Expert tips on avoiding Taylor Swift tickets scams
NEW YORK - Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is coming to MetLife stadium this weekend, and it's tracking to be one of the highest grossing tours of all time.
The tour could push Swift, who is already worth about $570 million, into billionaire territory.
The tour is expected to boost her by about $500 million.
The Eras is also making millions for host cities, thanks to food sales, hotel bookings, and transportation.
With a big name like Swift comes big ticket prices.
On Tuesday, third row tickets for Swift's Friday night show were listed at SeatGeek for $20,000 each. Even the worst seats are listed for big bucks.
To catch a close-up view of Swift will take a whole lot of dough. The cheapest tickets on SeatGeek for Friday's show were more than $1,700 each.
One Swifty told CBS2 she hopes to travel in from Pennsylvania for at least one of the shows. The key word: "Hopes."
"I probably sent over, like, 150 messages, and I would say 98% of them were scammers," Dionna Wright said.
Wright said she paid $800 for a ticket she discovered on Facebook, but the supposed seller didn't send her anything in return, so now she's filed a dispute with PayPal.
"It is frustrating. I'm defeated, but at least I know I'm going to get my refund back," she said.
She might get her money back, but Claire Rosenzweig of New York City's Better Business Bureau knows some victims will not.
"People have been losing $900, $1,200," Rosenzweig said.
Nationwide, the Better Business Bureau has gotten nearly 200 complaints related to the Taylor Swift tour, ranging from refund struggles to outright scams.
Experts say if a deal seem too good to be true, it probably is.
You should only buy from reputable vendors and use a credit card, because it offers more protection than platforms like Zelle or Venmo.
"They'll ask you to pay for the tickets through a peer-to-peer platform, which is a problem. Because once you send that money, it's gone. Scammers love that," Rosenzweig said.
"With all the frustration, there is a community of Swifties who - we really look out for each other," Wright said.
With the huge prices on the major resale sites, some Swifties are keeping an eye on Ticketmaster. Occasionally, before a concert, a batch of new tickets is released on their site at face value. But Wright says, so far, no luck.
With the huge prices on the major resale sites, some fans are keeping an eye on Ticketmaster.
Occasionally, before a concert, a batch of new tickets is released on their site at face value.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell's Office says he will soon try to revive a bill with new regulations for Ticketmaster.