YORK, Pa. — Ticketmaster is causing more trouble, trouble, trouble for concertgoers.
On Tuesday, millions of Taylor Swift fans took to the ticket retail site for presale tickets of the pop star’s upcoming Eras Tour.
“As soon as the tour was announced, the excitement was astronomical," said Paige Moyer, a local Taylor Swift fan.
Ticketmaster sent out verified presale codes to a select number of fans prior to Tuesday. However, when tickets went on presale, fans immediately encountered long wait times, site crashes, and a limited number of available tickets.
“I ended up sitting in that queue from 10 a.m. until, I want to say, about 2:13 [p.m.] specifically," said Moyer.
“As soon as I tried purchasing the tickets, they were gone. Left and right, they were gone from my cart," said Missy Cauchon, another local Swiftie. "And finally, when they started to save in my cart and you try and checkout, an error message popped up.”
Both Moyer and Cauchon were eventually able to get tickets to Swift’s concerts in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. However, they ended up paying more than they initially expected. Some single tickets were being sold for thousands of dollars.
“I had never seen starting prices like that before, so I was kind of jarred by that," said Moyer. "If you have tickets, it doesn’t feel good. If you don’t have tickets, it also doesn’t feel good.”
The outrage of fans has caught the attention of the Pa. Attorney General’s Office, which posted links for people to file complaints against Ticketmaster.
Other states like Tennessee have filed antitrust lawsuits against the company. Even President Biden has vowed to target ‘junk fees’ for concert tickets.
“I honestly think they’re too big for their britches and they are price gouging with their service fees," said Cauchon.
“At the end of the day, it should be about the fan experience," said Moyer. "And it’s very apparent that it’s not about the fan experience.”
Ticketmaster says they are canceling Friday’s general ticket sale as a result of the issues on Tuesday, citing a lack of ticket inventory.