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[September 2019]

Beware of trouble over online ticket resale!

Sample case

I decided to buy circus tickets online. I searched the circus name on the Internet and accessed the top ranking website. I ordered two reserved seat tickets on a specified date and paid 19,000 yen for the tickets with my credit card. When viewing the official website of the circus later, I found that I had bought the tickets through an overseas ticket resale website and the price I paid was more expensive than the regular price. Moreover, the official website stated, "Do not buy tickets through ticket resale websites."

(man in his 50s)

Problems and advice

(1) Some consumers confused a ticket resale website with the official ticketing website and bought tickets through the ticket resale website

Some consumers searched an event name on a general search engine and confused a ticket resale website shown at the top (ads) with the official ticketing website and bought tickets on the ticket resale website. There have been numerous inquiries and complaints about such trouble, in particular those related to overseas ticket resale websites.

(2) Make sure that you are accessing the official ticketing website before purchasing a ticket

Ticket resale websites often offer expensive prices and commissions. Some tickets are prohibited to be resold under the terms of use, but some consumers bought such tickets on ticket resale websites without knowing the prohibition. In such cases, they may not be able to cancel their orders even if they want to. Make sure that you are accessing the official ticketing website before purchasing a ticket. Check if the price or commission is too high and carefully read rules of cancellation before purchase.

(3) Before buying a resale ticket, read terms of use on the official website to check if ticket resale is prohibited

Transfer and resale of some event tickets are prohibited under the terms of use. When entering a venue, you may be requested to show some form of identification to prove that the ticket was bought through the official ticketing website. In such cases, resale tickets may be invalid or you may not be allowed to enter the venue due to identification mismatch. Before buying a resale ticket, you need to confirm if transfer and resale are prohibited under the terms of use, and if it's necessary to show some form of identification to enter the venue.

(4) Do not resell tickets illegally

On June 14, 2019, a new anti-scalping law* took effect in Japan. Illicit resale of tickets may be subject to a penalty under the law. Do not resell tickets illegally.

  1. * Refer to the following site for details.
    Act on Ensuring the Proper Distribution of Show and Event Tickets by Prohibiting the Unauthorized Resale of Specified Show and Event Tickets

Reference

Consultation Cases

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