The “expensive resale” of tickets for Taylor Swift's live

Taylor Swift fans are at risk of being “ripped off” amid the frenzy over the UK leg of the pop star's Eras tour.

The “Reputation” artist performed last night in Edinburgh, Scotland, the first of three shows at Murrayfield Stadium before further concerts in Cardiff, Liverpool and London.

On the occasion of the concert and while impatient fans camped outside the stadium in the hope of securing the best place under the stage, tickets were sold on the secondary ticketing Viagogo at a whopping 4,256 pounds each (equal to 5,000 euros).

Tickets priced at this staggering sum claimed to offer a “clear view” of the show, despite being for an area that doesn't guarantee a seat close to the stage.

Always up Viagogoa pair of seated tickets were selling for £1,198 each (1,400 euros), while a pair in the East5 section was listed at £1,182 each (just under 1,400 euros).

A spokesperson for Viagogo told The Independent: “Viagogo does not sell tickets or set prices. Sellers set the price for their adverts and fans choose the advert that meets their budget.” “This – they claim from the resale platform – is a reflection of supply and demand. The tickets you still see listed on the platform at extremely high prices have, by default, not been sold and rarely ever will be.”

In July last year, the “Swifties” were furious after tickets for his record-breaking Eras Tour were sold on official channels only to reappear within minutes on secondary ticketing sites.

Ticket sales sites went haywire, with nearly 40,000 people queuing online as pre-sales began for the US pop star's London and Edinburgh shows.

Early access was granted to fans who pre-ordered “Midnights,” Swift’s 2022 album.

At the time, tickets for the London show at Wembley Stadium were on sale for up to 3,352 pounds (around 3,500 euros). The original selling price for a front row standing ticket was £172.25 (just over 200 euros).

Some fans blamed Ticketmaster for the apparent problems that occurred while queuing online.

“I was first in line for Taylor Swift tickets and Ticketmaster kicked me out of the line for no reason,” one fan tweeted in July. “My chance to get tickets is over.”

Scottish National Party MP Gavin Newlands said he encountered the same problem on Ticketmaster while trying to secure tickets for his daughter.

“As soon as I entered, you threw me out with a mistake,” he wrote. “Now I'm back in the queue with 18,000 people, with no chance of getting a ticket. Super.”

Ticketmaster did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

In April, Lloyds Bank issued a warning to fans, saying that more than 600 of its customers in the UK had reported being scammed while trying to buy tickets to Swift's shows.

The figures provided by Lloyds Bank are based on analysis of ticket scams reported by Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland customers, where Swift and/or the Eras Tour were mentioned as part of the request, including July 2023 and March 2024.

On average, each victim lost around £332 (just under €400), although Lloyds said in some cases customers were robbed of more than £1,000 (just over €1,100).

Liz Ziegler, director of fraud prevention at Lloyds Bank, said: “For her legion of devoted Swifties, excitement is building as Taylor's Eras Tour finally hits the UK this summer.

“However, the cruelest scammers wasted no time and targeted his most loyal fans who rush to buy tickets to his concerts.

“It's easy to get emotional when you find out that your favorite artist will be performing live, but it's important not to let these feelings cloud our judgment when trying to get tickets.”