With Taylor Swift announcing her new Eras Tour, which is her first tour since 2018, demand for tickets is incredibly high. Fans are anxiously awaiting the ticket sale date so they can try to score seats to see the pop superstar live. However, when it comes to major concert events like this, bots often buy up a large number of tickets only to resell them at much higher prices. So do bots actually buy Taylor Swift tickets?
What are ticket bots?
Ticket bots are software programs that are designed to quickly buy up a large number of tickets as soon as they go on sale. These bots can buy tickets much faster than any human could. They are automated systems that rapidly search for available tickets and can complete orders in just seconds.
Ticket bots are used by scalpers and resellers to buy prime seats in bulk with the intention of reselling them on secondary markets for higher prices. This makes it very difficult for real fans to buy tickets at face value. It’s estimated that between 60-80% of tickets for popular shows are immediately bought up by scalpers using bots.
Are ticket bots legal?
In 2016, President Obama signed the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act into law which made the use of bots to buy event tickets illegal. However, this law has been challenging to enforce. Ticket bots are still routinely used to buy tickets in bulk as soon as sales open to the general public.
Some states have additional laws banning ticket bots, but scalpers find ways around these laws. The bots themselves are not illegal. What is illegal is using them to buy tickets with the sole intent of reselling them at higher prices. But it is difficult to prove this intent.
Will bots buy Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets?
Given the extremely high demand for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour, there is no doubt that ticket bots will be deployed by scalpers to buy up prime seats in bulk. Her last tour in 2018 sold over 2 million tickets, grossing over $345 million. Her popularity has only continued to skyrocket since then.
Similar to major tours by artists like Adele, Bruce Springsteen, and Ed Sheeran, it’s expected bots will buy a huge percentage of the best seats for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in desirable locations. These will likely be immediately resold on sites like StubHub and Vivid Seats for two, three, or even ten times their original price.
How much will Taylor Swift tickets resell for?
Taylor Swift ticket prices for the Eras Tour have not been announced yet. However, based on the pricing and resale prices of tickets for her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018, we can expect very high resale prices.
For example, during the presale for her Reputation Tour, floor seats initially sold for $360. But after bots and scalpers bought up tickets, resale prices reached an average of $1,038 per ticket according to TickPick.
City | Average Resale Price 2018 |
---|---|
Los Angeles | $1,064 |
Miami | $934 |
East Rutherford | $895 |
Given the massive hype around the Eras Tour and Taylor Swift’s continued explosion in popularity, expect to see similar resale prices that are many times above face value. Tickets with a face value of $300 could easily resell for $1,000 or more.
How can you get Taylor Swift tickets at face value?
Your best chance at getting Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets at face value is to buy them directly from the primary ticket seller as soon as they go on sale. Join Taylor Swift’s official fan club at TaylorSwift.com to get special presale ticket access before the general public.
Here are some other tips for beating the bots and ticket scalpers:
Get ready before tickets go on sale
– Make sure you have an account already set up with the ticket seller and your payment info saved
– Join fan club or verified resale programs like Ticketmaster Verified Fan to get early access
– Follow Taylor Swift’s social accounts and sign up for email/text alerts about the tour
Act quickly when tickets go on sale
– Be ready on your computer at the exact sale time; have the ticket page loaded and be logged in to your account
– Use the ticket seller’s app on your phone if available
– Keep trying if tickets seem sold out; more are sometimes released in waves
Consider VIP or resale ticket programs
– VIP packages with perks like exclusive merch tend to sell to real fans rather than scalpers
– Verified resale programs like Ticketmaster Fan Exchange resell tickets at face value
Beware of scams
With Taylor Swift tickets expected to resell for astronomical prices, scams will also be very prevalent. Here are some tips for avoiding scams when buying tickets:
- Never buy tickets on Craigslist, Reddit, eBay, or unofficial resale sites. Scammers operate on these sites with fake tickets.
- Only buy from the official primary seller like Ticketmaster or from reputable resale marketplaces like StubHub that guarantee refunds.
- Never pay by wire transfer, gift cards, or other non-refundable payment methods. Pay only by credit card so you can dispute fraudulent charges.
- Double check ticket details to make sure seats, date, venue are correct and tickets are valid before purchasing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is a virtual certainty that ticket bots will buy up a huge percentage of tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, especially the best seats in major cities. Fans will likely see familiar secondary market prices that are outrageously above face value. To combat bots and scalpers, fans should be prepared and act instantly when tickets go on sale. Joining presales and verified fan programs also helps. With tremendous demand, buyers need to be cautious of scams for what will be some of the hottest and pricey tickets in years.