Trying to catch Taylor Swift live? You’re all alone, kid.
Tickets for the pop star’s highly anticipated “Eras Tour” became available for presale on Tuesday morning for lucky Swifties selected as “verified fans” by Ticketmaster. However, for many, today was no fairy tale.
I started my ticket buying journey at 8:00 am PT, an hour before my buying window for the shows in Glendale, Arizona. While Ticketmaster issued the codes, concert presales from Glendale and Arlington, Texas were fulfilled through SeatGeek.
The night before, my friends and I negotiated our budget cap. It’s been reported that non-VIP tickets will max out at $449, but I’ve been too often burned by dynamic pricing to enter a ticket sale unprepared for a price hike. I opened my presale link on two computers and my phone in hopes of increasing my chances of jumping the queue. As I scrolled through Twitter for advice from Swifties on the East Coast, panic set in.
Many fans trying to get tickets took to Twitter to vent their frustrations – while some managed to buy, many were met with a queue that said “over 2,000 people ahead of you”. To make matters worse, Ticketmaster then “temporarily paused” the queue, leaving hopefuls in limbo with no indication of when they might be let through.
As soon as the clock struck 9, I was redirected to SeatGeek’s virtual line. Unlike Ticketmaster, it was impossible to tell where I was in the queue: the words “you’re online” were accompanied by a stationary orange progress bar.
At 9:09 a.m., one of my computers was displaying a blurry picture of the seat map. It took another four minutes for the interface to actually load. I immediately noticed that I had been assigned on March 18, with no opportunity to try out for the March 17 show, despite Ticketmaster’s assurance that the fan-verified presale would apply to all dates at the selected venue. I decided not to waste time with the date, but to lock myself in the front of the pit, choosing four seats as close to the stage as possible.
I was taken to another screen, ready to pay…only to be told that my selected seats were already taken. It took another five minutes for the seat map to load again – and I immediately noticed that the seats I had just tried to purchase were still listed as available on the map. I ignored them and tried again section after section, repeating the “already taken” experience three more times.
My boss called me in the middle of my ticket-induced meltdown. After an attempt to discuss the workday was interrupted by my swearing, we cut it short. “Get your tickets and call me when you’re done,” he said, clearly acknowledging that I was in a frenzy.
At 9:18 a.m., I finally managed to choose seats that were Actually available in the front section of the pit. I was, to borrow a phrase from Swift, “The Lucky One,” snagging four tickets at $429 each (plus the dreaded service charge, adding $99.14 to each ticket).
After basking in the glory of being the hero of my group of friends (and eventually calling my boss back), I texted another friend to buy tickets to a show in Los Angeles. “Ticketmaster wouldn’t let me into the waiting room, which was supposed to be open 20 minutes ago,” he said. After 20 minutes, it was pushed to a sale at 3:00 p.m. PT.
Ticketmaster addressed the crash in a statement on social media, citing “historically unprecedented demand with millions of people showing up to purchase tickets.” The seller delayed Capital One’s presale by a full day, moving it to Wednesday at 2 p.m. local time.
Additionally, fans who had tickets to Swift’s canceled ‘Lover Fest’ were promised ‘preferred access’ to the sale, but it appears that fell by the wayside during the purchase process, from multiple reports that they were still waiting in the general pre-sale queue.
A quick look on StubHub shows that places in my section now range from $1,999 to $12,825. If the verified fan system was intended to prevent scalpers from reselling tickets at a higher price… it’s not. It is curious that Ticketmaster, which controlled the number of verified fans, did not have the means to support the sale.
Obviously, Swift concert tickets are in short supply, but no one should have to take days off and wait for endless hours in sight just to see their favorite artist. While I’m grateful to be able to attend the “Eras Tour”, I can’t help but think how badly this sale went – and this is far from the first strike against these sellers.
Ticketmaster and SeatGeek: you are the problem, you are.