Poland - Worth booking tickets in advance?

[Bodie]

Going to Poland in March. I will be staying in Warsaw. I wish to see some other Polish cities and as a bonus experience some Polish railways.

Krakow is a definite, possibly Gdansk or Wroclaw.
Using the PKP website I see a EIP service to Krakow is 79PLN (about £16) each way.

I don't mind booking in advance but I like the flexibility of being able to choose which day I will go, when I am actually there. Purchasing at the station also adds to the overall experience as well for me.
Plus no more printed out tickets to add to the ever increasing pile that I have already had to book for flights and bus into Warsaw.

Will I save much by buying in advance?
What would be the approximate price buying on the day?

Thanks

 

[Polrail]

Most PKP IC 2nd class tickets have a tiered pricing. When they go on sale (30 days before travel) they are 30% off, then drop to 20% off, 10% off and in the days leading up to travel are sold at full (base) price, which is what you'd pay at the station. The early-purchase discounts don't apply in 1st class.

On the EIP/EIC trains, there are also a limited number of Super Promo fares in 2nd and 1st, which are lower (starting from 49PLN).

There is also a 30% discount for seniors (60+), but it does not combine with any of the above discounts.

Note that all PKP IC trains require a seat reservation; there are no open tickets where you can just hop on.

 

[dutchflyer]

System is now much alike that from DB=german rails: on IC (all types-PKP only runs IC trains now, the locals are run by PolRegio or whatever other local operator): book early for fixed timings and get the best price.
However IF you plan to travel more and can press it in a weekend, there may be other cheaper options, like the Podroznika or weekend-tickets (unlim. travel, except for the surcharges for reservation). ALL PKP is now fully reserved.
Cannot say that buying on the day is easy:in WAW always very longQs, sellerladies seem to be elected to not talk anything other as Polish and on busy times trains could be fully sold out. Use the machines! but you then always pay full price.
Its daft easy to simply check prices (these also differ for different types of train) online on intercity.pl for now/tomorrow or up to 30 days advance (the max you can). Also all explained on seat61.com. The Intercity site also shows very clearly all possible discount options.
There used to be a 1/day much cheaper train run by Koleje mazowieckie (the operator of locals around WAW) to Krakow (the DRAGON), doubledeck suburban stock, but this was withdrawn last autumn.
For really CHEAP travel between those towns, use Polskibus (a Megabus offshoot), on some links it may even be faster and always cheaper!