After a long wait, The Eras Tour has finally arrived in Singapore. The event has attracted thousands of fans flying from Vietnam to enjoy Taylor Swift’s number one world tour.
A noteworthy incident in the Vietnamese fan community attending Taylor Swift’s show in recent days was that many Vietnamese fans fell into a situation of losing their money because their tickets were canceled at the last minute due to reselling through an intermediary. The number of fans whose tickets were canceled just before the show reached hundreds, with the average amount spent per fan ranging from 10 to 20 million VND per pair of tickets, totaling billions of VND.
From joy to nightmare for hundreds of Taylor Swift fans in Vietnam!
Confusion in the ticketing process, hundreds of tickets canceled at the last minute
Specifically, as we know, it is extremely difficult to own a ticket to this “super event” with a “fighting” ratio of 1 in 22 million, so many people have taken a risk to buy tickets from resale sources at double or triple the original price. A significant number of fans who were unable to buy tickets directly had to purchase them through relatively reputable intermediaries who had previous experience purchasing concert tickets for many other artists. One of the relatively reputable intermediaries in the industry, trusted by many fans who have attended concerts abroad, is S.C.
According to the schedule announced by Ticketmaster, they will complete sending tickets to the buyers’ accounts (not by email) by the latest on February 25. However, by February 29, just 2 days before Taylor Swift’s opening night concert on March 2 in Singapore, many fans who bought tickets through this intermediary platform had not received their ticket codes. Many worried fans have been in constant communication with S.C to find a solution.
However, the answer from the intermediary ticket seller is not satisfactory. The admin of S.C stated that Ticketmaster unilaterally canceled tickets randomly in some accounts that Ticketmaster considered “suspicious” without any prior notice. They also provided a solution for customers as follows: provide available deals for customers, if customers are upgraded to a higher class, there will be no additional charge, if customers are downgraded to a lower class, they will be refunded the price difference.
Post announcing Ticketmaster’s unilateral cancellation of tickets sparks controversy from S.C as mentioned above.
Within the group of Vietnamese Taylor Swift fans attending the Singapore concert, a post shared by a fan in the group received a lot of attention from the fan community: “ I spent all my money to buy VIP tickets, booked hotels, and flights since October 2023. I received a freelance job to make a video about the trip and used the airport pickup service, and everything was settled. Right before the trip, my friend V. announced that the tickets were canceled without providing any evidence in a very irresponsible manner, without a specific refund date. Now I don’t know what to do.”
In a conversation with a customer who directly transacted with an intermediary, he stated that this intermediary guaranteed 100% availability of tickets for customers. Continuously from February 19 to February 23 and February 25, the admin discussed the possibility of ticket cancellations without certainty, switching to paper tickets, and sending backup ticket lists so that customers who had not received their ticket codes could register again. However, as the concert date approached, the ticket codes had not yet been delivered. “On Saturday, when the concert took place, during that time, the ticket code wasn’t given, they said to wait and wait, and they guaranteed that there would be 100% tickets. If they didn’t have the correct class of tickets, they would give a lower class, and then they would refund the price difference plus 10% after all the shows were over. At this point, I can’t believe them anymore, and I have contacted all the people who bought tickets from S.C on March 2 and exchanged information, and none of them has a ticket, nearly 20 people. Some of them had to give up and find new tickets on their own. Some of the students saved money to attend the concert and now they are stranded in Singapore!” – Vietnamese fan retelling the journey of buying tickets through the intermediary.
According to the latest exchange, this customer has been fully refunded by the intermediary according to their policy. He also added that the intermediary has gradually compiled a list and refunded customers in order.
Many fans have struggled to find tickets for sale at the venue.
A valuable lesson in buying concert tickets, be vigilant!
Looking at the situation objectively, S.C is just an intermediary like many others. They are connected with resellers who they have had previous relationships with or are completely unfamiliar with each other. These resellers can also buy tickets through third parties, fourth parties, etc., so when a ticket cancellation occurs (if any), it affects the entire chain.
Regardless of the outcome and subsequent solutions, the initial emotions of hundreds of fans are still anger, anxiety, and their idol trip turning into a nightmare. They had to prepare for their trip to Singapore with high expenses such as airfare, accommodation, food, transportation… to serve the purpose of attending the show, at least costing around 20-30 million VND per person. However, when they have already spent a considerable amount on these expenses, not having a concert ticket or having to spend twice or three times the amount to buy tickets at the last minute at the stadium – it feels like a nightmare.
Be vigilant to avoid turning the concert experience into a nightmare!
|
Tips for avoiding ticket scams: – Avoid unclear information, unexpectedly low prices, and sellers urging online transactions. – For ticket purchase and exchange transactions, face-to-face transactions are best. It’s recommended to choose the option of transferring via a Ticketmaster account instead of only receiving tickets. – Stay calm when encountering ticket scams, otherwise, it could lead to high ticket prices or continued scams involving small to large amounts of money. – If you are already in Singapore, you can go to the stadium for direct transactions to ensure entry before completing the transaction. – You can keep an eye on tickets on direct ticket-selling platforms such as Ticketmaster, stubhub, at the last minute, because there is a possibility that the organizers will release additional tickets in specific areas for fans to purchase. |
