Many Israelis fly to various destinations around the world for a variety of reasons, and one of them is to combine a trip abroad with a performance by their favorite artist. Beyoncé, Coldplay and Elton John are just a few of the artists currently performing in a variety of places around the globe, but it turns out that the road to the show may be paved with quite a few attempts at scams, fraudsters and fake tickets.
In order to avoid the many sting methods that cause quite a few Israelis to miss the show and to great disappointment, we spoke with the experts of concert tickets abroad, Yossi Alfasi from Livetiktas and Gabi Mizrahi from Ticktick, who talk about their tips that will help you avoid the ticket sting.
Check everything you need well in advance. Beyoncé live, photo: Getty Images
Yossi Alfasi's tips:
Even before you plan to purchase concert tickets from private individuals or unofficial websites? Always, but always, read reviews in advance. If you see that there are a lot of good reviews, you should check the less good ones, to see what disappointed buyers write, such as if tickets were not provided or did not work at the entrance to the venue, or if, for example, there was no emergency contact number. Many sites write great reviews about themselves, so it's important to check the negative reviews as well – preferably Google or Facebook reviews, as it's harder to fake reviews on these platforms.
Check for contact phone numbers, especially emergency numbers.
Be very careful not to book through Facebook groups, let alone pay in advance and get e-tickets. It's the most popular sting these days.
Have you been offered a very low price compared to other sites? This needs to be investigated more thoroughly, as these may be tickets with limited visibility, or non-adjacent seats, or some other problem.
It is necessary to pay attention to the high costs added in the payment process. All overseas sites add handling, service, taxes and shipping fees only at checkout. These fees can add up to 35% of the price listed, which increases the ticket price significantly.
Do not arrange with a ticket provider near the venue for cash payment, as there is a good chance that no one will come to meet you.
It is always better to purchase from Israeli sites that have "mom and dad". If there is an address in the country, it is even better.
Pay attention to fees. Elton John in concert (archive), photo: Coco
Gabi Mizrahi's tips:
A price that is too low should give you a warning light immediately.
Check that there is a "father and mother". This means that the selling company has a good reputation and a telephone on which to reach its representatives.
Check how long the company has existed. On overseas sites, you can read reviews on sites like Trust Pilot.
Do not buy on sites with a lot of negative reviews. There are sites that many of us are familiar with and it is worth getting to know them well, because there are many warnings about quite a few of them.
Don't buy from individuals who offer tickets on social media.
Do not pay by bank transfer, cash – and certainly do not give a code for cash withdrawals at an ATM. The priority for payment should be PayPal, or by credit card if there is a malfunction, so that you can contact the company through which you made the payment.
Check very carefully that the ticket you received matches the booking. In many cases, this is discovered only after entering the performance venue, when it is already too late.
Check carefully that there is no comment on "limited visibility". Many people don't notice and discover that there is, for example, a pole that hides the show where they sit.
Arrive as early as possible, so that the malfunction can be dealt with as far in advance as possible, in case it arises.
Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys, performing in Amsterdam, photo: AFP.
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