If you were one of the literal millions s̶t̶r̶e̶s̶s̶f̶u̶l̶l̶y̶ eagerly trying for tickets to Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour’s Australian leg this week, you were in bad company.
No, we’re not talking about the poor New Zealanders who had to fight with their furious Aussie counterparts for one of roughly 634,000 seats (and then grapple with the inflated prices of flights and accommodation) across seven shows…
We’re talking about scalpers.
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Yes, Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews did declare Swift’s 2024 Melbourne Cricket Ground shows as a “major event”, thus activating a number of measures under the state’s anti-scalping laws.
Yes, New South Wales’ Premier Chris Minns then promised to crack down on ticket scalpers.
And yes, Ticketek does not endorse fans purchasing tickets from unauthorised sellers, and is “unable to confirm the validity of any ticket not purchased directly from Ticketek or Ticketek Marketplace.”
But that hasn’t stopped scalpers from attempting to prey on desperate Swifties.
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9Honey can confirm that within minutes of Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s sales going live on Ticketek, multiple scalpers were spotted on a myriad of Facebook groups offering up tickets for re-sale, without listing prices.
One such potential scalper, when contacted by 9Honey 40 minutes after the Wednesday Frontier Touring Sydney pre-sale went live (it sold out within four hours), claimed to be selling four A Reserve tickets for well over asking price.
“The price will depend on interest as if others offer more than why will I say no. I am sorry if you don’t want to pay over, it’s high in demand so test your luck,” the potential scalper wrote to 9Honey in a Facebook message.
“If you are genuinely interested in paying overs for an A Reserve ticket then let me know. If not, Good luck.”
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‘I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me’
When pressed for details, they said someone had offered them $520 per A Reserve ticket. It then emerged that they had not secured tickets at that time, and were “awaiting a call” from Ticketek.
Ticketek Agencies do not accept phone enquiries, and anti-scalping laws in New South Wales limit ticket re-sale prices to a maximum of 110 per cent of the value of the original ticket price.
As such, the maximum this potential scalper could charge for an A Reserve ticket, sold by Ticketek for $379.90 each plus fees, would be $417.89.
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At 10.30am AEST on Friday morning, 30 minutes after the Sydney general sale went live, they confirmed they had secured three A Reserve tickets for a Sydney show.
When asked for proof, they responded: ”Look I do want to warn you that some people are offering A LOT of money. I don’t expect anyone to offer more than they are willing.”
To their credit, they sent through what appeared to someone who has purchased tickets to be a credible screenshot of a purchase confirmation. It is important to note, however, that 9Honey can not verify the legitimacy of the screenshots.
And it seems that’s what they’re relying on.
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“What’s your best price?”, 9Honey was asked at 11.24am, more than one hour into the Sydney general sale, when millions of fans were panicking as they sat in the dreaded virtual Ticketek Lounge.
When asked how the potential sale would go down – would we need to meet in-person and simultaneously transfer tickets and funds like in a spy movie? – the potential scalper/scammer became reticent.
It’s not a good sign when someone isn’t willing to answer valid questions when a hefty sum is involved.
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We must note that no funds were transferred, and the potential scalper did include somewhat of a disclaimer, saying they may keep the tickets for themselves as “they are rlly good seats lol”.
But heed this warning: You can’t trust anybody in this economy. Or, as Swift herself says, “I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me”.
If you are looking to buy tickets from re-sellers, however, check out this handy guide on how to do so safely. It has also been confirmed that re-sales can officially be sold and purchased from September 4, 2023.
9Honey has referred this to Crime Stoppers NSW.
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