Carly’s Guide to Ticketmaster

My credentials? I got tickets to the Eras Tour. And they weren’t even resale.

When Taylor Swift recently wrapped up the Eras Tour, it had me reminiscing on the two tortuous days I spent on Ticketmaster fighting for tickets. It was a truly terrible time. But I do feel like it taught me some things… and now I am going to share them with you.

Without further ado — here is your step-by-step guide to securing tickets via Ticketmaster.

Preparation

So, let’s just be honest. Buying concert tickets in today’s day and age? Pretty terrible. And why are the prices so insanely high all of a sudden? But, if you want to secure tickets from Ticketmaster then you need to make sure you’re set up for success.

I always make sure I’m following the artist on Instagram. What better place to get important information than on social media? That’s where artists will post the full list of tour dates and information about how to sign up for presale.

When I was trying to get Eras Tour tickets, I made sure that all of my friends signed up for presale and then crossed my fingers that at least one of us would get a code. That someone was me. If you’re the presale friend — remain calm. This all hinges on you.

Research

This is the step where you have to poll the friend group. Who are you going with? How many tickets do you need? What is everyone’s top end budget? Where would everyone prefer to sit? This is all important information to have going into the sale!

At a staggering 5 foot 2 inches, floor seats just aren’t for me. More of a 100 level on the sides kind of gal. I usually take the time to check out the map of the venue I’m going to be purchasing for so that I know the section numbers I’m aiming to get. Because once you get into the actual sale, all hell will break loose.

The Waiting Room

Now it’s the big day. Once you’ve clicked into the sale, you’ll be added to the waiting room. At this point you are not in line to buy tickets. Utilize this down time to make sure you’re logged into your account - it’ll show up in the top corner. If you’re buying during a presale, you must be logged into the same account as the one that received the presale code.

Another good thing to do during this time is make sure that you have your credit card pre-saved to your account. It will save you time later. Also important to know what phone number the authorization text will be sent to. When I was buying tickets for the Eras Tour, I was borrowing someone else’s card for the Capital One sale and didn’t realize I would need a confirmation code… Definitely a moment of panic there.

When you’re in the waiting room, Ticketmaster will tell you not to refresh and that they will add you to the queue when it’s time for the sale to begin. But we don’t trust Ticketmaster. If you want a good spot in the queue, as soon as you’re within a minute of the sale beginning, you’re refreshing that page as many times as you can.

The Queue

By far the worst part of the entire experience. The dreaded queue. Now you are actually in a line waiting to be admitted to the sale. DO NOT REFRESH. I recommend spending this time getting more and more anxious, it’s fun. Here you’ll get to see how many thousands of other people are in front of you in line and probably getting better tickets than you.

The Sale

Ticketmaster will automatically move you into the sale once it’s time. This is where everything gets real. First things first, make sure you adjust the site to the correct number of tickets you’re looking for and click the button that shows the full cost of the ticket including fees (we like to avoid sticker shock in this house).

Some people like to click around on the map of the venue and select tickets that way. I find this much more stressful and time consuming. I prefer to keep an eye on the list of available tickets on the right hand side and grab anything from the sections I’m interested in.

This is where the two P’s come into play — Perseverance and Patience. You’re going to think you have selected tickets tens, maybe even hundreds of times, before a set of tickets finally lands in your cart. Don’t give up! When I was buying tickets for Sabrina Carpenter, it seriously took me 45 minutes before I actually got them to the “purchase” stage. You may think all hope is lost, but keep clicking until all of those tickets have been snatched up!

Celebration

You’ve submitted payment. You’ve received the confirmation email. You’ve successfully purchased tickets. You have bested Ticketmaster! Take some time to bask in the glory.