetstar has daytime flights on the MEL-DPS route in both directions?

 

[babysun]

Why not just fly to MEL and utilise the flights? The few extra hours of travel are nothing.

We will be flying an "overnight" flight which is only about 5.5 hours so we would be lucky to get 4 hours sleep. I haven't been on the dreamliner but I heard Jetstar have done an excellent job of incorporating discomfort into every seat!

Then transfer to a domestic flight to Brisbane to get home to 2 small children. I could not be bothered. The flying time isn't the issue it's the recovery afterwards. I like to return from holidays feeling rested and I know I will feel yuck. Worst case scenario we can change dates to a more civilised time and visit family or friends as part of the same holiday.

 

[get me outta here]

That is not as easy as it sounds ... The changed time has to be substantial and JQ being a low cost airline and all the joys that brings, are not easy to deal with. If you do get a schedule change, seek more advice on threads on how to handle it.

They offer a full refund for schedule changes??? I did get an email ages ago that it was changed but it was only half an hour and we had still intended on going then. We have travel insurance. I'd hoped for a little puff of volcano smoke except that it inconveniences everyone else too. Thanks for that change information. That's really good to know.

 

[babysun]

Actually, next month will be my first trip to Bali.

I think the suggestion of changing to a date well into the future and hoping for a schedule change is sensible. But personally I would try to just use the tickets if you can. Yes, you might have to position to Melbourne, but that's not the end of the world. As you say, you can try to make it coincide with a visit to Melbourne.

Even though I live in Sydney, I quite regularly buy international long-haul tickets with QF originating in Brisbane. I have to travel via Sydney anyway, but it's usually exactly the same price to start in Brisbane and get a domestic connection added on. I then just buy a one-way positioning flight from Sydney to Brisbane a few days before the start of the trip, and I get to visit family in Brisbane for a few days for the cost of flying one-way. It works for me. Anyway, the point is that combining trips is a sensible plan.

Also, you do realise that Jetstar has daytime flights on the MEL-DPS route in both directions?

That's a really good idea to fly from BNE. I didn't know that it was often the same price. We haven't got a long trip booked yet but we are looking at going to the US later in the year. VA actually fly direct from here to LAX which is surprising but I like your idea to leave from another city. I'm going to look into that for sure!

We ended up with the flight in the middle of the night because we have already changed the dates once. We had to go with a date that would fit with our inlaws looking after our kids. Then find a flight that doesn't cost a bomb to change to. Voila! Stupid middle of the night flight. I was so over the woman on the phone at Jetstar by this point in the call I think I would've taken any time of day just to get off the phone.

 

[Mattg]

That's a really good idea to fly from BNE. I didn't know that it was often the same price. We haven't got a long trip booked yet but we are looking at going to the US later in the year. VA actually fly direct from here to LAX which is surprising but I like your idea to leave from another city. I'm going to look into that for sure!

FWIW, MEL-BNE-LAX return on VA is around $30 more than BNE-LAX return.

VA even allow a free stopover in Brisbane. So you could fly MEL-BNE, stop for a week, then fly BNE-LAX. Return LAX-BNE only. The cost for that is $20 more than BNE-LAX return.

 

[babysun]

That is not as easy as it sounds ... The changed time has to be substantial and JQ being a low cost airline and all the joys that brings, are not easy to deal with. If you do get a schedule change, seek more advice on threads on how to handle it.

Good to know. Thank you. This would be a last resort I think.