Oprah's coming to town, and tickets have topped $800
Bids for tickets to Winfrey's "Live Your Best Life" daylong seminar May 31 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center went as high as $810 on eBay yesterday.
The bidding started this week and continues through Monday. Seats at the self-improvement program, featuring inspirational talks by Winfrey herself, normally sell for $185, including workshop materials, a gift bag and lunch.
Sandy MacAuley of Olympia is one of the bidders on two Seattle tickets. She found out about Winfrey's visit too late to buy tickets last month at the regular price, a predicament many fans are facing. So MacAuley is keeping her fingers crossed for the eBay tickets.
She said it's her dream to give Winfrey an angel doll she sculpted that's inspired by the talk-show-host's love of reading and her good works.
"She is truly a messenger," MacAuley said. "What I know for sure is Oprah touches a lot of lives, she is doing God's work, and I am always working on bettering myself and to share with others."
All 2,600 tickets for the Seattle stop, which went on sale April 14, reportedly sold in hours, bombarding an online ticket service.
It's Winfrey's only West Coast appearance on the four-city tour. The Tampa and Philadelphia stops in June also sold out quickly, and seats are no longer available for this weekend's St. Louis workshop.
eBay may be the only place left to find tickets for the Seattle workshop, presented by Winfrey's lifestyle magazine, O.
The main draw for the "Live Your Best Life" workshops is Winfrey, who's famous for her magnetic presence and uplifting messages.
The workshop also features an interactive exhibition area where attendees can sample products and see demonstrations. Winfrey started hosting the workshops two years ago to share her message of empowerment through the achievement of personal goals — a common theme on her Chicago-based TV show — with fans around the country.
At least 10 bids are listed on eBay for each of the most expensive Seattle tickets.
The tour's popularity should come as no surprise, though.
O, a women's lifestyle monthly that features Winfrey on every cover, has a circulation of 2.2 million, and millions more watch Winfrey on her syndicated talk show.
But the robust bidding so early in the eBay auction for the Seattle tickets did shock a seller, Rob Hansen of San Francisco, who originally purchased four tickets as a birthday gift for his girlfriend.
It turned out she only needed two tickets, so Hansen, an out-of-work dot-com CEO, put the other two up for sale to help save money for an engagement ring for his girlfriend.
"I was a little surprised at how high prices were going," Hansen said. "Typically, the significant bidding doesn't happen until the very end. But Oprah fans don't get to be up close and personal with her very often, so they're very enthusiastic."
Tyrone Beason: 206-464-2251 or tbeason@seattletimes.com