When Ms. Kaethe Fok learned that the K-pop girl group Mamamoo was coming to town, she decided to buy concert tickets for the first time in her life last November.
She made a rookie mistake and did not sign up on the ticketing website ahead of time. This delayed her purchase attempt by six minutes, during which the tickets sold out.
Emptyhanded, Ms Fok turned to online marketplace Carousell to advertise that she was looking to buy a ticket to the then one-night-only concert.
The 20-year-old university student was willing to pay up to S$40 above the face value of the most expensive ticket, originally priced at S$288.
But she found herself consistently fielding offers above her budget, one going as high as S$800. This angered her, she told CNA.
“(They’re) not genuine fans that are buying the tickets, but rather buying to sell them, and then at such a high price,” said Ms Fok.
Ticket scalpers – who snap up tickets, often in bulk, then resell them for profit on the secondary market – are back in business since large events and international acts resumed after the pandemic.
Ticketmaster, the ticketing agent for Blackpink’s shows in Singapore, allowed members of the band’s official fan club to access ticket pre-sales three days before general sales opened.
SISTIC said that it also enables event promoters to send verified fan club members password-protected private purchase links during pre-sales.
A more fundamental change could see event organisers look to the airline ticketing model for inspiration.
Assoc Prof Theseira suggested that organisers could require tickets to be issued to a specific individual at the point of sale, “no different from how airline tickets are sold”.
Official transfer of the ticket could then be implemented for a fee by a ticketing services provider, he said.
But ultimately, except in cases of misleading information, whether or not to pay through the nose to see a performer in person is a decision up to the individual fan.
“Although many fans are not happy about paying high prices for resale tickets, it has to be remembered that those who do pay those prices, do so willingly,” said Assoc Prof Theseira.
That holds true even when buyer’s regret sets in. A teenage Blackpink fan, who did not wish to be named, made a costly impulse purchase for the band’s concert in May after tickets sold out.
She paid S$3,683 for two standing pen tickets sold on Viagogo. That was more than four times the original face value of S$402 per ticket.
“I didn’t think twice before buying since this is my first time buying a concert ticket and I was desperate to see Blackpink,” she said.
She eventually decided to sell the tickets as “I’m around 140cm and I know the view isn’t going to be worth it as everyone’s probably going to be taller than me”.
In hopes of recouping the money she spent, she listed the pair for S$3,680 on Carousell, where they remain up for sale.
Blackpink is set to perform here in Malaysia in March 2023.
Source: CNA
