When it comes to buying tickets on Ticketmaster, one strategy that many people use is constantly refreshing the page to try and get better seats. The idea is that by repeatedly reloading the page, you may be able to grab seats that have been released by other customers before someone else snags them. But does constantly hitting refresh actually improve your chances of getting better tickets? Or is it an exercise in futility?
The Case for Refreshing
There are a few reasons why some people believe that repeatedly refreshing on Ticketmaster gives them an advantage:
- Tickets are being released in real-time as customers change their minds, encounter checkout issues, or have their carts time out. By refreshing, you can pick up those tickets as soon as they become available again.
- Refreshing helps you jump ahead in the virtual “line.” Ticketmaster does not use an organized queue system, so it becomes a free-for-all when hot tickets go on sale. Refreshing gets you back into the action faster after someone else grabs a seat.
- You have a chance to take advantage of glitches or changes before Ticketmaster corrects them. For example, the site might temporarily release holds on tickets that are not selling well, and a refresh could allow you to grab them.
- Repeated refresh requests increase your odds in a numbers game. The more times you ask for an updated seat map, the more likely you are to get a favorable one.
For some high-demand events where tickets are scarce, there can be a frenzy on Ticketmaster as fans try to land seats. In this environment, rapidly refreshing seems logical as a way to stay competitive.
The Case Against Refreshing
However, there are also some compelling reasons why constantly hitting refresh may not help:
- You could be refreshing a cached page that is not actually updating in real time. Ticketmaster may recycle the same seat map, meaning you waste efforts refreshing an outdated view.
- Bots and scalpers are using automation tools that refresh much faster than any human can. You are unlikely to beat the bots.
- The inventory is not released on a consistent schedule, so your timing of the refreshes is largely luck rather than strategy.
- By refreshing excessively, you may overload the system and get temporarily blocked or timed out.
- The best seats often go during presales, so not much improves for the general on-sale.
Essentially, while refreshing seems logical, in practice it requires tremendous luck to beat the technological and human competition for hot tickets. So you could be pointlessly hitting refresh over and over with little to show for your efforts.
Does Refreshing Help at All?
Whether constantly hitting refresh helps your odds on Ticketmaster is up for debate. Here are some perspectives on when refreshing may or may not be beneficial:
- For extremely high-demand events – Refreshing likely does little unless you get very lucky. Bots and reseller groups have the advantage here.
- For moderately popular events – Refreshing may help slightly, as regular fans are your main competition. But the odds are still low.
- Right when tickets initially go on sale – This is when refreshing is most likely to help, as seats are being sold and released in real time. The playing field is somewhat more level.
- After the initial rush – At this point, repeatedly refreshing is less useful. Most of the ticket activity happens right at on-sale.
- During site glitches – If Ticketmaster is having technical issues, rapid refreshing can sometimes let you grab seats during a brief window of opportunity.
- For resale tickets – Refreshing can help surface newly listed resale tickets, especially closer to the event. But expect markups.
Based on these points, refreshing seems most impactful in specific situations: right as tickets initially go on sale, when the site has technical problems, or when looking for last-minute resale tickets. Outside of those cases, your odds likely do not improve much through sheer force of refreshing.
Other Ticketing Tips and Strategies
If endlessly hitting refresh does not necessarily give you an advantage, what other tips might help you score better tickets?
- Use multiple devices across different internet connections to have more chances at getting into the queue.
- Ensure you are logged into your Ticketmaster account ahead of time with payment info saved.
- Aim for sections with the most available seats to have more options.
- Join fan clubs and look for presale opportunities.
- Be ready right at the on-sale time with the event page loaded.
- Consider accepting resale tickets with markup for highly popular events.
- Use Ticketmaster’s interactive seat maps to hunt for best available seats.
While these tactics require effort, they may prove more fruitful than simply sitting there hitting refresh over and over. Be strategic rather than relying on pure luck via refreshing.
Should You Ever Refresh?
Does this mean you should never refresh the Ticketmaster page when trying to get good seats? Not necessarily. In moderation, strategic refreshing can still be helpful in the right situations:
- When you initially join the queue, refresh periodically to keep your place.
- After selecting seats, refresh while going through checkout in case something better opens up.
- During presales and right as tickets go on sale, refresh every 30 seconds or so when inventory is in flux.
- If error messages pop up, refresh to clear them and try again.
- Occasionally refresh resale listings leading up to the event.
Used judiciously rather than aggressively, refreshing can be part of a balanced approach to getting tickets. Just don’t expect constant high-speed refreshing alone to unlock amazing seats.
Conclusion
Refreshing the Ticketmaster sales page can occasionally help land better seats in certain scenarios. However, excessive high-frequency refreshing often provides minimal benefits compared to bots and resellers. Strategic selective refreshing combined with other tips like presales and interactive seat maps will typically offer better results. While trying for hot tickets always involves luck, relying solely on refresh button mania is an unreliable strategy.