The resale ticket market for live events is a complex market and is driven by supply and demand, with many players involved we decided to shed some light on a major company who is active in the global ticket market.
One of the biggest online ticket sellers is Viagogo and in the following article, we will address all of the pros, cons of using their site, and address questions such as: what is Viagogo, how does it work, is it safe to use, what to look for when buying tickets on their platform, how to contact them after you purchased tickets, and much more.
If you want to know if using Viagogo is reliable, then read ahead.
- Who is Viagogo?
- How easy is Viagogo To use?
- Can I find the tickets that I’m looking for on Viagogo?
- Are The Ticket Prices On Viagogo Fair?
- What is the Viagogo guarantee?
- How Do I Contact The Site?
- A Few Pro Tips on Buying Tickets From Viagogo
- What are the common Viagogo reviews & Opinions online?
- Is Viagogo Legit & Safe?
- Conclusion
Pros:
- Multiple supported currencies
- Multiple supported languages
- Using secure payment methods – Paypal, Adyen
- Good selection of tickets
- Interactive seating charts
- Large seller network
- Available e-tickets
- Affiliated with the ticket provider
Cons:
- Employing scare tactics
- Long queue
- High booking fees between 30%-35%
- Negative customer reviews
- Drip Pricing
- Hard to reach customer support
- Hidden Fees
Who is Viagogo?
Viagogo which was founded in London in 2006 by the former co-founder of StubHub Eric Baker, and is considered today as the largest ticket marketplace in the world, spreading to over 160 countries.
Viagogo is a venture-backed company with major investment firms such as Index Ventures, Lord Jacob Rothschild as well as well-known athletes such as Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, who have invested in the company.
Since the site was established, Viagogo has managed to attract major artists, teams and performers, and contracted with them through official deals. As a result, these deals enabled Viagogo to offer large amounts of tickets through their network of global sites. Such deals have rising concerns regarding the role of the secondary market and the involvement of official ticket outlets channelling tickets to the resale market.
Viagogo considers themselves to be the safest ticket vendors worldwide as they take pride in their competitive prices, reliable customer support, and ticket guarantee.
While they do offer the largest ticket supply in the world, Viagogo has been constantly in the news in recent years in regards to their selling practices. Viagogo has been accused of not providing enough information on their sellers, the origin of the tickets on their marketplace, adding hidden fees at checkout, utilizing drip pricing, FOMO and pressure tactics through the buying process, making people ask if Viagogo is a scam.
How Easy Is Viagogo To Use?
Having a comprehensive marketplace seems to be Viagogo’s main goal, but that is not the most important thing when you decide to buy a ticket to your favourite event. An easy to use platform with a great user-friendly experience, upfront prices which enables you to make a smart and safe purchase, should be a top priority.
Viagogo’s buying experience has been criticized as misleading at times. It has been said that whenever you pick an event you plan to attend you will immediately be met with scare tactics through the entire purchase process. Let’s take the loading page:
- How many people are viewing this event on their site
- How many tickets are still available to the event on their site
- From where people bought tickets to this event
This could have been useful information to a buyer, but at the same time, this information is purposely used to invoke fear that tickets are selling out and pressure a customer into making a purchase. Scare tactics are a common use by many sites, such as Booking.com and the like, but you should take this into account whenever you do use Viagogo. Be patient and take your time as you decide to buy a ticket, and don’t feel like you need to make a split-second decision about purchasing an expensive ticket.
You will continue to see these well-known sales practice throughout the entire site. Just below, you can find some more examples in the event page and checkout page of the same scare tactics used:
One thing that is quite frustrating is the long loading time in order to enter the final purchase page, which creates a feeling that there is a long queue for the tickets you chose. Recently Viagogo improved the speed of their overall loaders. Once you manage to pass this loading page, you will see some more scare tactics and somewhat of an unorganized page.
Let’s take a look at the bright side of the Viagogo user experience:
Viagogo does put a lot of emphasis on using interactive seating charts, and different colours to distinguish different ticket types and filtering options, which will help you sift through their many options. They also provide important information on each ticket listing, but what you need to pay attention to is the different delivery methods.
For example, there are e-ticket options that can be delivered to you via email for easy delivery, but not for the other options. You should also pay attention to the ticket restrictions such as “Limited or restricted view” which indicates that the view for that specific ticket will be obstructed.
In addition, you don’t have to register beforehand in order to book your tickets. They will give you either the option to create an account before you complete your purchase via Facebook or email.
Another pro is that Viagogo uses secure payment methods such as Paypal and Adyen, in addition to being able to pay by debit or credit card. So, when you do purchase your tickets, you can rest assured that it’s via a secure payment system that you can count on.
Currencies, Payment Methods & Navigation
Currencies
Viagogo offers multiple currency conversions which makes it easy to convert the prices on the site into your own currency.
These settings can be found usually in the top right or bottom left of the site. This is not to say that you will be charged in your own currency, as usual, they charge the original listing price that was set by the seller, but you will know what that translates to in your currency.
The original currency will be displayed at the checkout page right before the payment.
Search Bars
Another helpful tool that helps you search for tickets on the site is the easy to use search bars, where you can search for tickets by a specific event, team name, performer name, city and venue name.
You can reach all of these options by clicking on the green search button, without entering any key terms and you will reach their “Advanced Search״ page where you can type in multiple terms to search by. The options will pop up and you can choose what you were looking for.
Filters
You can search for upcoming events by a number of filters such as date, location, timeframe, maximum price/ticket, or specific keywords. You can also use Viagogo’s predetermined Top Events which are based on their top sellers locally and globally to find a popular event to attend.
All of these search features make Viagogo a great option for people who know what they are looking for as well as people who are in discovery mode and are not sure what events are available.
Furthermore, buying tickets from different regions of the world is made easy, this is one of Viagogo’s main advantages, it is quite common for tourists and for people who are living abroad in countries such as Australia, Singapore, Germany, France the US to buy tickets to live events on their site.
Some might say that this is what enables them to dominate search results in multiple languages, due to their massive investment in translating and localizing their website.
Can I find the tickets that I’m looking for on Viagogo?
Viagogo is undoubtedly the largest global ticket marketplace and has a large network of ticket traders, scalpers or so-called brokers.
As a result, Viagogo is able to offer an extensive ticket supply to most events. You can use their site in multiple languages according to your regional location in order to find the tickets that you are looking for in the language of your choice.
Because this is a resell marketplace, you can also find tickets to shows and games that have been sold out at the venue. This means that people can offer up their tickets if they end up not being able to go or have an extra ticket. You do end up with slightly higher prices, but that can be said of any reseller, but you can get the tickets you want for pretty much anything.
Are The Ticket Prices On Viagogo Fair?
Like any other resale marketplace, the prices are set by the sellers themselves, not the site. And, the tickets are not the same price as the original ticket sold by the venue. This means that the prices will be higher as the person has already purchased the ticket at full price and is looking to sell it for more money.
This is fair, considering that you wouldn’t be able to get tickets to your events without sites like Viagogo. Plus, although there are higher prices, the more outrageous sellers are often unable to sell their tickets. This could cause them to end up lowering the price to something more reasonable.
Keep in mind, if you opt for a last-minute ticket to a sold-out show or game, you are taking the chance that the few that are available will be at a much higher price than they otherwise would be. So, plan ahead and get your tickets early.
A Few Pro Tips on Buying Tickets From Viagogo
If you head over to the Viagogo UK site you will be able to get more information on the tickets and the full details of the sellers, as Viagogo was ordered to reveal as much detail by the CMA.
But, if you want some help getting the tickets you want, then here are some tips on how to do it.
Buy Tickets Early
If you wait until the last minute to get your tickets, you will likely end up paying higher than before if the event is high demand.
Sellers can see that their tickets are the last few left for the event, and they could charge much more since it is the only option at that point for a buyer. So, buy early and get the best price.
Ticket Types & details
Look for e-tickets and instant download tickets, these tickets will usually be delivered early on, in the more details on the tickets that are listed the better, look for Row details, special notes – these are good indications that the tickets are already in possession of the seller and are ready to be shipped.
Viagogo Fees
Know that going into a resale site will have some fees attached for the use of their website. It is quick and easy to get what you want, but you should remember that the service or booking fees will be applied.
So, add that to your budget ahead of time to avoid being blindsided at the time of payment, make sure you notice the fees at the checkout phase as well.
What is the Viagogo guarantee?
The Viagogo guarantee is that in the unexpected event that you do have an issue with tickets that were purchased on Viagogo, you will receive 100% of your money back.
The seats are automatically confirmed when purchased, and if they don’t arrive, not only will you get a full refund but the seller (Viagogo is just the middle man in this purchase) will not get paid and be charged an admin fee.
So, there is no incentive for anyone to sell to you without supplying the tickets listed. In most cases, you will get the tickets a week before the gig.
However, this guarantee should not always be taken at face value. Viagogo tickets reviews have had some negative comments left about customers not getting any refund at all. So, you may need to fight for your money back if things go south.
You will need to file a complaint via their system and ask for a refund. In that case, they might require you to provide them with a proof that you indeed encountered problems while trying to enter the event and that you were actually rejected by the event organizers, or if your tickets had not been accepted for some reason.
You should also take note of any ticket restriction beforehand, like age requirements to enter certain events. If you end up taking a child with you that doesn’t meet the age requirement, then you will be turned away, but may not be able to get a refund because you overlooked it and it was stated on the site.
In any case, whenever you do have issues, in order to get a refund from Viagogo make sure to request a written confirmation from the venue and keep a receipt of the new alternative tickets that were purchased, this will help you to prove your case during the refund process.
Or else, you may end up like one of their unhappy reviewers.
How Do I Contact The Site?
There are a few ways to reach Viagogo, and the contact information can vary between each local site. If you are looking for an urgent telephone number for Viagogo, or if you are wanting to speak to a representative at viagogo then you can try some of the contact methods below:
- In order to reach their main UK customer service: 44 (0)20 3137 6080
- In order to reach their sales team: 44 (0) 20 3137 6084
- Contact them through a designated Viagogo email for existing orders: customerservice@orders.viagogo.com
- You can also send them a message through your account if you have an issue with your order
Another useful link is their FAQ section: Viagogo’s help centre: https://www.viagogo.co.uk/Help/Buyer
Viagogo Customer Service
One of the most important things is to be able to safely rely on your ticket provider when you buy your ticket, many ticket resale sites offer some sort of a ticket guarantee and customer support but those guarantees don’t always come through.
Viagogo ticket reviews UK show some angry customers not getting the guarantee they were promised, and not getting enough help or care from their customer service support.
What are the common Viagogo reviews & Opinions online?
Viagogo for a good part of the past 10 years has been the largest and most secure marketplace worldwide, but unfortunately, in recent years there is a change in the sentiment towards them.
A rise in Viagogo complaints from unhappy customers complaining about the difficulty of reaching the customer support and the site failing to uphold their own ticket guarantee has been prominent. This has led to major damage to their online reputation and good name.
There seem to be a few questions of whether or not Viagogo is selling fake tickets, and if Viagogo offers help to their customers.
Although the site is well established and legit, there have been questions raised about how they go about their customer support due to these reviews.
There are former customers ranting about rude customer service agents, and refusing to give refunds for situations that seem viable.
So, if you need any help, reach out with caution, we did have some customers report of a better experience in recent months and we hope that this trend continues.
Is Viagogo Legit & Safe?
Buying from a secure ticket vendor is probably one of the most crucial factors whenever you buy a ticket to your favourite event. Many people make their choice according to what site is the cheapest, but that is often the wrong tactic and could cause you to end up with a counterfeit ticket.
The most important thing at the end of the day is to receive a legitimate ticket in time for the event. In addition, great customer support is expected to be provided whenever there is an issue. And as a buyer, this is something that you must take into account if in the unfortunate case that there is an issue.
Viagogo does not have the greatest record with regards to customer service, but they still have their Viagogo guarantee that will give you 100% money back if anything happens to your ticket. Just make sure that you have read the fine print.
Conclusion
VIagogo is still the largest ticket marketplace in the world, if you are looking to buy tickets to an in-demand event, they will most likely have available tickets.
At the same time, their recent controversies and complaints from customers have been on the rise, their sale tactics have been highly criticized and you might want to check more options when you consider buying your tickets through Viagogo at this point in time.
With that being said Viagogo recently has made some improvements to their transparency and have improved the customer support in most regions so we do hope that this pattern will continue going forward.
You can always check all the available options on Seatpick for the desired event and find more options and other recommended sites.
