A Massachusetts Dad's $21,000 Taylor Swift Ticket Purchase is a Cautionary Tale

  As soon as the presale tickets were available for purchase on Tuesday through Ticketmaster, Taylor Swift fans across the country made arrangements and changed plans in order to secure their place in line. Some were successful; thousands more weren't. Massachusetts dad spent $21,000 for four tickets so his daughter and friends could see Eras Tour perform live, yet never received them. 1. It’s a lot of money Taylor Swift has inspired an extreme devotion in her fans, leading many of them to go extraordinary lengths to see her perform live. Last November alone, 14 million people flooded Ticketmaster for tickets for Swift's tour - leading them to buy them up cheap and then reselling them on secondary market sites where tickets could fetch hundreds of dollars more each than originally promised by Ticketmaster! This led to website crashes, wild ticket reselling markets with tickets going for hundreds or even thousands more dollars than promised and lawsuits filed from fans and even congressional hearings! Massachusetts dad Anthony Silva was among those fans. Originally purchasing four tickets through online ticket reseller StubHub for $1,800 as a Christmas present for Katlyn, but when they didn't show up he reached out and learned replacement seats weren't available so instead went through another resale site and spent over $21,000 at Gillette Stadium for the show. He's not the only fan to feel duped by resale markets; these ticketing snafus have generated much debate regarding fan treatment by secondary ticket sites like Ticketmaster. Their parent company Live Nation has been accused of prioritizing profits over consumers and has come under attack from Congress; while Ticketmaster President and CFO Joe Berchtold testified before Congress in March that bots that caused the site to crash were to blame for many prices being charged on secondary markets; venues set service fees themselves, not Ticketmaster. Swift fans are constantly monitoring Twitter accounts dedicated to Swift's music; such as a Reddit page dedicated solely to her shows, these alerts typically arrive 30 minutes before each show begins. There's an upside: all 2023 concerts take place over weekends - with Friday concerts being the least costly, followed by Sunday performances. But even if you manage to secure cheap tickets, travel and lodging expenses cannot be ignored. 2. It’s a lot of time Taylor Swift fans know the struggle of trying to secure tickets for her concerts can be real. Last November, when Ticketmaster's website crashed during her presale for Eras Tour tickets, the site was overrun by over 14 million Swifties hoping for tickets; that chaos eventually gave rise to a wild and out-of-control secondary market where fans paid thousands of dollars just to see her live. Frenzy caused by one ticketing issue has transformed into an all-out battle between fans and scalpers, leaving many of Swiftie fans feeling as if they are participating in Hunger Games. As they prepare themselves to purchase tickets for her upcoming concert, fans are bracing themselves for what may occur next. An anonymous Massachusetts dad recently reported to WCVB that he recently spent $21,000 for four tickets to see Taylor perform live for the first time with his daughter Katlyn and friends. Initially purchased via ticket reseller Stub Hub for $1,800 as Christmas present for Katlyn, however when replacement tickets weren't available he contacted StubHub instead and paid another fee of over $5,000 as replacements weren't available. Decident, he decided to take matters into his own hands by buying tickets through another ticket resale company and take matters into his own hands. Although his decision cost an estimated $21,000, he says it was well worth it for his daughter and her friends to experience Taylor Swift live! And that sentiment has been shared by thousands of Swifties, all eagerly preparing themselves for what could be a long and trying road to Taylor Town. Some Swifties have already received ticket codes while others wait patiently until Ticketmaster releases more seats--something which may or may not happen--in the meantime, they've kept tabs on various Twitter accounts dedicated to alerting fans when tickets drop; these accounts spend hours scanning submissions each day to make sure that tickets don't sell for over face value. 3. It’s a lot of risk As Ticketmaster struggles to process tickets for Taylor Swift's sold-out Eras Tour shows in Tampa, fans are turning to third-party resellers - but this comes at great risk. University of Florida student Kemper Reback found out first-hand just how difficult it can be to tell whether an offer from an unknown seller was genuine - she received three Taylor Swift tickets via GroupMe chat from someone offering three tickets without providing any further verification methods that these tickets were indeed real. The University of Florida student, hoping to attend with her sisters, immediately became suspicious and asked the man to call her back. When he declined, she refused to send any money without first verifying whether the tickets were legitimate and then reported him to law. Swifties were fearful this could be the end of their concert dream; but, like with any major event, her biggest fans proved themselves masters of planning and strategy - searching the internet for tips to ensure everything was organized as quickly as possible - some even creating savings accounts specifically dedicated to this concert experience. But, despite their best efforts, some had their hopes dashed when Monday's late-night email informed them that tickets had sold out completely - for some it felt like death by a thousand cuts. Others, including a Massachusetts father who spent $21,000 for tickets for his daughter and her three friends were left wondering why they had been duped. Anthony Silva told WCVB-TV that after purchasing them through StubHub (a third party ticket reseller), but never receiving them, when reaching out to StubHub they told him replacement seats were unavailable. Although StubHub stated they will refund Silva his tickets, the experience left him disappointed and warned other concertgoers against purchasing tickets through unofficial sources or failing to consider ticket drops; which is an alleged practice wherein Ticketmaster releases additional batches after initial sales have closed to meet high demand for seats. 4. It’s a lot of stress As soon as Taylor Swift tickets went on sale in November, fans quickly discovered how quickly her concerts sell out. To secure tickets they often turned to family or friends in search of one while others waited for the resale window hoping for discounted purchases; while die-hard Swifties would carefully examine seating plans before devising their strategy ahead of time. It's understandable why so many people would go the extra mile to witness 25-year-old singer Ariana Grande perform live; her music stirs emotion, and her concerts draw enthusiastic supporters who sing along joyfully. Unfortunately, tickets can be costly and finding one can be challenging. Anthony Silva learned this the hard way when he paid $1,800 on StubHub -- a ticket reseller site -- last year for tickets for his daughter Katlyn and three of her friends to attend her concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Unfortunately, however, these tickets never arrived, and when he reached out to StubHub they told him replacement seats weren't available. Silva remains determined to make his daughter and her friends' dream of attending the show come true, however. He's purchasing tickets through another resale website and organizing for limousine transportation to transport them there. According to WCVB, Silva hopes this experience will teach his daughter and her friends to be mindful when spending money. This incident also sheds light on ticket-selling company Ticketmaster, due to Swift's Eras Tour tickets being in such high demand that Ticketmaster had to halt general public presale, leading to sky-high resale prices that some considered exorbitant. Some lawmakers introduced The Taylor Swift Bill aimed at increasing transparency of ticket pricing practices. Neither Ticketmaster nor its parent company Live Nation have commented publicly on this incident, though Live Nation were recently grilled at a congressional hearing and are expected to come up against changes as a result of Swiftian debacle. Fans can learn one valuable lesson from Swiftian debacle: If something seems too good to be true it probably is!