BRITPOP legends Oasis have been making headlines with their reunion tour – but not for all the right reasons.
Soaring ticket prices and endless online queues have enraged fans and shone a light into the problems of the ticketing industry.
As well high costs, fans have to battle confusing fees and sidestep touts and scams in a bid to see their favourite artists.
Today, Harriet Cooke explains the risks of buying live event tickets – and how to beat them.
TICKETING sites, such as AXS, Eventim and Ticketmaster, can charge different prices for the same concerts and theatre shows.
On top of the basic cost of a ticket, you may also pay charges of up to £1.50 for processing, £2.50 for delivery, £7 for booking, £6 for service and £1.75 to the venue.
As many as four different fees can be piled on at once, but incoming government rules say the headline price on booking sites should also be the total price.
So websites will no longer be able to hide fees until customers reach the checkout page – and the industry is already largely complying with this.
But it can still be confusing to work out what is the best price as sites charge differently.
Two tickets for the same seats at Abba Voyage on September 30 from Eventim cost £242.55 when we checked, whereas they were £264 from AXS.
Eventim included a £2.75 delivery charge, while AXS included all fees.
Two balcony tickets to see the band Fat Dog at the O2 Forum on November 23 cost a total of £50.10 from See Tickets, including a £1 order processing fee and a £1 fulfilment fee.
The same tickets from Ticketmaster cost a total £51.95, including two £2.50 service fees, two £2.05 facility charges and one £2.85 order processing fee.
Annoyingly, you can’t actually see the total price from Ticketmaster until you have fully registered your details on the site and verified your phone number and email address.
TOP TIP: There will not be a huge difference in price, but you could save a few pounds shopping around.
Seatpick.com, a global price comparison site for concert and sports tickets, is helpful, but it’s still worth checking ticket-selling sites to find the best cost.
TICKETS listed on some secondary ticket sites, such as Viagogo or StubHub, are often sold at inflated prices by touts.
For example, Oasis tickets have been listed for as much as £5,000 on Viagogo.
This is not illegal, but be aware that some events, including the Oasis gigs, have warned that tickets sold through secondary sites (excluding Twickets) will be cancelled.
By law, tickets up for resale must be listed with details of the face value and seat number, so organisers will know exactly which ones have been sold on.
In Ireland, it’s been against the law to resell tickets at more than face value since 2021 — legislation that some campaign groups are keen to see introduced here.
The Government this week said it is considering different options, including restricting the price of resold tickets to a set percentage of their face value, or limiting the number of tickets that resellers can list.
TOP TIP: If you lose out on buying tickets through the official channels, you can still try resale platforms such as Twickets or Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange.
These only allow resales at their original price, or less.
CROOKS will target fans with fake websites, emails or social media posts offering tickets at extremely low prices — often wanting payment upfront.
It’s best to only use official sites and check the payment page is secure.
OASIS fans blasted Ticketmaster for slyly doubling prices as millions queued for the checkout.
Ticketmaster called it “dynamic pricing”, where prices surge with demand.
Consumer group Which? has since said the lack of warning about the hikes could have breached consumer law.
One way to avoid surge pricing is by looking for pre-sales, which are available to a select group of fans before they are offered to the general public. You will have to sign up to get access.
Liz Hunter, of money expert. com, said: “Pre-sales sell tickets at their standard price so you won’t be surprised by dynamic pricing, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
“Fans who have signed up to the mailing list or even made a purchase of merchandise or a CD, for example, will get first dibs on any pre-sales.”
Some reward schemes, such as O2 Priority, Three+ and Vodafone’s VeryMe, will usually offer pre-sales around 48 hours before general release.
Credit cards including American Express and Capital One also have offers or pre-sales for their customers.
Sign up to newsletters and mailing lists for your favourite artists, shows and venues to be the first to know of any new ticket sales.
TOP TIP: If there is massive demand, team up with friends to get through the online queues (see case study, right).
James Daley, from the campaign group Fairer Finance, says it’s easier to nab a bargain when events do not sell out.
He added: “Secondary sites like Twickets often have tickets below face value as the day of the event approaches.
“People’s plans change and if they haven’t sold their tickets, they will often be prepared to accept less than they paid.
“There’s no harm in making a cheeky low ball offer, too.”
ALEX Coward, 36, from St Andrews, Fife, and three of her friends were so determined to see Taylor Swift in concert that they came up with a group strategy.
All four applied for pre-sale codes from AXS to allow them to get in the online queue to buy tickets when the sales began.
Each AXS code was for a different concert location, so the pals spread their chances by applying for shows in Liverpool, London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Just one of the four was sent a code, and it was for Wembley.
Batches of tickets went on sale on different days, to spread demand.
It took the friends three days of queuing online to get four suitable tickets, something they took turns to do as they juggled their work commitments.
Alex, a consultant whose company ARC helps young businesses to grow, said: “We eventually managed to get tickets for £79 each in the stands, and had a great view of the stage.
“The way the sales were spread across lots of days meant that we still had hope, even after three days of queueing.
“It took a lot of time and strateg-ising as a group, but it was so worth it.
“The atmosphere was incredible, it was such an experience.”
