The Best Time to Buy Resale Concert Tickets, According to Data

Have you ever bought a concert ticket, only to see the price drop a few weeks later? It happens to music fans all the time. Experts who track ticket prices say there are smart ways to shop for resale tickets and avoid overpaying. Data from two major ticket-tracking websites shows that timing really does matter when buying tickets on the resale market.

Many fans buy resale tickets because popular events sell out fast on sites like Ticketmaster. When that happens, people turn to resale sites like StubHub, SeatGeek, and Viagogo. Two websites called SeatPick and TicketData watch prices on these resale sites every day. Both companies shared their data and tips to help fans spend less money on tickets.

One of the biggest questions fans have is whether to wait until the last minute to buy. Keith Pagello, the founder of TicketData, says prices usually go down as a show gets closer. But for the most popular events, that is not always true. At the World Cup, for example, prices actually doubled in just one week before the tournament started.

SeatPick found that for the hottest events, prices on the day of the show can still be close to the highest prices ever recorded. They say that day-of fire sales are mostly a myth for big events. However, for less popular events, prices can drop by as much as 30 percent near the show date. So the answer depends a lot on how in-demand the event is.

Pagello says the smartest move is to keep watching prices over time. If prices are going up as the event gets closer, do not wait too long to buy. He says price increases usually happen over a few weeks, not overnight, so fans have some time to react. Paying attention is the key to making a good decision.

Believe it or not, the day of the week you buy also matters. SeatPick data shows that Wednesday is the cheapest day to buy resale tickets. Prices on Wednesdays are about 6 percent lower than on Fridays or Mondays. That small difference can add up, especially if you are buying more than one ticket.

SeatPick also found that prices tend to dip about three weeks before a show. Around 20 days out, the median price index drops to its lowest point before climbing back up. Pagello saw the same pattern with the World Cup — prices fell about 25 percent in the month before the tournament, but then shot back up in the final week. This means the sweet spot for buying is often about three weeks out.

Concert tickets and sports tickets do not behave the same way. The average resale price for a concert ticket is $148, which is higher than the average sports ticket price of $116. But sports ticket prices swing much more widely — the cheapest seats are very cheap, while the most expensive seats can cost far more than concert tickets. Events like the Super Bowl and the World Cup are among the priciest of all.

Even within sports, prices vary a lot depending on the team and its fans. Pagello pointed out that Buffalo Bills NFL games have the highest average ticket prices in the entire league this season. Fans there are passionate and want to see games in their brand-new stadium. This high demand pushes prices up, even though the Buffalo area is not one of the wealthiest markets in the country.

Fans today are getting smarter about how they shop for tickets. Gilad Zilberman, the CEO of SeatPick, says fans now act more like investors, watching prices every day and reacting quickly to changes. Pagello agrees, saying fans are less willing to just pay whatever price pops up when tickets first go on sale. That kind of experience makes people want to shop more carefully the next time.