Taylor Swift fan mortified and regretful about buying $5.5k resale tickets
A Taylor Swift fan has admitted she is "embarrassed" that she spent $5500 dollars on tickets to see her idol on tour.
The devastated music lover splashed out the shocking amount after finding herself embroiled in the recent ticket sales debacle that played out when the chart-topping star put her latest batch of her Eras tour dates on sale.
Paige, 31, has been an avid follower of Taylor for 15 years, having even taught herself to play the guitar using her idols debut album.
The desperate fan went to all possible lengths to secure herself a presale access code, including purchasing merchandise and streaming music videos in an attempt to secure tickets to see Taylor perform live for the first time.
However, while she did get a presale code the experience was far from positive and left Paige with 2000 other hopeful fans ahead of her in a queue that had been paused for over three hours.
'Renaissance' 2023 World Tour: Here’s how to get presale Beyoncé tickets todayIn a panic she began looking at other outlets for tickets, with prices anywhere from $5,000 to over $30,000 which is when she spotted two-floor seats at $2,000 each and decided to snatch them up.
After taxes and fees the final sale came to a shocking $5,500, which fell $500 above the initial limit she gave herself of $5000.
However, she took the plunge and placed the sale on her credit card to then pay it off gradually, thinking she could use the hefty price tag to help build her credit.
Talking to Insider about the whole experience Paige now admits she has regrets over spending such a large amount to buy tickets to see Taylor.
She explained: "I don't feel good to have tickets anymore. It wasn't something fun, like it was supposed to be. I feel guilty. I feel like I did something impulsive in panic mode, and I am disappointed in Ticketmaster and Live Nation for letting it get to this point of just being a complete frenzy."
"Once I realized how many people were impacted by this and how I fed into what resellers do, which is prey on people who are in that panic mode, it didn't feel good anymore."
Admitting that she felt like she didn't even want to attend the show anymore and that she wished there was a way to secure a refund and for the tickets to be redistributed, Paige also shared her sympathy for those who simply couldn't pay the inflated prices.
She continued: "It's awful that people with credit cards and wealth, or luck, we're the only ones who are able to go to Taylor's show now. I feel like it's a dirty ticket. Like in the same way getting something in the wrong way would feel bad, it's the same with this. I'm embarrassed I did it, I regret it"
Ticketmaster have apologised over the chaotic sale of tickets to Taylor's tour.
The ticket sales business published a statement when fans were left frustrated as their website repeatedly crashed when they were logging on to try and nab a ticket to see Taylor.
Beyoncé fans rage as hotels and rentals hike prices to £1,000 on tour datesThey uploaded the apology when Taylor herself also expressed her anger at the failed sale of tickets to her string of shows launched to coincide with the recent release of her album Midnights.
The selling outlet said: “We want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans – especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets. Next, we feel we owe it to everyone to share some information to help explain what happened..."
They then outlined a series of reasons for the failure to deliver a reliable sale, admitting that their technical infrastructure was not up to the task.
The statement was issued after it was announced that the US Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into Live Nation Entertainment - Ticketmaster’s parent company.
The probe will investigate if Live Nation Entertainment is guilty of an abuse of its power in the live music industry.
A New York Times report says that the investigation actually predates this latest controversy.