Once again, the huge demand for Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars prices reminded us how fans, desperate to be part of the experience, are vulnerable. The controversial Viagogo is based in Europe and can’t be touched by authorities, but there are ways to protect yourself.
Live Performance Australia
Live Performance Australia, which represents all sectors of the live industry, has released a video on its website on how consumers can save their asses. To break it down, it says:
Do your research: find out who the “authorised” ticket seller is, the venue and when tickets go on sale. If you see tickets on sale before that date, don’t buy, they may be fake.
Don’t assume ticket sellers that top your search engine lists are the official ones; they might have paid to be on top. Sign up for alerts via artist’s mailing lists and social media accounts, and mailing lists for venues, festivals, event promoters and authorised ticket sellers.
Create an online account with the authorised ticket seller. Check the ticket you’re buying for conditions (restricted view? Age?) and info about refunds, and pay by credit card.
Ticketmaster
“The need for ticket resale platforms is not going to go away and we will continue to provide a fully compliant platform to service that market safely and securely,” Ticketmaster executive Jackie Antas told Beat.
Ticketmaster is working with venues and promoters to ensure fans get reliable access to tickets. “We do more than anyone to combat scalpers who use bots that subvert that process. The solution lies with primary ticket distribution and there is no other ticketing provider in Australia who can do this.”
On the primary side, Ticketmaster uses innovative technologies such as Verified Fan and Paperless ticketing. Verified Fan allows artists to get tickets to real fans. With Paperless, ticket holders show the credit card they used to enter the venue. “Fans love credit card entry, but scalpers do not as there is nothing to resell.”
Ticketmaster Resale is a legitimate, regulated and Australian-based ticket resale marketplace which guarantees a 100% money back guarantee.
Jackie’s tips to secure tickets: “sign up for presales, ticket alerts, log into your account prior to tickets going on sale, don’t refresh your screen when a ticket order is processing and avoid using multiple devices, don’t have multiple browser windows open, keep an eye on the time limit on your transaction, follow social media channels for updates.”
Twickets
Twickets keeps resale prices at 10%. Its Australian GM Danny Hannaford tells Beat,“We monitor prices set by buyers and sellers, and any deemed more than an average number of tickets bought or sold will find the account blocked.
“We take a 10% commission on the final price – unlike some resale exchanges where up to 40% is charged. Fans can search ticket availability on its website and app, see latest listings on its Twitter feed, or be alerted by email when a hard-to-get ticket becomes available.”
