Music to your ears: How to nab bargain concert tickets (and not get scammed)

Opinion

October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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While roaming through Madrid on a recent overseas trip, I was stopped dead in the middle of the subway by a billboard. Latin American pop star Shakira, most famous for her 2006 hit Hips Don’t Lie, was playing the final dates of her world tour that weekend, in Madrid. It was fate.

My partner and I quickly decided not going was not an option, and jumped online to see if there were any tickets left. After baulking at the €800 VIP tickets (I love Shakira, but not that much), we found that the four nights were fully sold out, which was, understandably, devastating.

We were posed with a dilemma: give up on our dreams to see the Queen of Latin Music (and star of Zootopia 2) live, or try our luck with a ticket resale website. Neither option was particularly attractive.

What’s the problem?

According to a 2025 survey by PayPal, about one in five of us have missed out on events due to fake or undelivered tickets, losing an average of $432 in the process. That number also tells us something: concerts and events have become way more expensive, with the national average ticket price sitting at $120.

This has meant that Australians have started to cut back on buying tickets to gigs and shows, which is both bad for our already struggling arts industry, but also for our own personal fulfilment. This is also playing into the hands of scammers, who often tout cheaper tickets for sold-out events, which are almost always too good to be true.

What you can do about it

In the end, after careful research, we bought two tickets from a reputable reseller without a hitch, and were able to attend the concert, with only a small mark-up on the original price. So if you want to know how to nab cheaper tickets, and what to look out for when it comes to buying them secondhand, read on:

• The cheap seats: Major events will often have varying tiers of seats to choose, ranging from the nosebleeds up the back to the $2000 mega-ultra-VIP option which practically has you sitting on the stage. Angus Kidman, personal finance expert at Finder, says if you don’t mind so much about your proximity and view, hunting for the cheapest option (which can sometimes be as low as $60) is your best bet. “The cheaper seats with restricted views are one option to explore,” he says. Restricted view seats can sound bad – after all, who wants a whopping big column in their way? But often they aren’t nearly as bad as they sound. Fan-made website A View From My Seat lets you check out what your view will be at a range of venues in Australia and around the world, and some ticketing websites will also show you a photo before purchase. “That said, at big concerts the cheapest seats are often the first to sell out,” Kidman says.

• Last-minute deals: If you’re a keen theatregoer but can’t afford to shell out $100+ for a new show each month, many shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth offer cut-price, last-minute tickets through TodayTix if you’re willing to leave it until the day of. Numerous theatres, including the Melbourne and Sydney Theatre Companies, will also reserve a range of seats (often quite good ones) that are offered for sale between $20 and $40 at certain times during the week, though you may need a valid concession card to nab one. Finally, Sally Tindall, Canstar’s data insights director, says it’s also worth checking for any presale or ticket offers from your credit card provider, bank, phone network, streaming service, ticketing platform or event promoter. “While presales won’t necessarily get you a discount, they can give you early access to a wide range of ticket categories, increasing your chances of securing a cheaper option before the best-value seats sell out,” she says.
• Buying resale: If you’re not lucky enough to get a ticket before they sell out, your last option is often to buy one on resale. Here’s where things can get a bit dicey, as it’s an area ripe for scammers, who might sell you a ticket that doesn’t exist, and scalpers, who will try to sell you one with a 500 per cent markup. The first and best place to buy a secondhand ticket is from someone you know, so your first move should be to ask your friends and family if they know anyone with a spare ticket, and complete the transaction face-to-face. Your next best option, and the one recommended by the ACCC’s National Anti-Scam Centre, should be the ticket seller’s approved resale platform – major platforms Ticketmaster and Ticketek both operate their own marketplaces. Some ticket selling platforms ban concertgoers from using tickets that have not been bought from an accredited reseller. “We advise against buying or selling tickets on social media, encrypted messaging apps or unauthorised ticket sales sites as there’s no way to verify the tickets are real,” an ACCC spokesperson said.However, there are some third-party ticket resale websites that are reliable, including home-grown option Tixel, which facilitate sales directly between fans and often come with a money-back guarantee if the tickets turn out to be fraudulent. Sites such as these will often cap the price tickets can be resold for too, so buyers don’t get stuck with insane markups, and to comply with various states’ ticket scalping laws. “The important thing is not to panic-buy,” Tindall says. “Scammers know people become desperate when an event sells out, and that urgency can lead to expensive mistakes.”

Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

Dominic Powell is the Money Editor for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.

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