How ticketing bots are making it harder for fans to score tickets

Do you remember waiting in long lines just to get tickets for a show?

Those days seem almost quaint now in the ecommerce age of instant gratification.

“Depending on the popularity of the event, you could expect to probably waste a lot of time standing in line just to get tickets.

“Now there’s less initiative to hold such events because people are more likely to purchase tickets online,” said Y.C. Chia, the founder of local online ticketing and event management platform Ticket2u.

‘...Ready For It?’

Despite the convenience, buying tickets online can quickly turn into a nightmarish experience.

In November last year, many fans looking to score tickets online to US songstress Taylor Swift’s 2023 concert tour were left empty-handed and frustrated after being forced to endure long virtual wait times and constant glitches on Ticketmaster.

“The staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have invite codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests – 4x our previous peak,” Ticketmaster said.

Clinician Elaine Lee faced a similar situation in February when she wanted to buy tickets for American band CAS. Ready with her credit card, she logged on to a ticketing website 30 minutes before the ticket sales opened.

“I was in a virtual waiting room and it told me how long to wait. I felt it was inconsistent because the waiting time jumped from three hours to five then nine then back to two hours,” Lee told LifestyleTech.

Moments later, Lee said the virtual waiting room screen changed into an apology to inform her that tickets had sold out.

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“I was in disbelief and a little bit annoyed because I thought ‘What did I miss?’. I’m not aware if there was a pre-sale period for the event,” she said.

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Read more 👉 How ticketing bots are making it harder for fans to score tickets