Have you ever struggled to buy concert tickets online only to lose your shot to scalpers that want to charge double or triple? I know I have. Let’s commiserate. 

We’ve all been there…

Sat in our bedroom with two laptops, a desktop and three smartphones, refreshing each one simultaneously in a desperate attempt not to miss out on that must go to gig. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Come on. Come on. It’s once in lifetime. But having been in this exact position a thousand times before, we know the odds are stacked against us. But no matter how many times we go through this, we still believe that we have a fair chance of grabbing a few tickets because we were online, on Ticketmaster, waiting for the moment the tickets were released.

But the truth is, we don’t have a fair chance.

You have a better chance of winning the jackpot in one of Vegas’ high-roller casinos than you do at getting tickets through Ticketmaster. There are just too many outlets on this site, so many that the stadium your favourite band are playing at, which can seat 35,000 screaming ‘fans’, will have sold every ticket before your laptops and smartphones have even loaded.

This is partially because the band and/or promoter takes a sweet amount of tickets for themselves, while corporate sponsors get to take the mick because, well, they are super-duper rich, while season pass holders at that particular stadium aren’t likely to miss this event. These account for about 18-25% of the tickets. Urgh. Chances slimmed before the tickets even went on sale, and you’re left listening to your favourite band in your bedroom as you well-up.

Image Source: Pexels

But this is fine (apart from the corporate sponsor thing because, well, you know why) because season pass holders bought a season pass and the band has a right to its own gig. What is really hard to swallow are these companies that have set up NASA style computer systems that allow them to just get all the tickets (or almost all the tickets) at face value, which is probably something like $30 -$75 and then sell them for $12,786 because the demand is there. That is sickening and wrong.

But let’s say, by some miracle, you manage to break through the firewall of touts on Ticketmaster and get through to the payment stage. Your $30-$75 ticket, of which you want to buy 4 so your friends can come, has suddenly jumped up by 12% because of fees and other charges. It’s horrendous.

But don’t worry, not all is lost, because there are alternatives to Ticketmaster, where you won’t struggle to get past the login stage and won’t be defeated by professional scalpers. You won’t be ripped off by abhorrent fee charges, either. How? Well there are sites where you can get no fee tickets. It’s incredible. So when it comes to the next breaking news on your favourite bands fan website, don’t feel disheartened by your previous attempts on websites where you stand between 0 and 2.5% chance of successfully getting to walk into an arena of bright lights and loud music. Do your research and grab your tickets from a wicked website that isn’t going to charge you a mega amount for you to be that loyal fan you know you are.

Like what you see? Follow Drunk On Pop on bloglovin’!