buying tickets from online auctions, is it safe?

unwashed potato! · 19 Oct 2008 at 19:31

realy wanting to get tickets to go see lee evans live at brighton on november 9th but looking on ticketmaster and it seems it's sold out for 2 people. been looking on other places like ebay and although extremely expensive there seems to be some avaiable there however i'm a little worried about being ripped off.

is it safe to buy tickets on ebay? my main concern is being sent a fake ticket.

is there any other place i can check which may have tickets to this event?

Gilly · 19 Oct 2008 at 19:37

You could try buying direct, unwanted tickets may be returned there.

I wouldn't ever buy tickets in an online auction. There's a reason they're banned.

unwashed potato! · 19 Oct 2008 at 19:45

Gilly said:
You could try buying direct, unwanted tickets may be returned there.

I wouldn't ever buy tickets in an online auction. There's a reason they're banned.

what do you mean direct? the place i have been trying is brightoncentre.co.uk but that directs me to ticketmaster to buy the tickets and afaik this is the place to get the tickets from?

if i get lucky and buy online from someone selling genuine tickets on ebay would i be able to use the tickets? they aren't in anyones name are they?

i'm not sure what to do if i can't get them anywhere official as these would be the perfect present as it's my gfs 21st on that day and she'd love to go so i'd be willing to spend a lot but then i could loose a hell of a lot of money if it goes wrong.

as it is banned do i still get protection from paypal?

Kearney_1988 · 19 Oct 2008 at 19:52

ive brought and sold tickets before on auction sites never had any problems but i can see why its a bit dodgy looking. suppose it depends on the seller

benktlottie · 19 Oct 2008 at 19:54

WE've bought loads of tickets from Ebay, albeit paid over the odds for them. Just have a look at their freedback.

Russinating · 19 Oct 2008 at 20:05

I used to sell tickets on the bay so from a sellers/my point of view yes. Touts are there to make an extortionate profit, not scam, but as always just look at feedback etc.

Volcs · 19 Oct 2008 at 20:13

Festivals tickets always seem to have the highest risk - I know plenty of folks that have been screwed.

Youstolemyname · 19 Oct 2008 at 20:16

Gilly said:
You could try buying direct, unwanted tickets may be returned there.

I wouldn't ever buy tickets in an online auction. There's a reason they're banned.

I don't think they are banned mate. The big online auction site has a specific section for ticket sales. You have to declare the face value of the ticket and then it's game on as far as the auction is concerned. The only caveat is that most tickets are usually non-transferrable by their terms and conditions so the buyer runs the risk of buying a ticket that will be voided by the venue.

The chances of that happening are small, but it's possible.

unwashed potato! · 19 Oct 2008 at 20:31

thanks guys, i'll make sure feedback is good and hope i get lucky then. just hope it doesn't cost me loads for nothing.

acevuk · 19 Oct 2008 at 20:39

FWIW, my ticket has my name on it, but I did do the 'print at home' option, so not sure if that has any bearing.

Just make sure you don't pay much more than the £30 face value.

Have fun if you do go, I'm down there on the 10th, can't wait!!

unwashed potato! · 19 Oct 2008 at 21:32

acevuk said:
FWIW, my ticket has my name on it, but I did do the 'print at home' option, so not sure if that has any bearing.

Just make sure you don't pay much more than the £30 face value.

oh thats not a good thing then, will have to make sure the persons name isn't on the tickets before buying. my dad just went and he didn't have his name on his so i guess that must have been the standard post option.

looking on ebay i may end up having to pay (well i hope no more then this) £150.

on ticketmaster website they say as the event gets closer more tickets will become available. should i wait out for this? only trouble is the event is 3 weeks away today so it's getting a little close to risk that i get lucky and there is 2 tickets available.

mattpc · 19 Oct 2008 at 21:36

i would consider each auction on its own merits. If the seller has a good reputation I see no harm in it. Use your common sense like any ebay auction bid tbh.

stoofa · 20 Oct 2008 at 00:53

Until a week or so ago I would never have bought tickets from anywhere other than either the venue direct or one of the reputable sellers - ticketmaster for example.
However this was not through fear of being totally ripped off - more because I think ticket scalps and resellers are lowlife.
Fans, people who actually want to see concerts etc are sometimes forced to pay stupid money to see somebody they really want to see.
And the lowlife knows this - buys tickets he has no interest in just to make money from the real fan.

Anyway, the reason I say "until a week or so ago" is because the wife so desperately wanted to see The Killers, Cardiff was the only concert we could make and of course the tickets sold out quickly and I couldn't get any.
I bought two from EBay - ones somebody had bought directly from the venue and I actually now have the tickets in hand.

If it's EBay you're looking at then either go for the Power Sellers - yer, they are probably lowlife scum, but at least they deliver once they have fleeced you for 2x the cover price.
Or the "Somebody has dropped out of our party" or "We now cannot go" adverts - as quite often you can get those tickets for closer to the cover price.

G-MAN2004 · 20 Dec 2008 at 00:48

Ahh, so tempted to get some Killers tickets. Mad that I missed out, and now they're nearing £100 a ticket.

I'll probably wait nearer March though, but I can't miss it!

CaseyChaos · 20 Dec 2008 at 01:19

what about going to:
Viagogo
Seat Wave
or any other similar site, these are set up for your kind of situation and even though I've never used them surely they'd offer more protection?

G-MAN2004 · 20 Dec 2008 at 01:24

CaseyChaos said:
what about going to:
Viagogo
Seat Wave
or any other similar site, these are set up for your kind of situation and even though I've never used them surely they'd offer more protection?

Thanks. I'll have a look.