Would I be mad to buy Taylor Swift Tickets from Viagogo?

[MrsJamieFraser22]

Have 2 daughters who are desperate to see Taylor but unfortunately we weren’t able to get tickets in the official sale, have also kept looking on Ticketmaster for resale but nothing has ever come up. Prices are now coming down ( a bit) as the dates approach on resale sites such as Viagogo but I’ve never used them and thought there was restrictions on reselling the UK tickets on these sites. Does anyone know if they’re likely to be valid? - I’d hate to turn up on the day and not get in then having 2 crushed girls. Thanks

people have recently been scammed on viagogo for the Olivia Rodrigo concert, with the same tickets being sold multiple times, others being fake, the same will certainly happen with The Eras Tour. The supply/demand difference and FOMO is the perfect recipe for scammers. I think some people have said that viagogo give you your money back if they are fake and can't be used? But that won't cover the devastation of thinking you were going and being turned away, which for me would be far worse than accepting you aren't going to start with. Furthermore, TM and AXS have said that any tickets being resold on unofficial sites may be invalidated - whether this actually happens or is to put of touts remains to be seen, but the risk of not getting in stands even if you get your hands on legit tickets.

The only ways for you to have certainty are: buy via TM or AXS, someone you know and trust can no longer go and sells you their legit tickets, or win a radio competition which will certainly be starting sometime soon. It sucks, and I know the Eras is a 'moment', but Taylor shows no sign of slowing down, she will be touring in the UK again in a few years, and maybe by then the interest in seeing her live will have returned to normal levels by then.

It has a bad reputation but I've never had a bad experience with viagogo (used them for football tickets several times and have never been scammed).

It’s going to be a risk.
Obviously the tickets are hugely marked up - although if you’re making a conscious decision to pay that that’s fine.
Some of the tickets are likely to be fake. Or not to exist. Viagogo have a guarantee - but I think you’ll still have a bit of a battle to get your money back.
Assuming tickets turn up and are not fake you’re still not definitely in.
TS in the UK isn’t a lead booker event - so it won’t matter that the tickets don’t have to match your name. However some sellers might be black listed which you won’t necessarily know about until the point of entry. The event organisers are saying they’ll invalidate tickets found to be bought on viagogo or similar sites but it’s not exactly clear how that will happen.
Viagogo tickets have worked in Paris and Stockholm.

What date are you looking for?
Might be worth waiting to see what happens at earlier concerts?

Also new (restricted view) tickets were released yesterday for Edinburgh- so this might happen for other venues- although you still need a code to buy them.

to add, how old are your girls OP? If they are teenagers and would be old enough to understand this is the only way of getting tickets, it's not guaranteed, and they might be turned away - then you might just be able to risk it if you really explain it's a punt. If I had been unable to get tickets I might have been prepared to do that with my (adult) group, not getting too excited, be prepared to not get in, and have a refund. It depends if you can temper expectations.

I think most TS fans would favour official resale if they needed it, but VIP package tickets for June dates can no longer be sold there due to the time needed to distribute the boxes, so people with those with those might be more tempted to sell on viagagogo. But these are so in demand, our group could redistribute our tickets 5 times over to friends/family who have told us in no uncertain terms that if we can't make it they want our tickets. So most unwanted tickets aren't going to be getting anywhere near resale in any form.

Thanks for your replies Summaluvin that sums up my dilemma perfectly. Its Edinburgh I am looking at horumforaforum which unfortunately means I can’t wait & see what other people’s experience is unless of course I buy on the day for the Saturday or Sunday

The youngest is 10 so I think it would be really difficult to manage expectations. That’s a really good point about people who have tickets are likely to know multiple people who’d gladly take them off their hands so why would genuine tickets appear on the sites this long after the initial sale. Thanks for your perspectives you’ve talked me down from making a potentially very costly ( financial & emotional) mistake. The girls have accepted we aren’t going so probably best to leave it at that x

I got an email yesterday from the record company offering that if you bought a copy of the album you'd be put in a draw for the opportunity to BUY £160 tickets. I did laugh at the cheek but maybe something like this is an in for those fans desperate to go.

The worry is that there is a chance they may not be valid and you get turned away, they have a guarantee that you will get your money back though, though probably not that easy

A lady I follow on TikTok got turned away at Olivia Rodriguez last weekend - with her ten year old daughter and after shelling out for a hotel room. They actually got a refund very quickly, I watched a follow up midweek, but her poor wee girl 😕

That’s awful imagine one of your core childhood memories being that - poor girl. These scammers are such low lifes - it was so much easier when I was a youngster and you could just queue outside your local record shop to buy paper tickets!.

Yes.

Please read TrustPilot reviews of Viagogo.

Only ever buy resales from Ticketmaster, Twickets or someone you know.

Yes don't do viagogo (or anyone who tries to contact you through Mumsnet!)
Twickets or resale through Ticketmasterare the only legit routes. You can sign up to alerts on twickets so you get a notification as soon as someone puts them on. You need to be very quick though as they disappear almost instantly.
You might get lucky as more seem to come on nearer the time when people realise they can't attend anymore for one reason or another.

AXS and Ticketmaster are the only acceptable resale sites.

My friend has taken a risk and bought tickets from viagogo for Edinburgh. She bought tickets from a seller with a star next to their name but she's fully aware that it's still a risk.

Really hope it works out for her

Note that 14 is the minimum age for standing. Also the weather may present a challenge. It's a 3 hour show plus time getting in. If it's hot/cold/wet you need to plan. See Springsteen in Sunderland recently and last week's Metallica show in Munich with its biblical rain. Unlikely to occur again but I've done that standing in the rain for hours and vowed never again.

Hey there! It’d be interested in buying your ticket if you still have them available. Let me see if I can PM you!

Have you read the thread?!
How do you know a random person claiming to be a mumsnetter has a ticket?

To everyone messaging, I’ve promised my tickets to someone now but thought I’d weigh in on the issue as I’ve bought quite a few tickets from strangers online and I see a lot of false/not very good info on here.

As far as I’m aware twickets unfortunately doesn’t work for the eras tour (or at least for the Edinburgh show because I tried to list on there and the event doesn’t exist).

I’ve had some good experiences with stubhub, slightly less with viagogo… but as long as you use the PayPal option when paying you should be fine, it’s just possible you’ll be waiting a few weeks to get your money back if there’s a dispute and no alternative tickets available.

If buying tickets from strangers online these are a few rules I’ve followed when buying tickets and they’ve served me well.

1. Ask to connect on their preferred socials and see if it seems legitimate. Rule of thumb I use is to see if they have people with the same last name interacting with them/pictures older than 2023. Not everyone is active on social media though so I find this less important than the other 2 rules. You can still buy safely from someone with a not active social media account, you just have to be extra diligent on the video call and make sure their name on the tickets and paypal/whatsapp/socials is the same. Scammers don’t usually have a consistent name.
2. You can screen share on whatsapp calls so make sure you video call and see them entering the app with the tickets because screenshots and recordings can be faked. If you’re looking at screenshots though make sure the time in the corner is the same as the current time so you can make sure they haven’t just stolen someone’s legitimate screenshots previously.
3. Make sure they take PayPal g&s (small fee like 3% but can get your money back if it’s a scam)

Also if anyone is thinking they can get tickets on official resale, that has now closed for every show other than London August dates and will not reopen unfortunately.
Good luck, swifties! Hope you all manage to get tickets 🫶

I honestly wouldn't risk it, my DD's are desperate to go but we've all said that next time we'll buy the album and get a code!

There may be 2 tickets for Edinburgh going on Ticketmaster, ds was supposed to be going, but his husband is in hospital seriously ill.

Hi if anyone is looking for tickets for Edinburgh there are currently new restricted view seats for sale on Ticketmaster. You need a code to buy them. I managed to get 3 tickets for us - the view will probably be shocking but we’ll be there and I know I’ve not been scammed out of £1k+. Good luck anyone that’s still trying to hunt the tickets down

Glad you got tickets OP. I was going to try get some through AXS so glad to see some people on this say they seem to be accepted!