Desperate Taylor Swift followers pay over £600 from the resale web site | Music | Entertainment | EUROtoday

With simply over three weeks to go till Taylor Swift kicks off the UK leg of her Eras tour, Swifties who missed out within the official ticket launch are turning to resale websites to get their fingers on these golden tickets.

Undeterred by sky-high costs, some followers are shelling out greater than £600 a ticket for the London reveals on Viagogo.  For followers determined to see their idol the location, which acts as a third-party middleman that lets shoppers record tickets on the market, is quick changing into their solely choice.

As a fellow determined music fan, I took a leap of religion again in 2018 and bought tickets to see one other sold-out present by Viagogo. With so many Taylor Swift followers nervously hovering over the ‘buy now’ button on the resale sight that has confronted powerful criticism, I assumed I’d share my expertise.

An ardent fan of the Foo Fighters, I used to be delighted after I managed to bag three tickets to their London Arena present again in June 2018. Giddy with delight after I acquired the affirmation electronic mail from Ticketmaster, I felt like the child at sports activities day who gained all of the prizes.

As anybody who has snapped up gig tickets on the primary launch is aware of, little or no can evaluate to the dopamine rush of figuring out that you simply emerged victorious within the more and more sophisticated ticket-buying Olympics.

Legitimately bought and paid for, I by no means thought I’d have to fret about dancing with doubt on a poorly rated resale web site, however because the seasons change so life takes over.  The mates I used to be resulting from go together with ended their relationship a few week earlier than the gig and bereft by their mutual loss, they offered their tickets to work colleagues.

Never normally one to draw back from a solo journey, I turned gripped with worry about going to an enormous stadium gig all on my lonesome.  On the brink of tears on the considered being unable to see my favorite band,  the determined seek for fellow followers and last-minute ticket grabs started.

I swiftly cobbled collectively a newly fashioned Foo’s fan household together with my gig-shy husband and a few distant acquaintances from the pub on the promise that I might simply get them tickets, regardless of the present being offered out.

Panicking on the lack of availability on Ticketmaster, I turned to Viagogo, with the less-than-positive opinions I’d seen on-line ringing in my ears. Fuelled by adrenaline and that “whatever it costs” perspective that takes over when shopping for tickets, I put my fears apart and went for it.

To my everlasting shock and unwavering aid, the expertise was straightforward, well timed and, most significantly, undoubtedly not a rip-off.

How I efficiently bought tickets from Viagogo

It’s tremendous straightforward to navigate the location, I merely popped Foo Fighters into the search field and chosen the London date I wanted.  I used to be prompted to pick out what number of I wanted and opted for 3 tickets seated collectively (though for standing tickets that wasn’t vital.)

In the blink of a watch, an inventory of accessible tickets appeared and I chosen three for the standing zone that price much less per ticket than I had paid for mine. Purchased and paid for, I acquired a affirmation electronic mail from Viagogo instantly.

Breathing a sigh of aid and buoyed on by the truth that I might be there on the evening to lose my dignity in a middle-aged fan-girl frenzy, the preliminary feeling of euphoria slowly changed into a uninteresting sinking feeling in my intestine because the tickets took some time to reach in my inbox.

But they did, they usually have been excellent.  While thrashing about ingesting overpriced beer I used to be simply delighted to be there and that Viagogo had come up trumps.

But now for my disclaimer. You don’t have to go looking very arduous to search out quite a few poor opinions from patrons whose expertise of Viagogo was far much less constructive than mine. Over the years, the web site has been the topic of serious controversy, with accusations of inflated ticket costs from touts and even non-existent or faux tickets being out there on the market.

The firm has even confronted authorized challenges and was compelled to make adjustments to its enterprise practices following strain from The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) again in 2019.

While most tickets on Viagogo are reputable, there’s all the time a danger of encountering fraudulent sellers. However, Viagogo now affords a 100% assure designed to guard patrons from scams to make sure that followers get within the door or get their a reimbursement.

Before followers half with a single penny of their hard-earned money, dropping tons of of kilos on tickets to see Taylor, they need to remember that no transaction is with out danger.

Sites corresponding to Viagogo and Vivid Seats permit followers to purchase resale tickets from different followers. However, you will need to notice that many occasion promoters say tickets shouldn’t be resold after preliminary buy and won’t be legitimate for admittance to gigs.

Fans attending stay occasions with tickets acquired by resale web sites are suggested to double-check the ticket phrases and situations on the level of sale – corresponding to Ticketmaster or Live Nation – to make sure a clean stay occasion expertise. Tickets could possibly be voided in the event that they have been discovered to be purchased second-hand. As a end result, followers are shopping for at their very own danger.

With that mentioned, viagogo additionally commented: “Viagogo is a regulated marketplace where fans have the freedom to buy and sell tickets to their favourite live events, safely and securely, backed by a guarantee.”