It’s a problem we all know too well—you’re excited to attend an event, whether it’s some end-of-season game or your favorite artist is finally coming to town—only to find that when you try to buy tickets online, they’ve sold out, and within seconds. Ever wonder how those folks, the ones who actually manage to grab sought after tickets, do it? Here’s how:
Know when tickets are going on sale and make sure your clock is set to the correct time
Okay, it seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how frequently people lose out on tickets simply because their clock is off, even if it’s by a fraction of a second. If you’re unsure if your clock is accurate, you can double-check here using Time.is, a Webapp that compares your computer setting to an atomic clock, the “most accurate time source in the world.”
Connect to private wi-fi
According to the Ticketmaster site and also anyone who has ever tried to use the wi-fi in a crowded cafe/bar/restaurant/hotel lobby/airport, shared networks slow you down. Connecting to private, high-speed wi-fi is your best bet, especially if it isn’t being used by anyone else.
Use more than one device
If you have a laptop, a work computer, a smart phone, your parent’s/sister’s/brother’s/husband’s/best friend’s iPhone at the ready, prepare to log on to every device. Your chances of scoring in-demand tickets increases with each horse you have in the race—but don’t pull out too many electronics if they’ll distract you or slow down your response time.
Sign in ahead of time
It might seem like the first step, and in many ways after connecting to wi-fi, it is: Make sure you’re signed in to whatever ticket purchasing provider you’re using. And that goes for all of your devices, if you have a handful pulled out.
Use Firefox
One of the most common questions about high pressure ticketing buying is “What web browser should I use?” The truth is, well, there is no hard and fast rule. Firefox just happens to yield success for certain users. From TicketCrusader, a blog dedicated to sharing tips and tricks in the ticket-buying and resale market: “The beauty of Firefox is that once you see your seat locations, you can simply press the Alt+back arrow and it will take you back to the captcha page (after clicking yes on the pop-up box). It can be a huge time saver and it keeps the number of tickets and other details in the search.”
Don’t open more than one browser window
To repeat: multiple devices are great. Trying to buy the same ticket in a few different tabs or browser windows? Not so much. This leads Ticketmaster (or whatever ticket service you’re using) to register your enthusiastic ticket purchasing as bot behavior.
Use a CAPTCHA blocker
The penultimate step in any big ticket purchase is the dreaded CAPTCHA. Luckily for you, they are avoidable, on your browser and on mobile, by downloading a plugin to disable them. A few recommendations: AdBlocker Plus, Rumola, Skipscreen, Captcha Monster.
If it’s a pre-sale event that requires a password, have it copied and ready to go
Pre-sale events, as you may or may not be aware, sell out just like any other ticket purchasing experience. If you have a code that allows you to score tickets before the general public, you should use it—just make sure you have it copied and ready to go, so when you’re prompted you can paste (ctrl + z) whatever the pre-sale password is, instead of entering it manually.
Have the event page open, but don’t refresh too many times before the moment of sale
It seems intuitive—have the page open and ready to go when it’s sale time—but far too often users get anxious as they get closer and closer to the moment, feeling to need to hit the refresh button (F5 on your keyboard) a million times. It’s a dangerous game because most ticket purchasing sites will lock you out if you refresh too much. Ticketmaster, specifically, will freeze your account for 24 hours and you can kiss those tickets goodbye.
Practice if you need to
A lot of quick ticket buying boils down to, well, being quick at buying tickets. If you’re going to attempt to use multiple devices to score tickets, too, and you don’t have a well-coordinated friend to help you out, practice buying tickets on multiple devices. Because all services require more than one step to confirm purchases, you can practice by pretending to buy real tickets to actual events and closing out before the final payment stage. Find out what works for you and what doesn’t.
Check back later—sold out events aren’t always sold out
It’s true! Even when tickets appear to be “sold out” online, they’re not always. Check back in an hour and again in a few hours to see if more have been added, or if additional tickets suddenly register as available. You never really know. This is especially true for events that appear sold out but haven’t actually sold well (promoters will never reveal that information)—it could be a matter of days or weeks before they appear online.
Seriously...be prepared to buy tickets closer to the event, or even the day of
Tickets can be released at any moment, so don’t give up, even if the event is, say, tomorrow night. Just because an event says it’s sold out, doesn’t mean it is. And if all else fails, show up to the venue day of, or use your phone to call them—the old school approach might work in your favor.