How to Buy Concert Tickets Online Safely
A practical checklist for buying concert tickets online without overpaying, missing out or getting scammed.
Buying concert tickets online should take a couple of minutes, not a whole evening of worrying whether the ticket is real. Most problems come from the same few mistakes: buying from a stranger on social media, paying by bank transfer, or rushing through checkout without reading what you are getting. Here is how to avoid them.
Buy from the official seller
The safest ticket is one that comes straight from the organizer's ticketing platform. On TicketIgnite every event page is published by the organizer or venue running the show, and the ticket is issued to your account the moment your payment goes through. Nobody has to send you a PDF or a screenshot afterwards.
Be careful with offers in comment sections and group chats. A screenshot of a QR code can be sent to ten different buyers, and only the first person through the door gets in.
Check the event details before you pay
It sounds obvious, but a lot of support requests start with a ticket bought for the wrong night. Before you check out, confirm:
- The date, the door time and the city
- The venue name and address
- The section and seat numbers, or whether the ticket is general admission
- The total price, including any fees
Pay by card on a secure checkout
Card payments give you a record of the purchase and protection that a bank transfer or cash payment does not. TicketIgnite processes payments through Stripe, so your card details are handled by a payment provider and are never stored on our servers. Look for the padlock in your browser's address bar and never type card details into a link somebody sent you in a message.
Do not wait once your seats are held
When you pick seats on a seat map they are reserved for you for 10 minutes while you pay. If the timer runs out, the seats go back on sale for everyone else. Have your card ready before you start choosing, especially for shows that are likely to sell out.
Keep your ticket in your account
After payment your tickets appear in your account and are emailed to you. Each ticket has its own QR code, and each code can only be scanned once. Do not post it online and do not share screenshots, however proud you are of the seats.
A quick checklist
- Buy from the organizer's official ticketing page
- Double-check the date, venue and seats
- Pay by card on a secure checkout
- Finish before your seat hold expires
- Keep your QR code private until you are at the door
Follow those five steps and the only thing left to worry about is what to wear.