Since the first leg of the DNA World Tour ended, the wait had seemed like an eternity for the ticket sale day to arrive for the long-awaited second leg announcement for the USA and Canada.
It started out with various text messages being sent out from the Backstreet Boys text subscription with hints of various cities/provinces where the second leg will be performed. I have to say, I give their PR team major props because the hype we all felt on that Sunday and the anticipation was fantastic all over social media.
The very next morning, bright and early at 8:00 AM sharp, the dates and cities were announced. Phones were blowing up. Tweets and social media posts everywhere. The scheming among friends and individuals had begun. Then, you look at your list of possible shows you’ve made with your friends, or even by yourself, and the most earth-shattering announcement of them all is then upon us: the fan club presale is the NEXT DAY. Not even 24 hours! YIKES – the panic ensues.
To help be prepared for these quickly announced tour dates and sales, I’ve come up with a list of tips and strategies to make sure you are ready when the ticket sale goes live. I am sure you were all as nervous as I was, and sometimes, those nerves can get in the way if you do not have a plan. Below I am sharing a list of tips and strategies to try and make the ticket buying process a little less stressful (my hands were shaking and I got a heart rate warning on my watch, that’s how nervous I was!).
1. Make sure you remember your login information.
It is very important to make sure you remember all Ticketmaster and Live Nation login information BEFORE the sale. Make sure you remember your usernames and passwords and update them if needed. Once you are logged in, update all of your payment information, such as adding any new credit and deleting old or expired credit cards. When you snag those seats you want, you want to be able to check out with all of your current payment options ready to go.
2. Make sure your Fan Club membership account is current and that there are no login issues.
The last thing you want to happen is go online to buy tickets and then find out that your Fan Club membership has expired. Make sure you go on within plenty of time before the sale to make sure your membership is renewed and current. There were some people who had some login glitches, as well, so make sure you leave sufficient time to get in contact with Wonderful Union if that were to happen so that way you are logged in and ready to go with your presale code when sale time hits.
3. Make sure your personal Fan Club presale code is copied and pasted prior to sale time.
If you are a Fan Club member, you received your own unique and personal code in your account to use for the presale. Make sure you go online and copy and paste the code BEFORE the sale begins so you can paste it quickly to access the sale. I had it typed in an empty email just in case I couldn’t access my Fan Club account at the time, and I also had it written down on piece of paper in front of me just in case I would have to manually type it in.
4. Be accessible to others if possible.
Many of us have to work, have appointments, or other commitments that may happen during the ticket sale time, and some people are lucky enough to have a friend or family member go on and try to buy tickets for them. If this is the case, make sure it is someone you trust with your credit card and billing information, and make sure the person buying for you is able to get in touch with you if any issues with your credit card takes place, so the buying process can go as smoothly as possible for them and you will hopefully have your tickets for your desired date.
5. Make sure you are logged in on ONE device only.
If you are buying from your laptop or PC, make sure you are only logged in from that device. Many people try to log in on their phone at the same time. Coming from my own personal experience, I tried to log in to Live Nation on my phone at the same time just in case, and it told me it would not allow me to since I was already logged in on another device. Luckily this happened while I was in the waiting room, and not during the actual sale.
6. Have a plan ahead of time with friends.
I am sure many of you enjoy going to one or more show with your friends. If you decide you want to go to more than one show, and all of the shows are the same dates, have a plan for each of you to buy all of your tickets and each of you be responsible for a particular show. For example, I am going with two other people, and we decided to go to three different shows. That way, when the sale goes live, all three of us went on and snagged all of our tickets for each show at the the same time, and it works out price-wise to be pretty even, although some shows do vary in price depending on location and venue. Just be sure to write down the total price for each show and pay the difference to one another if needed.
This helps prevent having to have multiple windows open at once and having to buy one show, and then worry if the other shows are selling out. I understand that there are many people who prefer to go to their shows alone, and that is fine! However, if you are going with friends, this strategy is helpful. My friends and I used this strategy and it was successful. Also, if one person is struggling with a particular venue with seats or website glitches, the other friend can move on to another show if needed.
7. Block off time at work or get coverage.
If the situation allows, make sure you block off a window of time at work for minimal disruptions if possible, so that way you hopefully won’t be scheduled for a meeting or conference call. I am a teacher, and majority of my day I have students in my room that cannot go unsupervised. Luckily, I’ve had colleagues that I trust who were available at the time to cover for me to supervise my students so I can quickly go on to purchase tickets. I know some people were able to use paid time off, and if that’s what you need to do, I am judgement free! Whatever works best for you to get the tickets that will make you happy.
8. Stay on the phone or FaceTime with friends.
Sometimes we just need support from our friends during this very stressful time. When the ticket sale happened, I group FaceTimed with my friends and we did the best we could to keep each other calm and focused, and also were able to talk each other through the process. The screams, the ‘Oh Gods,” the “I am so nervous,” the “GOT THEM!!!” also adds some humor to the process, therefore,the laughs helped calm me down a little, believe it or not. I know not everyone is able to do this at work or while out somewhere, but if the situation or time allows, I highly recommend.
9. Always check back during the general sale following the presales.
Most times, people are successful and are able to get the tickets they want during the presale. However, not all venues are that easy. For example, there are some venues on this tour that only have seats and no pit or lawn, and a lot of people were disappointed that they didn’t even get the opportunity to choose from the good seats! Try not to despair.
If you weren’t able to pull up a certain group or section of seats, try again during the general sale. Often times, many groups of seats are released during the general sale. Unfortunately, some of these seats are then classified as “Official Platinum,” meaning they will likely come along with a much steeper price tag, just as a heads up. If your finances allow (or not and if you’re like a lot of us who panic buy and then figure payment part out later), GO FOR IT! YOLO!
10. Check for tickets the week or day of the show.
Often times, many artists, their crew, radio stations, venue employees, etc, will have blocks of tickets reserved for family members or friends. However, if a lot of their tickets go unused, they will be released last minute to the public. The best part? Sometimes these are tickets in great areas of the venues and are sold for a lot cheaper than when the initial sale took place.
This is not always a guarantee for every show or venue that may have a higher demand, but it’s definitely a tip you do not want to ignore if there is a show you’ve been dying to get tickets to and have yet to be successful.
Or, call or visit the box office in person to see what they have available. They often have tickets not listed online, and you avoid the awful service fees added on. It’s a bit of a risk to take, especially if you wait until day of, but from personal and many of my friends’ experiences, we’ve come out with great tickets the day of and get to attend the show and do not have to experience that dreaded FOMO while watching all of your friends’ Instagram stories. I am sure we have all been there at one point.
Do you all have any other strategies or tips you follow, or ticket day traditions or rituals? Let us know in the comments. Happy BSB ticket buying, tour season is finally upon us!
