How to Score Tickets for High-Demand Events
This is a problem we all know all too well – you are thrilled to attend an event, whether it’s a game at the end of the season or your favorite artist finally arriving in town – only to find that when you try to buy tickets online, they sold out, and in a matter of seconds. Have you ever wondered how those people who do manage to get the tickets they are looking for do it? Here’s how:
Know when tickets go on sale and make sure your clock is set to the correct time
Okay, this sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often people lose tickets simply because their clocks are knocked off, even if it’s for a split second. If you’re not sure if your clock is accurate, you can double-check here using Time.is , a web application that compares your computer’s settings to an atomic clock , “the world’s most accurate time source.”
Connect to private Wi-Fi
According to Ticketmaster, as well as anyone who has ever tried Wi-Fi in a crowded cafe / bar / restaurant / hotel lobby / airport, shared networks are slowing you down. Your best bet is to connect to a private high-speed Wi-Fi, especially if no one is using it.
Use more than one device
With your parent / sister / brother / husband / best friend’s laptop, work computer, smartphone, iPhone, iPhone ready, get ready to log in on every device. Your chances of getting in-demand tickets go up with every horse in the race, but don’t take out too much of the electronics if they distract you or slow you down.
Register in advance
This might seem like a first step, and in many ways, once connected to Wi-Fi, it’s like this: make sure you’re signed in to whatever ticket provider you use. And this goes for all your devices, if you have a handful pulled out.
Use Firefox
One of the most common questions when shopping for high-traffic tickets is “Which web browser should I use?” There is really no hard and fast rule. Firefox just brings success to some users. From TicketCrusader , a blog dedicated to sharing tips and tricks in the buying and resale market: “The beauty of Firefox is that once you see your seat locations, you can simply press Alt + Back arrow and you will be taken back to the code entry page (after clicking the Yes button in the pop-up window). This can save a lot of time and keep the number of tickets and other details in the search. “
Do not open more than one browser window
Again, multiple devices are great. Are you trying to buy the same ticket in several different tabs or browser windows? Not so much. This causes Ticketmaster (or whatever ticketing service you use) to log your active ticket purchases as bot behavior.
Use a CAPTCHA blocker
The penultimate step in any major ticket purchase is the terrible CAPTCHA. Luckily for you, they can be avoided in your browser and mobile by downloading a plugin to disable them. A few recommendations: AdBlocker Plus is , Rumola , SkipScreen , Message: Captcha Monster .
If it’s a pre-sale activity that requires a password, copy it and you’re good to go.
Pre-sales events, which you may or may not know about, sell out just like any other ticketing experience. If you have a code that allows you to evaluate tickets before the general public, you should use it – just make sure it’s copied and ready to go, so when prompted you can paste (ctrl + z) any pre-sale the password is there, and not to enter it manually.
Open the event page, but don’t update too many times prior to the sale.
It seems intuitive – the page should be open and ready to go when it’s time to sell – but all too often users get anxious as they get closer and closer to the moment, feeling the need to press the refresh button (F5 on the keyboard) a million. once. This is a dangerous game because most ticket buying sites will block you if you update too much. Specifically, Ticketmaster will block your account for 24 hours and you can say goodbye to these tickets.
Practice if you need to
Most of the quick ticket buying comes down to getting tickets quickly. If you’re going to try to use multiple devices to get tickets and don’t have a well-coordinated friend to help you, practice buying tickets on multiple devices. Since all services require more than one step to confirm purchases, you can practice pretending to buy real tickets for real events and close before the final checkout stage. Find out what works for you and what doesn’t.
Check back later – Sale events are not always sold out
This is true! Even when it seems like tickets are “sold out” on the Internet, this is not always the case. Please try again after an hour and again after a few hours to see if new tickets have been added or if new tickets are suddenly available. You never know. This is especially true for events that seem to be sold out but are actually not selling well (promoters will never reveal this information) – it can take days or weeks for them to appear online.
Seriously … get ready to buy tickets closer to the event or even the day
Tickets can be issued at any time, so don’t give up, even if the event is, say, tomorrow night. The fact that it is written at the event that all tickets are sold out does not mean that this is so. And if all else fails, show up or call them on the phone – the old school approach may work in your favor.