Viagogo says ‘unreasonably priced’ Lorde tickets likely won’t sell

A website where sellers offer high-priced “VIP” tickets to the Lorde’s Hawke’s Bay concert indicates that “unreasonably priced” tickets rarely sell.

The so-called VIP tickets for the Lorde’s Black Barn concert in March 2021 are on sale on Viagogo for $ 1,354, after the original buyer paid just $ 120 for a regular ticket.

Other general admission tickets range from $ 700 to just over $ 200.

One thousand pre-sale tickets for the Havelock North event sold out within hours for the official ticket price of $ 120 each.

The last 1000 are on sale Monday at noon.

A Viagogo spokesperson said the site was a “secondary market” and users were made clear that ticket prices were set by the sellers.

“In addition, it is clarified that prices can be marked as above or below face value, depending on demand, so that all users are aware of this fact before their purchase.

“Unreasonably priced tickets get the most media attention, but rarely, if ever, sell. “

Viagogo’s guarantee meant the seller didn’t get paid until a buyer got into the event.

Viagogo had problems with less than 1% of tickets sold worldwide, and if there was a problem, “Viagogo will step in to find comparable replacements – or offer a full refund.”

Brent Eccles, from Eccles Entertainment, co-promotes the Lorde Tour.

He said that “for a long time” they were telling people not to buy tickets from Viagogo.

A Google search for “Lorde Black Barn tickets” returns an advertisement for Viagogo as the first result.

Eccles said that there was no such thing as a “VIP” ticket on Lorde’s tour and that there was no guarantee that tickets purchased anywhere other than the authorized ticket vendor were legitimate.

For all shows except New Plymouth, the authorized ticket seller is Ticketmaster and for the New Plymouth show, Ticketek.