Ticketek admits ‘minimal’ Taylor Swift tickets have been sold through its resale Marketplace

Taylor Swift fans trying to secure last-minute tickets for the superstar’s Aussie tour have been left furious.

The resale platform Ticketek marketplace has revealed that “minimal” tickets for Taylor Swift concerts have been transacted since November despite the fact 50,000 desperate fans on average are logged on at any time trying to purchase.

Ticketek Marketplace is the only authorised resale platform available for Taylor Swift tickets in Australia where fans can sell their tickets “safely and securely”.

But the ticketing giant has revealed for the first time that hardly any tickets have been transacted since resale tickets first went on sale late last year.

News.com.au has been unable to verify that figure because the company will not publicly reveal how many tickets have been transacted.

“On average, there are 50,0000 customers in the lounge at any point in time trying to gain access to Taylor Swift tickets via Marketplace,’’ a spokesman said.

“Once tickets are listed, they are purchased within 60 seconds of becoming available.

“There is no doubt that there is significant demand to secure tickets to Taylor Swift’s upcoming The Eras Tour, which has been a global sell-out, but unfortunately there are very few genuine fans who are looking to list/sell their tickets.”

Fed-up Taylor Swift fans have flooded social media with complaints about Ticketek’s resale platform. Picture: Reddit

Huge demand for Taylor Swift tickets plagued the site in June, when tickets first went on sale, and since November when fans were first able to resell unwanted tickets on Ticketek marketplace.

When Taylor Swift tickets first went on sale the ticketing giant revealed up to four million fans in Australia were logging on to battle for 600,000 tickets - but that figure does not include the resale platform.

The situation has outraged fans who have flooded social media including TikTok and Reddit to complain.

“What’s up with Ticketek Marketplace? It’s cooked,’’ user JBeynon94 said on Reddit.

“Why does it take so long just to get in at all hours of the day? I understand the Taylor Swift situation but surely at 1am it shouldn’t take over an hour? This happens multiple days on all our devices and it’s to check out the status of BMTH tickets, something is broken.”

Another user, vh26 said there were tickets listed for Swift that were ‘stuck’ online and not being sold to anyone for hours.

“This has happened multiple times while the resale market for Eras has been open,’’ he said.

“It has literally happened to me every single time I’ve gone on,’’ Reddit user XX said.

“Cannot unlock one single, solitary TS (Taylor Swift) ticket over the last four months, despite them sitting there for hours. So frustrating!”

At any given time, 50,000 Taylor Swift fans are logged into Ticketek looking to buy a ticket for her Aussie tour. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jake Nowakowski

In response, Ticktek said it was in the hands of fans with few wanting to part with tickets.

“Ticketek created Ticketek Marketplace before scalping legislation was introduced. The Ticketek platform operates to provide genuine fans with a fair and safe platform to buy and sell tickets,’’ a spokesperson said.

“The Ticketek Marketplace site is working as expected. Fans are listing and buying tickets as inventory becomes available.

“Ticketek Marketplace is an ethical ticket exchange for fans with a genuine need to buy or sell on the secondary market and is the only authorised reselling platform for tickets for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour in Australia.

“Ticketek’s customer solutions Team are working around the clock to help genuine customers list their tickets. If customers are experiencing any difficulties buying or selling their tickets, we advise them to reach out to [e-mail].”

Taylor Swift had a record 96,000 fans at the MCG last week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jake Nowakowski

Last year, news.com.au revealed there actually was no queue for the original tickets on sale and the selection of fans to purchase tickets was totally random.

“Everyone in the Ticketek lounge has an equal opportunity to get into the site regardless of when they have arrived,’’ a spokesman said at the time.

It helped explain the mystery of why some fans were able to buy tickets twice while thousands waited for hours and never saw the ticket map.

It also meant people who got up at 4am or kept their browser open overnight were wasting their time. Even Ticketek’s official advice was to log on 15 minutes before the pre-sale started at 10am in Sydney and 2pm in Melbourne.

Swift’s tour smashed Ticketek records, with fans sweating it out as they desperately waited to score tickets. The ticketing giant also had to repel half a billion bots.

The record-breaking demand for tickets saw four million people across Australia trying to buy them – a stunning figure that’s close to 20 per cent of the entire population.

The pre-sale tickets for Sydney were officially sold out around four hours after they went on sale.

The tickets for Melbourne were sold out at 4pm, just two hours after Melbourne sales opened.

After fans complained about long wait times during the AMEX presale on last year, Ticketek released a range of handy tips to grab tickets, including creating a Ticketek account in advance, having presale codes ready, not closing or refreshing their browser while waiting and keeping an eye on the on-site check out timer.

“Queuing is a necessary part of the purchasing process. A way of ensuring fair access to tickets for all fans,’’ a spokesman said.

“Fans must remember to not leave the Lounge page or refresh their browser.

“The page will refresh itself frequently to let more fans through to purchase. Once fans are in the Lounge, they should sit tight and wait to be let through to the event page. And then once they’re through they need to remember to keep an eye on the timer and complete their purchase within the time frame.”

Originally published as Ticketek admits ‘minimal’ Taylor Swift tickets have been sold through its resale Marketplace