Following news earlier this week that Ticketmaster is undergoing a $100 million upgrade to combat ticket scalpers, Australian ticket scalpers are getting cockier with a number of tickets appearing on Internet auction websites for a major festival that hasn’t even gone on sale yet.
Despite going on sale early next month, faux tickets and 2-day passes for this year’s Stereosonic 2013 have turned up on Gumtree for prices of up to $220, with a few users even attempting to dupe prospective festival-goers with “Hardcopy Industry Tickets“.
The Stereosonic scalpers are preying upon punters’ hype for the event, which this year expands to two days in each capital city to accommodate for its massive 70+ lineup, featuring the likes of David Guetta, Armin Van Buuren, Calvin Harris, and Empire Of The Sun among the November/December touring bill.
Organisers for the electronic music festival have issued a ticket warning to patrons “about buying tickets via Gumtree and Ebay related websites.”
“There are a number of fake tickets available already on Gumtree and we suggest buying tickets via our official Ticketmaster Page or via our registered industry sellers,” reads the statement. The pre-sale for Stereosonic 2013 tickets begins on Monday 29th July at 9am, while general public ticket sales begin 9am, Thursday 1st August. “Tickets are expected to sell out quickly, with patrons advised to purchase tickets at their earliest convenience to avoid disappointment,” reads the Stereosonic ticket warning.
The news follows in the wake of a 41-year-old woman who was charged by police over the sale of fake concert tickets on Facebook, as The Standard reports. Australian ticket scalpers are getting cockier with a number of tickets appearing on Internet auction websites for a major festival that hasn’t even gone on sale yet
Police had charged and bailed the Cobden woman to appear in Warrnambool Magistrates Court in August for advertising $100 tickets for Pink’s current, mammoth Australian tour after she deceived another woman into paying for the tickets on the social media website, but was never sent the concert tickets by the 41-year-old Cobden woman.
“They were in communication over three months,” explains Senior Constable David Rook. “Eventually the woman asked for her money back, and when it (the Pink tickets) never arrived and the seller stopped replying, police were contacted.”
“We caught up with the woman last week and charged her with obtaining property by deception,” added Senior Constable Rook, who said that the incident served as a cautionary reminder of the risks of purchasing tickets online. “I would suggest if you are close to the person selling items, arrange to meet them and do the exchange face-to-face,” he said.
It’s not the first time (or certainly the last) that scalpers have attempted to take advantage of the hype surrounding music events. The highest profile case being the 22-year-old NSW man who faced judges for the sale of fake Soundwave tickets after he pocketed nearly $17,000 from unwary fans across at least 60 suspicious transactions.
Similarly, following the lightning sell-out of tickets to Splendour In The Grass, which kicks off next week, organisers of the three-day Byron Bay event issued a warning over the alarming amount of ticket scalpers appearing online, especially through auction site Gumtree.
Though they confirmed that “Gumtree [had] been cooperating with Splendour by removing Splendour ticket listings as they appear,” the scalping issue was enough to force Splendour organisers’ collective hand in scrapping the reissue option for 2013 and instead setting up a new anti-scalper re-sale facility to deal with the exchange of tickets from punters who had to change plans or re-sell their passes.
Stereosonic 2013 Dates & Tickets
Sydney: Saturday 30th November & Sunday 1st December – Sydney Showgrounds
Perth: Saturday 30th November & Sunday 1st December – Claremont Showgrounds
Adelaide: Friday 6th December & Saturday 7th December – Ellis Park
Melbourne: Saturday 7th December & Sunday 8th December – Royal Melbourne Showgrounds
Brisbane: Saturday 7th December & Sunday 8th December – RNA Showgrounds
Stereosonic Ticket on-sale dates:
Monday 29th July – 9am: Ticketmaster will be providing an exclusive online pre-sale for MyTicketmaster members, local Australian capital city time. To access the exclusive pre-sale please visit: http://ssonic.co/sspresa88 and add Stereosonic to favourites.
Thursday 1st August – 9am: General ticket sales will be available, patron’s local capital city time, from Ticketmaster online, phone and stores. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly, with patrons advised to purchase tickets at their earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
Two-day pass – $199.95 + bf
For up-to-date information, please go to: http://www.stereosonic.com.au
