Getting tickets to popular concerts and events through Ticketmaster can be a frustrating experience. When tickets go on sale, fans rush to buy them and are often put into long online queues. This leaves many wondering if there are any tricks to skip the line and get tickets faster on Ticketmaster.
What causes long queues on Ticketmaster?
The main reason queues form on Ticketmaster is due to high demand for limited tickets. When a lot of fans try to purchase tickets all at once, Ticketmaster uses queues to control the flow of traffic and prevent their website from crashing. Popular artists like Taylor Swift or Beyonce will frequently have hundreds of thousands of people trying to buy tickets when they go on sale. This enormous demand makes queues inevitable.
Beyond just the initial rush when tickets go on sale, queues can also form if certain sections start selling out. For example, if most of the floor seats sell out, fans looking for whatever tickets remain will pile up in queues again behind the scenes. This can happen over and over throughout the public on-sale period.
Ticketmaster also purposefully meters the flow of users off the virtual “waiting room” page and into the ticket buying pages. This controlled flow is done to help prevent errors and keep the website stable under extremely heavy traffic loads.
Is there a way to get ahead in line?
Unfortunately, there is no legitimate way to jump ahead in the Ticketmaster queue to get tickets faster. Their online waiting room system is designed specifically to prevent line cutting.
When you enter the Ticketmaster virtual waiting room, you are assigned a random spot in line. This spot cannot be changed or influenced in any way. It also prevents using multiple browsers or devices to queue simultaneously – Ticketmaster’s system recognizes users across all sessions.
Some people think using tricks like deleting cookies or switching IP addresses might help them get ahead in line. However, Ticketmaster has safeguards in place to prevent these workarounds from gaining any advantage. The only factor is the random order assigned when you originally enter the waiting room.
Does paying for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program allow queue skipping?
Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform is sometimes confused for a way to let people cut the line. With Verified Fan, you pre-register days before tickets go on sale in order to get a code to buy tickets. This process does not allow you to skip any queues though.
Being Verified Fan simply guarantees you will have the opportunity to enter the queue when tickets go on sale. Instead of rushing to buy, Verified Fans can take their time entering their code when sale starts. At that point though, Verified Fans are merged into the same huge waiting room queue as everyone else. Having a Verified Fan code does not give you any advantage in queue position over non-Verified users.
Can reseller sites get you tickets faster?
Another common misconception is that using secondary reseller sites like StubHub will enable queue skipping on Ticketmaster. In reality, reseller sites must wait in the Ticketmaster queues just like everyone else. The tickets listed on StubHub at on-sale time are essentially just placeholders, not actual tickets in-hand.
When resellers do eventually get tickets via Ticketmaster later, they will fulfill their existing StubHub placeholder orders. But initially, reseller sites have no way around the Ticketmaster waiting lines. Avoid paying inflated reseller prices in the hope of jumping lines – it won’t work.
Is there an advantage to using mobile apps instead of the website?
Some believe that using the Ticketmaster mobile app may provide a better experience than using the desktop website when queues get long. However, there is no evidence that the app provides any inherent queue jumping abilities compared to the website.
Both the app and website use the same Ticketmaster backend systems. Your place in line is assigned based on when you enter whichever platform, not based on platform itself. Using the app may provide a smoother user interface during the waiting process, but it won’t help you cut the line any faster.
Will refreshing or other tricks bypass queues?
As mentioned above, Ticketmaster is designed to prevent queue skipping through technical tricks. Their systems track users server-side through cookies, so refreshing your browser or app won’t reset your place in line. Tricks like using multiple browsers, deleting cookies, or switching IP addresses also won’t restart your queue position or duplicate your spot.
Automated bots used to attempt to unfairly bypass queues are blocked through Captcha and other fraud detection measures as well. Manual queue cutting through Volume limits per customer are also enforced. Basically, any method besides standard use of Ticketmaster will be blocked from providing an advantage.
Can you pay for line skipping services?
Some shady services claim they can help customers jump the queue and get tickets sooner through special methods or industry connections. However, Ticketmaster strongly advises never using such services as they do not have any approved shortcuts.
Paying third party services extra money will not get you tickets any faster. At best, these services still have to wait in the same queues as everyone, so you are essentially just paying them to buy tickets for you at normal speeds. At worst, they may be outright scams designed to steal your money without ever buying any tickets at all. Avoid using such line skipping service schemes, asTicketmaster does not recognize or authorize them.
Is there priority access for high paying American Express customers?
American Express has partnerships with Ticketmaster and other ticket sellers to provide cardholder-only presales for certain events. These typically occur a day or two before the public on-sale. While Amex presales allow cardholders to buy tickets earlier, they do not let you bypass queues entirely.
Amex presales are essentially just an earlier round of sales before the main event. These presales will likely have far fewer people competing for tickets, so queues may be shorter or non-existent compared to the crazy public on-sale rush. But this is primarily because fewer people are competing for tickets, not due to any special Amex queue skipping privileges. Any queue position advantage is just owing to earlier access, not cutting in front of the line last minute.
Can influential people or insiders ever queue jump?
While there are no formal queue skipping programs on Ticketmaster, it is true that certain privileged groups may gain queue advantages in more indirect ways. Celebrities, VIPs, industry insiders, or contest winners may sometimes get special access to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public.
These cases where select people can buy tickets earlier than everyone else basically constitutes legalized line cutting, even if there are no actual queues involved yet. However, this elite presale treatment tends to be fairly rare or limited in scope. When regular fans eventually do enter the Ticketmaster queues later, these earlier purchasers are already out of line.
Is there a way to still get tickets even if you can’t queue right at on-sale time?
Not being available right at the moment tickets go on sale can make buying hot tickets even harder when everywhere lines up at once. However, joining a queue late when availability has thinned out doesn’t necessarily preclude you from getting tickets entirely.
For very popular shows, it is quite common for the initial rush to claim most of the seats, leaving few tickets for latecomers. But less popular events will often still have decent ticket availability even hours or days after on-sale, with relaxed queues. Also, ticket holders frequently return tickets as plans change, which go back on sale. So checking back for newly available seats later can certainly be worthwhile. While ideal to queue early, joining later won’t necessarily shut you out in every case.
Conclusion
In summary, there are no special tricks that enable customers to jump the line and bypass queues on Ticketmaster. They use a randomized, server-side waiting room system specifically designed to prevent any user or method from unfairly getting ahead. While queues are frustrating, they are the most equitable system found so far to handle massive demand. Any claims of being able to cut the line are likely unfounded or unauthorized by Ticketmaster. Your best bet is using Ticketmaster normally right when sales begin to secure the tickets you want.