DENVER — If you’re thinking of spending big money to see Taylor Swift live, double-check to make sure you’ll actually be able to see her.
Sellers on at least one major platform are selling their seats, advertising them as having an unrestricted view, when in fact, they are located to the side or even behind the stage.
The majority of Swift tickets available on StubHub for her weekend shows in Denver cost more than $1,000 each — before fees. The site has advertised this tour as the “best selling tour worldwide this year.” Yet, some tickets for sale on the site may leave fans with some "Bad Blood" if they don’t do their homework when it comes to the view they will have.
Denver7 found, at the time of this writing, 17 examples of tickets that were listed as having an "unrestricted view" in sections that are behind or to the side of the stage. StubHub has a "View from Seat" interactive feature on their site, showing the location of those seats and the view. The feature clearly shows how the back of the stage blocks a portion of the view. In some instances, other tickets for sale in the same section are labeled "Limited or Obstructed View (printed on ticket)."
On this topic, StubHub said the site “relies on sellers to provide us with accurate and thorough ticket information.” When listing seats for sale, sellers must check a box to include any view restrictions on their tickets.
A spokesperson said if an incorrect listing is brought to their attention, “we actively reach out to each seller to remind them” that all information must be accurate. They went on to say that this kind of listing error could be a result of the high number of first-time sellers. According to StubHub, “83% of people selling tickets for this tour on StubHub are first-time sellers.”
As far as penalties for sellers who list incorrect tickets, those “can range by the degree of the error and what the end result is for the buyer, including charging the seller what it costs to replace the tickets.”
Other secondhand ticketing sites like TickPick have a "seller notes" section, where limited views or possible obstructions are listed. They have a separate page which includes a Denver Broncos seating chart that can give a better idea of the view from a concert seat. Seat Geek pivots the stadium map to show an approximate location of the seat, along with details about limited views.
Bottom line, if you’re still on the market, before you click "buy," it’s important to check the section and possible view, and not simply trust the listing.
