I don’t usually make posts on here, but I’m pretty upset about this whole experience and genuinely wondering if this is a common occurrence.
I purchased VIP tickets to see Breaking Benjamin in Tuscaloosa, AL when they first went on sale. I waited in the queue and everything. When tickets became available, the entire front section was marked “standing only,” which I thought was strange because those sections normally have seats.
I took several screenshots because I was confused and even called the amphitheater to make sure it wasn’t a Ticketmaster glitch. I spoke with someone there who confirmed that those sections would, in fact, be standing only.
Based on that information, I chose the closest actual seats I could get to the stage and decided to spend the extra money for the Early Entry VIP package and the swag that came with it. This was the most money I’ve ever spent on a concert in my life.
Fast-forward to earlier this week, just days before the concert. I checked Ticketmaster to see how full the venue was and discovered that the entire front area that had originally been marked “standing only” had been changed to standard reserved seating.
There are now seats available 20+ rows closer to the stage than mine — for less than HALF of what I paid.
I called Ticketmaster to see if I could exchange my tickets for the closer seats. They told me no because they can only exchange VIP tickets for other VIP tickets, and there are no VIP tickets available in those closer sections.
So essentially, because I purchased VIP, I’m stuck farther away.
I can’t help but wonder if situations like this are intentional: put the VIP packages farther back at a premium price when tickets first go on sale, knowing hardcore fans will pay for them, and then open up much better standard seats closer to the concert date.
I legitimately cried over this. I would gladly give up every VIP item that comes with my package just to have the closer seats. At this point though, I can’t even resell my tickets for anything close to what I paid, and I really don’t want to spend even MORE money buying another set of tickets just to get closer.
I’m still going to the show and I’m trying not to let it ruin the experience, but I’m extremely disappointed. Ticketmaster needs to change their policy when it comes to this. It's freaking ridiculous.
Has anyone else had something like this happen with Breaking Benjamin VIP tickets or Ticketmaster in general?
Because after this experience, I can say with certainty that I will never purchase VIP tickets again.