Ticketmaster showing unavailable seats when searching for tickets online is a common frustration for many concertgoers and sports fans. There are a few key reasons why you might run into this issue on Ticketmaster:
Seats held for pre-sales and promotions
Often a large chunk of seats for an event will be held back for presales and special promotions before the tickets go on sale to the general public. This includes presales for groups like fan club members, credit card holders, Spotify listeners, and more. These presale tickets are not available to the general public so they will show up as unavailable when searching for tickets.
Seats held for the box office and walk-up sales
In addition to presales, venues and event organizers typically hold back some tickets for box office and walk-up sales. They want to ensure there are tickets available for those who purchase in-person. These held-back tickets will also show up as unavailable when browsing for tickets online.
Premium seats set aside for VIP packages
For big concerts at major venues, you will often see entire sections blocked off as “VIP only.” These are premium seats that are only available as part of special VIP packages and not for sale individually. Since they can’t be purchased separately, they’ll appear unavailable when searching for standard tickets.
Tickets pending release for the general on-sale
In the time leading up to when tickets go on sale to the general public, you may see some seats showing up as unavailable. This is because they are pending release for the public on-sale date and time. They are essentially in reservation waiting to become available for purchase.
Held for ticket limits and special requirements
To help prevent scalpers and ticket brokers from buying up all the tickets, many event organizers enforce ticket buying limits. This means only a set amount of tickets for a show can be purchased per customer. To enforce these rules, Ticketmaster will hold back some tickets to ensure availability. These held-back tickets will show as unavailable.
There may also be tickets reserved for those requiring accessible seating or other special accommodations. These tickets are unavailable to the general public but can be requested separately if needed.
Seats blocked for staging and production
For concerts, sporting events, and live shows, parts of the venue may be blocked off to make room for stages, production equipment, and behind-the-scenes access. These areas out of use for the audience will be marked unavailable when searching for tickets online.
Issues with the Ticketmaster seating map
Sometimes there are simply errors or mismatches between what seats are actually available and what shows as unavailable on Ticketmaster’s seating map. As tickets sell and availability changes rapidly, seating maps may not always display 100% accurate up-to-date information. Issues can arise when Ticketmaster’s database lags behind real-time sales.
Bots and scalpers manipulating ticket availability
Unfortunately, Ticketmaster also has to deal with bots, scrapers, and ticket brokers trying to take advantage of their systems. Sophisticated resellers use automation tools to quickly snap up tickets the moment they go on sale. This can sometimes create the appearance of tickets immediately going from available to unavailable.
Dynamic pricing adjusting costs in real-time
Ticketmaster utilizes dynamic pricing which means ticket prices can adjust in real-time based on demand. In-demand tickets may get more expensive. This could make them temporarily appear unavailable if your search filters are set to a maximum price threshold.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster showing unavailable seats is frustrating but usually happens for legitimate reasons – whether it be tickets being held back for presales and promotions, reserved for special packages and requirements, or simply a delay between real-time sales and Ticketmaster’s constantly updating seat maps. While bots and scalpers certainly take advantage, most unavailable seats are due to event organizers and venues wanting to ensure fair access to tickets for fans.
Tips for Finding Available Tickets on Ticketmaster
Despite unavailable seats appearing during your searches, there are still tips and tricks to improve your chances of getting tickets on Ticketmaster:
- Be logged in with an account so you can access presales when available.
- Try searching again as availability is always changing up to show time.
- Consider a seat upgrade if cheaper seats are sold out.
- Use Ticketmaster’s interactive seat maps to find singles and small groups.
- Expand your search radius to nearby cities and venues.
- Follow your favorite teams, theaters, and artists to get first access during presales.
- If needed, check secondary markets like StubHub which may have seats Ticketmaster shows as unavailable.
While unavailable seats are frustrating, being persistent and checking regularly can pay off in finding tickets – even if it requires some flexibility in dates or seating locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do entire rows show up as unavailable on Ticketmaster?
Often groups or resellers will purchase a large block of seats all in a row. When this happens, even if some single seats are technically available, the entire row will show up grayed out and unavailable. Venues also sometimes block off entire rows for VIP or accessible seating.
Why does Ticketmaster release some unavailable tickets later?
In many cases, tickets marked unavailable are pending release for the public on-sale, reserved for fan club presales, or held for customers that end up not completing their purchase. These tickets may get released back into the general inventory at a later date.
Can you buy unavailable seats on Ticketmaster?
No, unavailable seats on Ticketmaster cannot be purchased. If you try, you will get an error message that the tickets are not for sale. However, it is possible some unavailable seats may open up over time if a hold is released.
Is Ticketmaster not showing all available tickets?
It’s unlikely Ticketmaster is deliberately hiding available tickets. Unavailable seats are usually tied to tickets being held back for various promotions, fan clubs, or production requirements. However, sometimes their interactive seat maps temporarily lag behind real-time sales which gives the appearance of missing tickets.
Why is Ticketmaster showing seats that aren’t actually available?
One issue with Ticketmaster’s seating maps is that they don’t always update instantly as tickets are sold. You may see some seats marked available that have actually already sold because the map hasn’t refreshed. It’s always best to complete the purchase quickly if Ticketmaster shows seats still available.
Can Ticketmaster release more unavailable tickets later?
It’s possible. If seats are marked unavailable due to holds for presales, fan clubs, or production needs, some of those tickets could get released days or even hours before show time if they remain unsold. It’s worth checking back on Ticketmaster leading up to events in case releases open up more seats.
Key Takeaways
- Unavailable seats on Ticketmaster are typically tied to presales, holds, and production requirements – not an error or trick to hide tickets.
- Dynamic pricing can cause tickets to temporarily appear unavailable if they exceed price filters.
- Timely presales access, flexible dates, and expanded seating options help find available tickets.
- Regularly check back as availability is always fluctuating up until showtime.
