Concert and event tickets are often in high demand and sell out quickly. This leaves many fans disappointed when they can’t get tickets from the official seller. However, tickets will soon pop up for resale on secondary marketplaces at inflated prices. So how do these ticket scalpers manage to acquire in-demand tickets so fast?
Using Bots to Buy Tickets
One of the main methods scalpers use is ticket bot software. This automated software is programmed to target the ticket sales website and rapidly purchase tickets as soon as they go on sale. The bots can buy tickets much faster than any human user could. Some of the common tactics include:
- Flooding the website with thousands of bot requests
- Automatically entering payment info and skipping steps to checkout faster
- Circumventing limits on number of tickets one user can buy
- Using different fake user accounts
This bot traffic overwhelms the ticket site, allowing the scalper to quickly claim tickets before real fans even have a chance. Using bots to buy event tickets in this manner is illegal in many states. But scalpers still find ways to gain access to and utilize ticket bots.
Using Ticket Broker Connections
Some professional scalpers have deals in place with ticket brokers to buy tickets in bulk. Ticket brokers are businesses that acquire event tickets with the aim of reselling them. Scalpers have contacts at ticket broker companies that sell them large quantities of tickets, often using the aforementioned bots themselves.
Having ticket broker connections allows scalpers to get tickets in bulk quantities without having to do the legwork. They can then turn around and sell the tickets on secondary markets at higher prices.
Purchasing Tickets Meant for Presales
When concerts or events go on sale, there are typically presale opportunities before the general public sale. Presales give early access to tickets for groups like fan club members, credit card holders, spotify listeners, venue email subscribers, etc. Scalpers will sign up for these presales even if they don’t belong to the group to get early ticket access.
Some other ways scalpers get presale ticket access include:
- Creating fake fan club accounts
- Using different credit cards to qualify for presales
- Obtaining presale passcodes and links meant to be exclusive
- Purchasing group buy tickets then reselling individually
Presale tickets often have limits in place to prevent scalpers. But through various tricks scalpers still manage to take advantage and secure tickets beforehand.
Using Contacts in the Industry
Having personal contacts who work for venues, promotions companies, and artists can help scalpers gain insider access. These music industry insiders will sometimes sell tickets to scalpers from the allotment kept for friends, family members, and VIPs. They may also provide scalpers with presale codes and links or tip them off to little-known on-sales.
Developing relationships with people inside the industry is key for scalpers to get their hands on tickets before the general public.
Attending Onsale In-Person
In the past, waiting in line at the ticket box office was one of the main ways scalpers got early access. They would hire groups of people to wait in line on the day tickets went on sale to claim as many seats as possible.
With most sales now happening online, this method is less common. However, when limited tickets are sold only at the venue box office, scalpers may still pay people to wait in line and purchase tickets for resale.
Buying from Fans
Scalpers also simply buy tickets from fans who purchased during the general onsale then decided they want to resell. Sites like Craigslist and Facebook groups are common places for fans to resell tickets. Scalpers monitor these sites for in-demand tickets being resold and offer to buy them so they can flip for higher prices.
Payment for tickets on secondary markets is very risky. But when a scalper sees a profitable opportunity, they may take the chance and buy from an average fan to further build their inventory.
Fake Listing Tickets They Don’t Have
Shady scalpers will sometimes list tickets for sale on resale sites that they don’t yet have in-hand. This allows them to sell tickets for popular shows that are already sold out. Once a buyer is on the hook, the scalper then scrambles to try and find real tickets they can actually secure and send to the buyer. These are the scalpers giving the industry a bad name.
Conclusion
Ticket scalpers have devised many creative strategies to beat average fans to the punch when tickets go on sale. Taking advantage of presales, using ticket bots, forming industry connections, and buying from other fans are some of their sneaky tactics. While these practices may seem unfair, as long as there is money to be made in ticket resale, scalpers will find ways to get their hands on seats early.