First, it was Jay Chou. Then it was Coldplay.
Now, it’s Ed Sheeran.
Less than six hours after tickets to the British singer-songwriter’s upcoming Singapore concert sold out today, online marketplace Carousell has been inundated with resellers who are looking to sell off their tickets at exorbitant prices.
A quick search on Carousell showed that a pair of Cat 1 tickets were going for as high as $1,800 – up from the original price of $248 for a single ticket.
One seller had purportedly queued for a day to get their hands on the tickets, which sold out within forty minutes.
However, fans of Ed Sheeran have not been taking their actions lying down. Many voiced their outrage at the resellers on social media, as their purchases meant that actual fans were unable to get their hands on the tickets.
A post was spotted on Carousell naming and shaming those who had listed tickets at inflated prices, while another post urged fellow users to report the errant resellers.
This is not the first time that ticket scalpers have made the spotlight for trying to profit off the reselling of concert tickets.
Last year, reports were made of tickets to UK band Coldplay’s concert being sold at up to $13,000, up from the original price of $228. The organiser of Coldplay’s concert, Live Nation Lushington, later announced in a Facebook post that a number of tickets found on the resale market had been voided.
It is illegal for tickets to be resold at a higher price than their initial purchase price, and unlawful resale of tickets will lead to seizure or cancellation of the ticket, states a disclaimer on the ticketing page.
Last month, two Carousell users were arrested for scamming buyers who had bought discounted tickets to Coldplay’s concert from them.
pariel@sph.com.sg
