Four tips to beating the ticket touts
Struggling to get tickets for the gig of your dreams? New research says that tickets to popular events have been appearing on re-sale sites immediately – or even before – they go on general sale. According to consumer group Which?, this secondary ticketing "stitch-up" has left consumers forced to pay a far higher price.
In response, Which? has put together four tips to help fans to beat the ticket touts.
1. Join the fan club
(Hannah McKay/PA)
If you have a favourite artist or a preferred venue, sign up to the newsletter and you may get priority booking, or discount codes for particular events.
2. Ensure you get ahead of the game
Use sites, such as gettothefront.co.uk and beatthetouts.com, which list advance tour dates, and sign up for alerts from primary sites, such as Ticketmaster and Seetickets. O2 Priority also offers customers early booking for specific shows, often two days before the general sale.
3. Check with the venue first
If you can, visit in person – the venue box office is often the cheapest option because most do not charge booking or postage fees. If the venue is not nearby, try the website.
4. Alternatives to ticket touts
If you miss the boat and a show is sold out, try scarletmist.com, which was set up by fans to allow people to buy or sell spare tickets at face value or less, and encourages a face-to-face exchange. twickets.co.uk and vibetickets.co.uk are also fan-to-fan ticket exchange sites, restricted to face value.
