How to Dominate Ticketmaster - Tips and Tricks for Buying Tickets 🎟

Written By: Gracie Magguilli

Last week, Taylor Swift announced her Eras Tour and the Ticketmaster verified fan presale begins on November 15th! The ticket demand is so high that Taylor has already added eight more shows! While this is what every Swiftie (us included!) has been waiting for, we know that getting tickets to see your fav can cause insane levels of stress. We’re all gearing up for the chaos that will be trying to buy tickets, which you might have already experienced if you scored tickets for Harry Styles or any other major artist, and we are here to help set you up for success with our tips and tricks for buying concert tickets. 🌟

#1 Get On The Verified Fan Presale List

Artists often have pre-sales where fans can buy tickets with a special code before they are available to the general public. To avoid bots buying up all the tickets, the process for getting on the pre-sale list is signing in with your Ticketmaster account and then registering for which shows you want presale for. Verified fan presale works like a lottery system and if you get chosen for pre-sale, you'll get an email a few days before saying whether or not you've been selected. If you got picked, great! If not, you’re on the waitlist and you’ll probably have to wait for the general public sale. However, keep an eye on your email because Ticketmaster often takes fans off of the waitlist. Don’t get discouraged if you have to wait until the general public sale, there's still a chance you will get tickets! Also, do not buy presale codes from anyone, if it's not from the artist, the venue, or Ticketmaster themselves it's probably not super trustworthy and you're better off just waiting until the tickets go on sale for everyone! 💕

#2 Have Your Account Information Saved

Before tickets go on sale, be sure that you are registered with an account. Don't want to waste precious seconds filling out your email and verifying it while all the good seats are getting taken! Make sure you have a card saved as well so you don't have to waste time entering your card details when you get to check out. This can save you from the “another fan beat you to these tickets” popup! 🖥

#3 Watch The Time

Be sure to set an alarm for at least 10 minutes before tickets go on sale so you can be ready to grab your tickets. We recommend sitting on the ticket screen for about 5 minutes and then refreshing at about 5 minutes til the sale starts. This is generally when Ticketmaster opens up the queue and the faster you refresh, the closer to the front you’ll be. Also, be sure that you know what time zone the tickets go on sale in. If you're trying to get tickets to a show in New York and you're currently in LA, you don't want to get in the queue too late! ⏰

#4 Have Multiple Accounts In The Queue

It's all about increasing your odds when buying tickets. While it is generally discouraged to have more than one tab open on your device to avoid being flagged as a bot, you can still have various Ticketmaster accounts open on multiple devices. Grab some of your fellow fans to join the queue with you to wait for tickets. You and your friends can all have a pow-wow to buy tickets and each have their Ticketmaster accounts open on various devices. This way, whoever gets to the front of the queue first can buy the tickets! 🎧

#5 Plan Ahead and Double-Check

The days leading up to tickets going on sale usually seem like the most stressful ever and it's hard to believe you'd ever forget any of the details. However, double-check to make sure you have everything ready to go. Make sure you have a fast Wi-Fi connection, all of your card details are in Ticketmaster, and all of the dates are correct for which show you want to go see. Ask the friends you plan to go with if they are sure they want to go, how much they’re comfortable spending, and where they want to sit. It might be helpful to look at a seating chart for the venue so everyone knows and agrees on where you want to sit! 📝

#6 Do Not Refresh The Page

Resist the urge. While we recommend doing this at the start of the Ticketmaster queue, once you get to the end of the queue it will tell you to wait while you're being directed. This can seem like your computer has frozen and the only way to get your tickets is to refresh the page. We repeat, do not do this! Everyone is on the site at the same time trying to get tickets before they're sold out. Be patient! The site is going to buffer and refreshing it might bump you back to the end of the queue line. This is also why we recommend you are open on multiple devices on multiple accounts so if you do get bumped back to the queue all is not lost. 💕

#7 Join Artist Mailing List And Look For Promotions

Make sure you're on the mailing list for your favorite artist to know if they are updating their fans on anything regarding their shows. Taylor Nation recently sent out an email to some fans telling them that they were being bumped up in the queue line for being a more loyal fan. Sometimes artists also have partnerships with certain companies, such as American Express or Capital One, that also have their own presale as well. Artists will also have giveaway events in the months leading up to their concert so make sure you follow them on all relevant social media pages! 🌈

#8 Don’t Forget About The Fees

We've all been there, ordering something online and thinking it is such a steal until you see the shipping and handling fee. Concert tickets are no different, as they have many different fees attached to the price. Ticketmaster, as well as various resell sites, will have added fees on top of the sale price for the tickets, so be prepared for them to cost a little more than expected. 🧡

#9 It's Not Over Until The Concert Is

Sold out never really means sold out. Oftentimes, shows will sell out but because concert tickets are often purchased months in advance, life happens and inevitably there will be people reselling their tickets. You totally can buy resale! Ticketmaster has verified fan-to-fan resell so that no one is getting scammed. To hear more about this, click here to read our fan safety blog. Don't stop trying to until the day of the show. You can call the venue and even show up there on the day of the show to wait at the box office. Until your favorite artist is on stage singing, you still have a chance to see them! 💚

Whether you get to see your favorite artists live or not, you are still a fan and nothing can change that. Head to our Instagram for all the tour content from your favs. We hope this helped you prepare to buy tickets for any of the upcoming concerts next year and wish you all the luck! 🎤

If you want to get more involved in fan communities, join a Fan Crew or our awesome weekly newsletter!