Are those Concert Tickets REAL or FAKE?
So you just purchased concert tickets for the hottest show in town. It may be Hannah Montana. It may be Bruce Springsteen. Whether you buy the tickets on eBay, from a ticket broker, another fan via online classified ads such as Craigslist, or on the day of the show from a common street scalper, there are some safeguards you can take to make sure you're buying good tickets.
1. Check the ticket's overall appearance.
Truth: A hard stock ticketmaster ticket has very thin lamination which makes it glare.
Consequence: If the ticket looks dull, it may be counterfeit
2. Check the performer, date and time.
Truth: I have seen many street scalpers sell the wrong tickets to events. For example
Larry the Cable Guy has 2 shows at Madison Square Garden. 1 show starts at 7:30pm and the next show is at 10:00pm.
An unsuspecting buyer looks for tickets to the sold out show around 9:00pm and a street scalper sells the buyer tickets to the 7:30pm show with the buyer assuming the tickets are for the 10:00pm show.
Consequence: The street scalper takes the cash and leaves and the buyer is stuck with tickets that will not permit entry for the 10pm show. Check every detail of the ticket.
3. Know the venue's seating chart and know the market.
Truth: A lot of scam artists will modify tickets. They will actually use good tickets which will permit entry, but will change the section and row. If someone is selling Front Row tickets, say the Front Row is Floor 1, Row A and they have tickets that say Floor 1, Row 1, then it should set off a signal that the tickets may be modified since the venue uses letters for the rows instead of numbers.
Knowing the market also helps. If someone is selling tickets for $25 a pair and similar tickets are selling for $500, then be cautious.
Consequence: If you are permitted entry with a modified ticket, someone else with the real tickets will be sitting in the seats you think you own. The venue manager will pull both parties aside, make a quick decision which will usually end up with the person who does not have proof of purchase being escorted out of the building.
Did you know that Ticketmaster U.S. makes their tickets secure from counterfeiting? This does not eliminate 100% of the problem, but this is a great way to check and see if those tickets being sold on the street corner are at least from Ticketmaster.
Take the ticket and look at it. The base color for most US Ticketmaster events is white. It may have orange, green or blue on it, but the base color is white and nothing else.
Now hold the ticket up to a strong light source. All the parts that are white should glow blue when you hold it up to a light source.
If you've got some old ticketmaster stubs, try it right now.
In the case you're out in the street, hold the tickets up to the sunlight. It works with sunlight. If you're indoors or buying tickets in the evening, then find a light source closeby and use that.
Now for the hard truth...
If you're not the original purchaser of the tickets, there is ALWAYS a chance that the ticket may not grant you entry into the venue.
Say you buy tickets online. You're not the original buyer, but a secondary buyer. IF the original buyer sells tickets to you, then reports them lost or stolen, Ticketmaster will invalidate your tickets and issue new ones which will be held at Will Call in the name of the original purchaser. And there is nothing you can do to prevent this from happening.
You should buy tickets from reputable sources. If buying on eBay, make sure you check the seller's rating and length of time with eBay.
Some sellers have excellent ratings, but have been members for only months. A lot of them build feedback by selling passwords and other low priced items, then they list a big ticket item and take the money. Make sure the seller has received good feedback for other high ticket items.
Your best bet is to always pay with credit card whenever you can, so in case you buy bogus tickets, you can file a charge back. Try to avoid using cash whenever you can.
I hope this helps. I will be writing a guide to Ticketfast Tickets (e-mail tickets in PDF format) soon. So make sure to check my guides in the near future.
Happy bidding and enjoy your next show. Please do me a favor and vote on this guide below! Thanks for reading. Please contact me if you would like further information on the authenticity of tickets.
1. Check the ticket's overall appearance.
Truth: A hard stock ticketmaster ticket has very thin lamination which makes it glare.
Consequence: If the ticket looks dull, it may be counterfeit
2. Check the performer, date and time.
Truth: I have seen many street scalpers sell the wrong tickets to events. For example
Larry the Cable Guy has 2 shows at Madison Square Garden. 1 show starts at 7:30pm and the next show is at 10:00pm.
An unsuspecting buyer looks for tickets to the sold out show around 9:00pm and a street scalper sells the buyer tickets to the 7:30pm show with the buyer assuming the tickets are for the 10:00pm show.
Consequence: The street scalper takes the cash and leaves and the buyer is stuck with tickets that will not permit entry for the 10pm show. Check every detail of the ticket.
3. Know the venue's seating chart and know the market.
Truth: A lot of scam artists will modify tickets. They will actually use good tickets which will permit entry, but will change the section and row. If someone is selling Front Row tickets, say the Front Row is Floor 1, Row A and they have tickets that say Floor 1, Row 1, then it should set off a signal that the tickets may be modified since the venue uses letters for the rows instead of numbers.
Knowing the market also helps. If someone is selling tickets for $25 a pair and similar tickets are selling for $500, then be cautious.
Consequence: If you are permitted entry with a modified ticket, someone else with the real tickets will be sitting in the seats you think you own. The venue manager will pull both parties aside, make a quick decision which will usually end up with the person who does not have proof of purchase being escorted out of the building.
Did you know that Ticketmaster U.S. makes their tickets secure from counterfeiting? This does not eliminate 100% of the problem, but this is a great way to check and see if those tickets being sold on the street corner are at least from Ticketmaster.
Take the ticket and look at it. The base color for most US Ticketmaster events is white. It may have orange, green or blue on it, but the base color is white and nothing else.
Now hold the ticket up to a strong light source. All the parts that are white should glow blue when you hold it up to a light source.
If you've got some old ticketmaster stubs, try it right now.
In the case you're out in the street, hold the tickets up to the sunlight. It works with sunlight. If you're indoors or buying tickets in the evening, then find a light source closeby and use that.
Now for the hard truth...
If you're not the original purchaser of the tickets, there is ALWAYS a chance that the ticket may not grant you entry into the venue.
Say you buy tickets online. You're not the original buyer, but a secondary buyer. IF the original buyer sells tickets to you, then reports them lost or stolen, Ticketmaster will invalidate your tickets and issue new ones which will be held at Will Call in the name of the original purchaser. And there is nothing you can do to prevent this from happening.
You should buy tickets from reputable sources. If buying on eBay, make sure you check the seller's rating and length of time with eBay.
Some sellers have excellent ratings, but have been members for only months. A lot of them build feedback by selling passwords and other low priced items, then they list a big ticket item and take the money. Make sure the seller has received good feedback for other high ticket items.
Your best bet is to always pay with credit card whenever you can, so in case you buy bogus tickets, you can file a charge back. Try to avoid using cash whenever you can.
I hope this helps. I will be writing a guide to Ticketfast Tickets (e-mail tickets in PDF format) soon. So make sure to check my guides in the near future.
Happy bidding and enjoy your next show. Please do me a favor and vote on this guide below! Thanks for reading. Please contact me if you would like further information on the authenticity of tickets.
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