How to Avoid Getting Overcharged for Live Events
Save money on live-event tickets by monitoring presales, buying directly and using verified resale platforms.
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Live events are pricey to begin with, but face value is just the start. Add hidden fees, inflated resale prices and dynamic pricing, and your night out just got a whole lot more expensive.
There are supposed to be guardrails to prevent surprises at checkout, and regulators have tried to address these issues.
On May 12, a new Federal Trade Commission rule went into effect barring bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics that obscure total prices for live-event ticket costs. It requires businesses to advertise all mandatory fees or charges in the total price.
But the rule is far from foolproof. On Sept. 18, the FTC sued Live Nation, accusing it and Ticketmaster of coordinating with brokers to allow them to use thousands of proxy bot accounts to purchase large ticket blocks, which were then resold at high markups. The suit also alleges that prices were advertised at lower amounts than what consumers actually paid.
It’s a big deal because Live Nation and Ticketmaster, under the joint ownership of Live Nation Entertainment, control roughly 80% of the event ticket sales market. That means if you’ve bought a ticket for a live event in the past, chances are you’ve handed money over to Live Nation Entertainment.
Last year, the Department of Justice sued Live Nation Entertainment on antitrust grounds for a range of allegations that impact what consumers pay, including its bevy of added fees and locking out competition through long-term, exclusive contracts with major venues.
While lawsuits play out in court, shows play on, so it helps to know what you can do to avoid overpaying.
There are still gaps that drive up costs
Tacked-on fees increase the total you’ll pay. Guidelines around fee transparency doesn’t mean there are no fees — it just means you’ll see them upfront. On top of the event ticket itself, you’ll still pay any mandatory fees like a service/convenience fee, order processing fee and venue fees. There also may be credit card processing fees, an electronic delivery fee, a promoter fee, premium seat fees and more.
Resale ticket markups. The resale market isn’t exempt from fees. On top of some of the fees listed above, resale platforms could tack on a broker/reseller fee or a transfer fee. Depending on the platform and the demand for an event, tickets could cost much more than the original advertised price if you had purchased them through the event’s official ticketing platform.
Dynamic pricing. Data-driven algorithms are used to monitor demand for tickets and adjust prices in real-time. It means you’ll pay more for high-demand events or during peak periods. But buying during off-peak periods means you could also pay less than you otherwise would have.
How to find fair-market tickets
The reality is, added fees aren’t going anywhere, but you can minimize paying outsized prices for shows and events.
Buy early
Buying early secures your seat and could also mean you score a discount. If an event you really want to go to is expected to sell out, getting a ticket early could also prevent you from having to pay high markup on the resale market.
“You can be cognizant of every single presale and avail yourself of it,” says Dean Budnick, writer, podcaster and co-author of “Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped.”
Artists and event promoters often host presales, advertised on email lists or social media. Ticketmaster also hosts a “Verified Fan” system to reduce ticket purchases by bots and resellers. Ahead of certain shows or tours, fans can register with Ticketmaster, which must approve your “verified” status. The company then provides, at random, some registered fans to receive presale access codes.
Credit card holders can also take advantage of presales for sports, concerts and other entertainment events.
All the major credit card companies offer their own branded presale and event access options, including Amex Experiences, Chase Experiences, Citi Entertainment, Mastercard Priceless and Capital One Entertainment. Check your card's benefits page to find out what you might be eligible for.
“If a consumer were to make oneself aware of all of the possible presales, where a lot of that inventory is going to disappear before the ‘general sale,’ I think that's helpful,” Budnick says.
Buy directly through venues
Going straight to the source — be it venue, theater, teams or performers — can help you avoid unnecessary markups through secondary resell platforms. It’s most likely that venues will have official partners (like Ticketmaster) to sell tickets, but going to the source means you’ll know the tickets you’re purchasing are legit.
Sign up for venue newsletters or follow performers on social media for on-sale dates and links to purchase tickets. Sports teams also sell tickets directly through their official websites.
Direct sales aren’t necessarily a deal, but they can help you avoid inflated secondary market prices or dicey private resellers.
Day-of-sale
Sometimes you can score last-minute deals if a fresh batch of seats is released the day of the event or if there are unsold tickets.
Even sold-out shows can sometimes drop new tickets for what are known as “production holds” — seats that are set aside so event organizers have room to adjust the performance setup, like lighting, sound, special effects and cameras. Sometimes, even hours prior to a show, production hold seats are released, says Budnick.
“I know that happened with Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden,” says Budnick. “Those shows were sold out and then they released some production seats and not only that, they actually released some really good seats.”
Secondary market prices tend to be more expensive over time, that is, until it’s crunch time. “Sometimes when you get closer to the show, especially people who are not professional scalpers who just invested their own money, they lose their nerve a little bit and they're happy to take whatever they can.”
Waiting until the last minute doesn’t always work in your favor, but if you’re willing to take the gamble, you could end up paying less.
Track prices across legitimate resale platforms
Stick to trusted resale platforms like SeatGeek, StubHub or Vivid Seats that offer buyer protection and guarantees that unofficial sellers don’t. Ticketmaster also has its own resale market to securely sell and buy verified tickets.
To save time and money, try aggregator sites like TicketIQ, which pull listings from multiple resale marketplaces so you can compare prices all at once. These tools show you how prices are trending and you can set up alerts when new inventory is available. No matter where you buy, review the full cost breakdown, including fees, before completing your purchase.
Private purchases through social media, Facebook Marketplace and sites like Craigslist are always at-your-own-risk. Unlike established resale platforms, you don’t have buyer protections. If a ticket is fake or unusable, you could be out of luck.
Is event ticket insurance worth it?
Before the checkout screen on most ticketing websites, you’ll be offered event insurance. Whether you take it is up to how risk-averse you are or your tolerance for added fees. For example, Ticketmaster offers “Event Ticket Protector” through Allianz Global Assistance; it charges 10% of ticket prices.
Event insurance can be useful under the right circumstances, but often it’s a cost that doesn’t pay off for standard shows.
If you’re traveling for an event or if the tickets are very expensive, then event insurance could be worth it. Allianz reimburses for things like certain illnesses or injuries, traffic accidents, mechanical breakdowns, plane delays, layoffs, jury duty, military duty or caregiving. But you will need to follow a process to make an insurance claim on a ticket for a missed event, one that may include documentation.
You also won’t be able to recoup your money if you decide you don’t want to go or if the weather is bad, for example. If the venue or entertainer cancels the event, you’ll usually get your money back or have the ticket honored for another date.
(Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for ABA via Getty Images)