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

[Sundaycoffee]

I had a concert booked with a friend in the middle of March and she has had to pull out to attend a milestone family birthday party that has been arranged since we booked.
She has told me she wants to sell the ticket to a friend. This particular friend I have only met twice before in the past couple of years and is nice enough but not someone I would choose to spend the evening with and had I known this I wouldn't have spent £££ on a ticket/ evening to sit with someone I barely know.
She wants full price for the ticket and there are no takers from anyone my side, unless it was at a discounted rate. She's taken the stance that she should be allowed to do what she wants with the ticket she bought. AIBU to feel a bit put out?

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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'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.

Jesus this sounds awful!

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!

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

Your ridiculous