Is this a ticket scam?

tariqbutt

I put an ad on gumtree.ie looking for tickets for a gig and I got a reply from someone called barry0014. He said he had 4 tickets and that "2 of our party can't go and another isn't too pushed at all so hence why we're selling them."

Brilliant I thought! However I then googled the username barry0014 and found that he had similarly bought tickets to a different gig in february and was not able to go. Also in december the same thing again. Each time he claims he is "gutted" that he can not attend.

It seems odd to me that this would happen to someone so often... So what? Maybe he is a tout? Maybe.... but he seems to be selling tickets at cost price so why would he buy them in the first place?

Is this a scam? Would they be fake tickets? I dont know what to do as I really want these tickets

Bluefoam

sounds like a tout or scam artist

foggy_lad

possibly fake tickets but sounds very dodgey anyway. can you not get tickets from the usual legal sources?

tariqbutt

no they are all sold out.

I rang the box office to ask if they could be verified somehow and the guy seemed doubtful that someone *could* make believable fakes. I guess I could look at them before I buy them. The boxoffice guy did say that I could have the reference numbers verified if I wished once I got them, although its not clear to me what that would prove as the seller could have just made copies with the same reference number.

kildara

Why dont you ask him for the reference numbers as you can get them verified by whoever the ticket issuer is. If he refuses or hesitates then it would indicate it might not be above board.
Or you could also ask him about those other cases you have found out about - you have nothing to lose.
Sounds like a tout though - but if you get the tickets at cost price do you really care?

tariqbutt

kildara wrote: »

but if you get the tickets at cost price do you really care?

No I dont care..... and if he was selling them above cost price, I wouldnt have posted about it, and would have just paid up.

Its the fact that hes selling them at cost.... surely that means he must not be a tout, since he is making no profit. It is this that makes me think its fake.


You are right about the reference numbers, I might try that, though as I said, I feel they might just be copies and he might have original reference numbers.

Big Wave

tariqbutt wrote: »

No I dont care..... and if he was selling them above cost price, I wouldnt have posted about it, and would have just paid up.

Its the fact that hes selling them at cost.... surely that means he must not be a tout, since he is making no profit. It is this that makes me think its fake.


You are right about the reference numbers, I might try that, though as I said, I feel they might just be copies and he might have original reference numbers.

Beware - if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Try eBay.ie or Buy & Sell.

kildara

tariqbutt wrote: »

Its the fact that hes selling them at cost.... surely that means he must not be a tout, since he is making no profit. It is this that makes me think its fake.

He could have bought, say, 20 tickets, and sold 16 of them at a profit and now he cant get rid of these ones at a profit so is selling them at cost price?

Can you contact gumtree and explain your situation to them and ask if any complaints have been made about him with regard to his other listings?
You could also tell him you would like to pay by paypal - at least then you can complain to paypal and they have the authority to halt payment if there are any problems with the tickets.
Best of luck with it.

stapolinhosting

I did a search on this guy.

For some reason he always wants to mee in Dublin City.

This is typical of some scammers, to meet in town and not let you go to his home to pick up the tickets. By meeting in town he can dissapear into the crowd pretty quick with the money before you realise the tickets are fake. And by that stage its too late.. You have no phone number or address to contact him or report him,, just an email address which he could have used any oul' details to register.

My advise, dont buy them!