Bit of a noob to ticketmaster

My brother wants two tickets for Springsteen on Thursday. Since I'm the most computer literate I've been charged with getting them.

I just created an account on ticketmaster. Is there any particular trick to making sure I get the tickets or is it just blind luck (waiting at the computer on Thursday morning).

The only other similar experience I've had was for the HP Touchpad fire sale a few years ago and I was bloody useless at it.

ScouseMouse

Have your pc logged into ticketmaster ready to go.. Have the app running on your phone. As a precaution, have your mobile running on mobile network and your pc running off wifi/whatever.

Something else though. If day 1 sells out, I expect a second and possibly a third date. I cannot see any big panic on these.

rubadub

I think getting the proper account is definitely the way to go. Be logged in and do not be mindlessly refreshing over and over, I see people recommend this but I reckon it could blacklist you as a automated bot or something. I have a proper GMT linked clock and wait until about 15 or 20sec after 9am to attempt to get them.

I can't remember a single time I missed out when doing this.

The security captchas (the jumbled up letters you have to type in) can be horrendous on ticketmaster. If I am in doubt I get it to refresh another one. Otherwise I think if you get it wrong it takes a good few seconds to get back to try another.

They may have gotten easier, its quite weird, some days they are totally simple and clear to see, other days they are pretty much impossible.

If I think it will sell out I sometimes have a friend or 2 on their PC trying too, we might be going together. We instantly email each other if we got them, you have a few minutes before you have to confirm. I have always gotten them offered to me though. I have also had people in the office do the same.

PTH2009

If an event is sold out on opening sale day it's about 90% sold out really. A lot of tickets are held back til safety checks, too combat touts etc and go on sale nearer the gig.

Although I am nervous about this sale and am praying for 3 seated tickets

Toast

Most problems people seem to have is with the captcha or with verified by visa which is a passcode system visa use as additional security that'll ask you for particular letters from a pre chosen phrase. Both of these types of systems should be familiar to anyone who has used online shopping before but people seem to go to mush when it comes to doing them under pressure (or certainly that seems to be the common complaint anyway). There's not much you can do with the captcha to prepare... other just make sure to spend the ten seconds to actually read what it is asking you to do. Make sure you know your verified by visa passcode and have it written out in spaced letters and once again READ the instructions which will say which letters it wants (perhaps the 2nd 6th and 7th). You can enter credit card details in advance if you've a Ticketmaster account but not the verified by visa code. Obviously the other thing to make sure is the credit card details are correct and you're not over limit.

Croke Park is big so it'll take a good 45 minutes for the system to sell all these tickets even if the demand is there for them (Springsteen tours here all the time so it won't be a Garth Brooks style sellout).

Ciaran_B

Be logged into your Ticketmaster account before you start.

If you're paying by Visa make sure you know your Verified by Visa credentials. It's a nightmare when that box pops up and you're trying to remember the password.

Know in advance what tickets you're looking for; standing, seated, car-parking etc. When I was getting U2 tickets there were about 50 separate categories for sale that morning. It can be confusing.

Thanks guys. Yeah that verified by Visa thing causes me hassles everywhere....fcuking fifth number, seventh number, eleventh number ****e!

blastman

My Verified By Visa is just a regular password, what way do you have yours set up?

rubadub

You could always go through a dummy order right now on any random gig and just not complete the transaction, just to get an idea of what will come up.

A friend once missed out as he is slow at typing and did not fill out the details in time, but he did not have a registered account so was filling lots out.

Also if doing a dummy order now the captcha may be very easy, I think if a gig is not sold out they just make them easy as they are not expecting robot touts. You can see how the refresh works on it. There is a voice/sound option too but I found it just as hard.

finbarrk

Just tell him you couldn't get them. There will be loads of them on Done Deal for the next few months.