Reminder: Always practice safe ticket resale

For those of you who weren’t aware, the NSW government amended their Fair Trading Act earlier this month to cover ticket resale. This now means that it is illegal to sell a ticket for more than 10% above what you paid for it. The consequences vary but fines up to $110,000 can be imposed to offenders.

But don’t say the ‘R’ word…

That’s right, Resale has been a drain on real music fans since… forever. But opportunistic scalpers have recently flourished since e-tickets became mainstream. Using sophisticated systems to buy up tickets quicker than real fans only to resell them at inflated prices, scalpers are the reason that some popular shows sell out in the blink of an eye.

And then there are the scammers…

These guys are even worse than the scalpers, because they simply sell fake tickets that have been photoshopped on their computers. They advertise tickets on facebook, gumtree, ViaGogo and anywhere that they can find someone to steal money from.

Time for change!

Backlash from real music fans and incoming legislation has spawned a new wave of ‘ethical’ ticket resale services whose mission is to protect music fans.

Let us introduce you to Tixel (formally VibeWire) who is leading the change in this space. The team at Tixel understand that nothing kills a vibe more than missing out on tickets to your favourite artist, only to watch them be resold at 3 times the price a few weeks later. The Melbourne based startup made convenient and safe experiences for many music lovers over summer, and they’re back again making waves by offering their low cost, highly secure platform for real music fans to swap their tickets. Check it out here.

Gigs already have frustrating difficulties, like getting a drink at the bar or lining up for the women’s toilets. Don’t make your event more complicated by being safe when you buy and sell your tickets. So make sure you stay safe when buying and selling tickets.