Is it cheaper to buy tickets at the box office?

Usually not. Most club nights and festivals charge more at the door than in pre-sale, because the organizer wants people to commit early.

Can I pay by card at the club door?

Many clubs take cards now, but not all of them. If the event page does not say, bring some cash to be safe.

What does OTD mean on a flyer?

OTD stands for on the door. It is the price you pay at the box office on the night, as opposed to the advance ticket price.

Glossary

Box office

The box office is where an event sells tickets on the night, usually at the door and often at a higher price than in pre-sale.

What is a box office?

At a club night or a festival, the box office is the desk at the entrance where everyone who has not bought a ticket in advance pays to get in. In nightlife it is rarely a booth with a window. More often it is a table just past security, with a cash box, a card reader and one or two people handing out stamps or wristbands. On flyers you will also see it written as "on the door" or OTD.

The box office is the counterpart to pre-sale. Pre-sale brings money in early and tells the organizer how many people to expect; the box office catches everyone who decides on the night. Most events use both, and the door price usually sits a few euros above the last pre-sale tier, so that buying early stays worth it.

How the box office works on the night

The box office opens with the doors and usually closes when the room reaches capacity or when entry stops late in the night.
The queue passes the door policy first. The bouncers decide who gets in; the box office only takes money from those who do.
Pre-sale tickets get scanned, guest list names get ticked off, and everyone else pays at the desk. Many clubs run these as separate lanes so the list does not hold up paying guests.
Payment is cash, card or both. The stamp or wristband is the receipt, so people can step out for air and come back in.
After closing, the takings are counted against the number of guests. Any door deal is settled from that figure.

Example: a Saturday in a mid-sized club

Say a club in Cologne with room for 400 sells 250 tickets in pre-sale at €12 to €16. The door price is €20. On the night another 110 people pay at the box office, which brings in €2,200, and 30 names come in on the guest list. The organizer learns two things for the next date: roughly a third of the paying crowd decided on the day, and the room was not full, so there is still room to push the pre-sale.

Tips for a smooth box office

Publish the door price in advance. People plan around it, and a surprise at the desk slows the whole queue.
Keep the list and the paying queue apart. One person checking names while another takes money halves the wait.
Take cards and cash. A desk that only takes one loses the people who brought the other.
Count guests, not just money. A clicker or scanner count lets you reconcile the takings and settle deals without arguments.
Decide when the box office closes and say so, especially when the venue has a curfew or a capacity cap.

Common questions

Is it cheaper to buy tickets at the box office?: Usually not. Most club nights and festivals charge more at the door than in pre-sale, because the organizer wants people to commit early.
Can I pay by card at the club door?: Many clubs take cards now, but not all of them. If the event page does not say, bring some cash to be safe.
What does OTD mean on a flyer?: OTD stands for on the door. It is the price you pay at the box office on the night, as opposed to the advance ticket price.