Event tickets are getting more and more expensive over time. To see a major artist nowadays, you're looking at a three-figure price, with some fans even paying thousands to see their favorite performers. What's more, the high demand for certain events also makes it incredibly difficult to bag a ticket, even if you've set time aside for the release.
Naturally, this has led to people seeking cheaper ticket prices on third-party resale sites. One such site, Vivid, has become a popular option for many, but others are not convinced. So, is Vivid legit? Can you trust this site to give you official tickets, or is it all a scam?
What Is Vivid Seats?
Vivid Seats came about in 2001 and was the product of Jerry Bednyak and Eric Vassilatos' collaboration. The site is used to re-sell and exchange tickets, including those for concerts, stand-up gigs, theater performances, and sporting events.
On the Vivid Seats website, you can search for tickets manually, or browse through popular and recently listed tickets. Alternatively, you can search by category if you just want to see what's on offer.
You can also sell tickets on Vivid Seats if you want to make a resale profit, or if you simply can no longer attend an event. The site itself is made up of individual sellers, so there is no single entity that issues all the tickets listed. You choose from individual sellers' tickets, though the site itself facilitates the sale for you, so you don't actually need to contact the seller directly.
In this sense, Vivid Seats is somewhat similar to eBay or Gumtree. The tickets are technically second-hand, as they've already been bought from official vendors. But the tickets have not yet been used, so are valid for resale.
According to the Vivid Seats website, the company has sold over 100 million tickets so far. Vivid has hundreds of employees and has established a name for itself as a prominent platform for event tickets. Today, it even has shares listed on the stock market.
Vivid Seats also has a free smartphone app, available for Android and iOS. You can buy and browse for tickets on the Vivid Seats app, as well as use your current location to find events near you.
Download: Vivid Seats for Android | iOS (Free)
Is Vivid Seats Legit?
With so many sales and users and a history stretching back over 20 years, Vivid Seats must be legit, right? Let's take a closer look.
First, we'll check out the reviews to see what previous customers are saying. If you want to check reviews yourself, make sure you use legitimate sites to avoid running into fake reviews and testimonials, which aren't uncommon online.
On Trustpilot, Vivid Seats reviews have an average rating of 3.4 stars out of five, at the time of writing. 54 percent of these reviews are five-star, though a concerning 36 percent are one-star. Another two percent are two-star. So, with over a third of reviews being negative, what's really going on here?
When taking a look at the one-star reviews of Vivid Seats, there were a variety of issues being discussed, including:
- Shoddy customer service.
- Tickets never arriving or arriving late.
- Overpriced tickets.
- Additional charges.
- Inability to get refunded.
- Trouble reselling tickets.
Of all the issues listed above, it seems that tickets never arriving was the most common. Many customers complained that, even after consulting customer service, they couldn't access their tickets.
The lack of refund access was also a commonly mentioned issue.
The nature of Vivid Seats makes the likelihood of scams that much greater. After all, you're dealing with lone sellers, not an official seller with an extensive reputation. Because of this, you run the risk of buying tickets from an irresponsible or outright malicious seller, meaning you might never see the tickets you purchased.
As previously discussed, Vivid Seats acts as an intermediary between you and the ticket seller. They facilitate the sale, but it's down to the seller to make sure the tickets end up with you. This way of doing things has led to many users contacting Vivid's customer services to report an issue, only to be told that the ball is in the seller's park.
On Consumer Affairs, Vivid Seats has an average rating of 1.4. This shockingly low rating is the result of a swathe of negative customer reviews concerning tickets never arriving, sellers canceling ticket transfers, overpriced tickets, and misleading ticket listings.
While many users do receive their tickets and have an entirely positive experience, shoddy sellers make things difficult for many others, which damages Vivid's reputation. It's worth noting that Vivid Seats has no control over the price at which sellers list tickets. The price a user pays for tickets is at their own discretion, regardless of how much cheaper the tickets turn out to be on another site.
But there is one huge downside of Vivid that is in the company's control: the service fees. Vivid Seats charges a service fee of between 20 and 40 percent of the ticket sale price. Ticket resale sites are known to charge hefty service fees, but Vivid's rates are still very high in comparison.
Vivid Seats' Buyer Guarantee
Vivid Seats claims to have a 100 percent buyer guarantee on purchased tickets, but this is where things become a little dubious.
The Vivid Seats website states that the buyer guarantee ensures the following...
- All tickets purchased are authentic.
- All tickets will be delivered before the event.
- All transactions will be secure.
- Buyers will be compensated for canceled events.
- All ticket orders will be accurate.
- Each user will receive full customer service care.
This all seems great, but the huge number of user reviews on Trustpilot, Customer Affairs, and other sites suggests that not all users are being afforded this guarantee. With so many buyers reporting tickets never arriving, misleading tickets, and shoddy customer service, Vivid's guarantee could certainly be called into question.
Should You Use Vivid Seats?
It's clear that Vivid Seats isn't an outright scam. A large proportion of customers receive their tickets with no issues.
A lot of reviewers have raved about Vivid's excellent customer service, with others having fantastic experiences with sellers.
Clearly, not all Vivid Seats users are dissatisfied, which proves that the site can provide a useful service. What's more, the website has a much higher average rating on some other review sites, such as SiteJabber.
On this site, Vivid Seats has an average rating of 4.07 stars out of five. As you can see below, the ratings for individual elements of the service aren't stellar, but aren't terrible, either.
On SiteJabber, some reviewers state that they enjoyed a quick and problem-free service, while others reported misleading tickets and poor customer service. Again, it seems that Vivid's customer experience is a mixed bag.
If you want the most secure service possible, you may want to opt for other, more positively reviewed and reputable resale sights, such as:
- Ticketmaster.
- SeatGeek.
- TickPick.
Alternatively, you could try buying event tickets from the original vendor sites, but this may prove tricky and time-consuming, especially if you're after tickets for a very popular event. If you want to get into the shows you love, you can get concert tickets online securely and safely.
Vivid Seats Is a Bit of a Gamble
It seems Vivid Seats is neither here nor there when it comes to reliability. Some customers love the service, while others swear to never return. If you're looking to buy very expensive tickets, it may be wiser to try a site that has less ambiguity.
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