Friend pulled out of gig and has asked to sell ticket to someone I barely know

Your ridiculous

What do you expect her to do about her ticket? Get your approval on who she sells it to? Ridiculous

Understand you feel miffed although it sounds like she doesn't have much choice if this is a family event booked after she got the ticket.

But as PP have said, you don't actually talk to someone during a gig - the music is way too loud, apart from anything else. Agree with PP the solution here is (a) you buy it at full price and sell it on to a friend at a discount, of (b) see it as a chance to maybe get to know the other person better - after all, they have e the same taste in music as you so they can't be all bad!

Jesus this sounds awful!

I'd be quietly annoyed and think twice before making plans with her again, but in her place I'd want the full ticket price back, if I could get it. You'll be surrounded by strangers, anyway, and there's no need to talk much, since you're all there to listen to the music.

Unless you're prepared to pay the difference between full price and what one of your other friends would be willing to pay, YABU. If you don't want to go, maybe you can sell you ticket, too. Or try to sell them together as a pair, as suggested above.

I’d be pretty miffed. But I’d either go and try and make the best of it if it was a band I really wanted to see. Or else I’d buy her ticket and try and sell them on as a pair on the likes of twickets etc. I suppose the latter depends on if the show is sold out and popular enough to sell on resale

I'm surprised how unsympathetic the responses have been. I would feel exactly as you do.

In this situation, I’d sacrifice my ticket and aim to sell them on as a pair so you both get your money back. Utilise WhatsApp groups or similar to sell quickly and locally. I wouldn’t fancy sitting next to a stranger for a gig as I like to sing and dance a bit which I’d feel self conscious about doing alone. I would have no problem going alone to the theatre or cinema as I see these as less sociable.

My neighbour had a ticket to a football match he couldn't use and I ended up going - with ten of his friends who were total strangers. They were a great laugh and I had a ball.

Are they for seats or standing OP?
If it’s the latter, perhaps the friend wants the ticket to join other friends of her own?

YANBU to feel put out as it’s not the evening you had planned. I would feel like the money had been wasted a bit as it’s not the same going alone (which you pretty much are now).

I would be tempted to either (1) see if buyer has any friends who want your ticket or (2) sell the ticket to the highest bidder on your side and make up the face value of the ticket myself.

Going to gigs isn't really a social thing. You generally lose your friends in the crowd and up with randoms anyway. Do you need to share a room or something?

I understand why you're a bit disappointed but she didn't have much choice about pulling out and she's perfectly entitled to give or sell the ticket to whoever she wants if you can't find anyone yourself know who wants to go. She paid for the ticket. She can do whatever she wants with it.

Its a shame but I think you have 2 options

Let her sell the ticket as she wants. Not that much interaction at a concert anyway so make the best of being there

Or

You buy it off her for face value and then sell to someone you know discounted. Means you are out of pocket but get to sit with who you want.

If she’s paid for her ticket then it’s hers to do as she pleases with , if you want to decide what to do with it buy it off her .

@Sundaycoffee I missed that she offered you her ticket at full price in your OP, in that case could you buy it off her and gift it to the friend of your choosing as a early birthday or very early Christmas present?

YANBU to feel put out, but what would you like her to do?
Take a loss so you can invite your own friend?

If I was in your friend's shoes, I'd be really really apologetic, I'd offer you the ticket full price to sell/give to someone of your choice and if that didn't work, I'd sell it myself. Pretty much what she is doing.

It sucks, you'd planned an evening with your friend and it's not as pleasant going alone or with someone you hardly know. But that's just how it is. If she's a good friend, you can do something else together another time.

Are you expecting her not to sell the ticket, to keep the seat empty? That's a bit unfair. Either you could sell your ticket too, or just go solo and enjoy yourself. You don't have to travel with this person or socialise with them at all

If you wouldn’t have gone had you known this would happen, you can’t like the act that much. Can you sell both tickets back on the site?

You don’t need to arrange anything with the person she sells her ticket to. You don’t even need to know who it is.

Do you think she shouldn’t sell her ticket so you don’t have to sit next to someone you don’t know? What about the stranger the other side of you? You will be “spending the evening” sat next to them too.

You could buy the ticket full price then sell it to your own friend at a discount?

She gave you the chance to sell the ticket to someone you know better. It's not a great situation but worth staying upset over, unless she keeps pulling out of things you've arranged.

You have to find someone you want to go with to buy the ticket, sell your ticket too as a pair or go with friend of friend.

You going and her ticket not being used is not really a fair option.

Its annoying, but I would just take the approach that you’re going to the concert alone.

definitely not BU

If you only wanted to see the gig then presumably you would have just bought your own ticket and not bothered to arrange it with her. Part of the enjoyment of the evening and reason for buying the ticket for you was doing something with a friend. Perhaps if she hadn't agreed you weren't that fussed about going and wouldn't have bought a ticket at all, in the same way that you might happily go to a bar for a night out with friends, but might not just randomly go there on your own for no reason.

It's understandable she wants her money back but she could be a bit more apologetic, and, given she's the one dropping out, I would have thought offering it at a discount so she still gets some money but you go with someone you know would be the fairest way of doing it. What would the difference be between the full amount and the amount someone you know would be willing to pay - ten/twenty quid? If she's happy to piss off a friend for that, she doesn't value the friendship highly.

Apart from anything else, presumably she's sold the ticket to her friend on the basis that she 'can go with sundaycoffee,' but you haven't agreed to that and are under no obligation to do so. You could sell your own ticket, find someone else to go with, or just go by yourself and not meet up with her friend, so she could also end up at the gig by herself. Or perhaps the friend knows other people going so has no intention of meeting up with you - and again can't be made to. Just a bit shit all round really.