How to safely buy tickets for festivals this summer

In partnership with Viagogo

With another impressive Coachella behind us and the likes of Glastonbury, Download and Reading & Leeds fast approaching, festival season 2023 is well underway.

• READ MORE: Coachella 2023 review: a tribute to the power of diversity in music

After a couple of years without those mass celebrations of live music thanks to COVID, there seems to be a renewed interest from music fans in making the most of every weekend now, with many festivals selling out in advance.

There are still ways to attend your favourite event though, but there’s also plenty of scammers out there looking to take advantage of your excitement, and leave you empty handed. Here’s how to safely buy tickets for festivals this summer.

Check the festival website

It seems obvious, but your first point of call should always be the festival’s official website if you’re after tickets. Some events release tickets in waves as they finalise capacity and layout, while others have a tiered payment structure in place to reward those buying early meaning that even if they were previously unavailable, tickets may still be available.

Watch out for scammers

If you mention you’re looking for tickets on social media, it won’t be long before your replies are filled with people looking to sell you theirs. Be careful though, there are an awful lot of fraudsters online.

There’s no surefire way to tell the genuine sellers from the scammers and if the deal seems too good to be true, it’s probably best avoided. Similarly, never pay directly with cash or online banking transfer, because the transaction can’t be traced and offers you no protection if things go wrong.

Don’t share images of your tickets online

Even if you’ve got the tickets in hand, things can still go wrong. Never share photos of booking references, barcodes, order numbers or QR codes online, because they can be used to duplicate your tickets, leaving yours useless.

Use trusted resale sites

Ticket marketplaces like viagogo connect ticket sellers with fans on the lookout on a safe platform. All viagogo orders come with a 100 percent customer guarantee that backs each order, which means fans get in the door or their money back – as ticket sellers don’t get paid until the buyer gets into the event successfully.

Always double check you’re on a genuine website before entering any banking details, as duplicate websites have been known to pop-up and it’s worth ensuring your resale website of choice offers coverage against event cancellation and fraud.

Have a back-up plan

If life throws you a curve ball and for whatever reason you’ve got tickets you no longer need, have a plan B. viagogo is a secure place to sell your spares. Simply find the event, list your ticket, set the price and choose how you want to get paid. Fans will ultimately decide the ticket listing that meets their budget.

Fans can buy and sell festival tickets and more at global marketplace, viagogo.

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