Scams, scalpers, additional seats: Ticket woes continue to plague fans as final Taylor Swift concerts take place

SINGAPORE – As American superstar Taylor Swift performs her final Eras Tour concerts at the National Stadium this week, ticket woes faced by fans have not abated.

After her opening show on March 2, it would appear that concert organiser and promoter AEG Presents added extra seats to the top-tier VIP 1 sections on subsequent nights, but at more than 70 per cent cheaper.

VIP 1 seats are priced at $1,228 each, and include a box containing exclusive VIP merchandise, such as a special set of four Taylor Swift prints, laminate and matching lanyard, a commemorative tote bag, souvenir concert ticket, collectible pin, sticker and postcard.

However, the additional seats are priced as Category 1 seats, at $348 each, and do not come with the VIP merchandise.

Naturally, several existing VIP 1 ticketholders are feeling upset.

In a TikTok video uploaded on March 5 by @leonardlowe5, the user wrote in its caption: “They (the organisers) are adding more Cat 1 seats in front of VIP 1, nearer to the barricade. Which means VIP 1 (patrons) are paying $900 more, but not getting better seats. The VIP box alone (is not) worth that much. We bought it because we want to be as close as possible to Taylor.”

The user, who tagged a number of media outlets in his video caption, added: “I have been trying ways to contact (them) to seek for a fair resolution, but the organisers are not replying. Please help us out.”

Other TikTok commenters shared similar opinions. One wrote that “we dropped $900 more and they get better views”, while another who is attending the March 8 show lamented that it was “unfair”, adding: “I don’t know if I can take it that they paid much lesser but will get better seats.”

The Straits Times has sent queries to AEG Presents about the matter.

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However, among the terms and conditions on tickets purchased by fans, it states: “Promoter may add, withdraw, reschedule or substitute artists or players (where applicable) or vary advertised programmes, prices, event times, venue, seating arrangement or audience capacity.”

Aside from these grouses, some local Swifties who could not get tickets to the concerts have continued to face unpleasant experiences with scammers and scalpers.

On March 7, the police said in a statement that at least 1,241 victims have fallen prey to e-commerce scams involving concert tickets since January 2024. A majority of the cases involved tickets to Swift’s concerts.

Singaporean fan @cruel.blue uploaded a video on TikTok detailing how she entered the National Stadium on March 4 using a ticket which her friend bought from a reseller on online marketplace Viagogo, but discovered she was scammed when two other people had the same seat as her.

She was subsequently escorted out of the venue by security.

Similarly, Thai influencer Chopluem Thammapunya took to Instagram to express her dismay at being cheated.

She had flown to Singapore to attend the March 3 show with a ticket that she purchased from a vendor, but was left in tears when she was barred from entering the venue as someone else had already gained entry using a ticket bearing the same number as hers.

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And then there are the shady scalpers who are still reselling tickets at exorbitant prices.

Ms Wendy Tan told The Straits Times how she had several run-ins with such characters in the past week, before she finally managed to buy a ticket to the March 4 show at below retail price.

A full-time caregiver, she was on the grounds of the National Stadium from March 2 to 4 – when Swift’s first three concerts took place – carrying a placard which indicated she wanted to buy tickets to the concert.

On March 3, she said she encountered a man on-site who offered to sell her a Category 9 ticket, originally priced at $88, for $500. Even at 8.30pm, when the concert was already mid-way, he was not willing to sell the restricted view ticket to her for $50. Instead, he wanted $100 for it.

Ms Tan recalled: “I decided not to buy it, as it was very opportunistic of him.”

On March 4, she said she crossed paths with a tourist, a Russian woman in her 20s, who was offered another Cat 9 ticket for €300 euros ($437). “I persuaded her not to buy it,” said Ms Tan.

Ms Tan eventually managed to procure tickets for both of them. The first ticket she found was from a seller who was willing to let it go at the original price.

“I let the Russian woman have this ticket first as she had only one evening in transit in Singapore. Around 15 minutes later, I managed to find a second seller willing to part with a VIP 4 ticket, originally priced at $528, for all the cash I had, which was nearly $200.”

Both women successfully watched the concert on March 4.

Ms Tan said: “We resisted buying from the scalpers, and looked out for each other. I am glad that things worked out well. But it is really despicable how scalpers victimise genuine fans who have spent so much on flights and hotel stays just to catch their idols on stage.”

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.