Tips For Buying Resale Concert Tickets So You Don’t Get Scammed
Nothing stinks more than missing out on tickets for one of your favorite artists. You sit in a Ticketmaster queue for HOURS only to leave empty handed. Which brings people to resale sites like Stubhub, Seat Geek, and Game Time. While those can be “trusted” 3rd party resale sites, many have also tried buying resale tickets on Facebook or X. But this leads to a common theme of folks getting scammed out of hundreds of dollars, and no concert tickets delievered.
We’ve seen it before, fans will message us asking if there’s anything we can do to help. While we can’t control sale posts on social media, we can give you some helpful tips to remember before you buy a resale ticket on social media.
You should know that 99% of these posts are scams. And there are super easy ways to find out before you send anyone a payment. It IS possible to find real fans reselling their tickets, I’ve purchased a few concert tickets from strangers before. But this was a few years ago and things have changed. I’ve had a few failures too, here’s what I wish I knew before buying resale concert tickets on Facebook and X.
A Guide For Avoiding Resale Ticket Scams: 5 Helpful Tips
Make sure they only accept PayPal Goods & Services as form of payment. This should be your #1 indicator for scams. PayPal is the only payment method that provides buyer protection for online ticket sales. If the seller is not willing to use PayPal G&S, don’t waste your time with them. Venmo G&S, Zelle, PayPal Friends and Family, ApplePay do not provide buyer protection for ticket sales.
Check their profile. Do they only have 1 profile photo? No about info or friends? That’s a red flag. Even if the profile does look normal, they could have been hacked. So try setting up a FB video chat or Facetime before buying!
Don’t just go off of screenshots, those can be easily edited. Ask for a screen recording of the buyer going from your chat, to the Ticketmaster app, scroll through their tickets, hit the transfer button, and typing your name so you know it’s a live recording. They don’t actually have to transfer the tickets in that moment, but just prove that they are a real person with actual tickets. I did this when I bought tickets to a concert in Atlanta and the seller was happy to record/send to me. If your seller isn’t willing to do this or ghosts you after the request, you just saved yourself from being scammed!
Ask for proof of purchase. If they bought presale, this will be in Ticketmaster. If they bought resale, you can ask to see a screenshot of their transaction.
Don’t send all your money at once. If you think you have a trusted seller, send half the money before the transfer, and the rest once you get your ticket. If you’re buying more than one ticket, send money for the first one, get the ticket, then repeat.
Obviously, if the seller is selling below face value, it’s way too good to be true. No one in this economy is LOSING money on tickets for concerts. There ARE some legit tickets on Facebook and X, but the vast majority are scams so don’t send any money you can’t afford to lose.
