Here's How to Prepare Yourself for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Ticket Sale

So unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you've probably heard that the biggest pop star that ever was, Taylor Swift, announced additional North American dates for the Eras Tour in 2024 with stops in Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Toronto.

You also probably know things didn't go well the last time Eras Tour tickets went on sale. That's an understatement — Swifties had a meltdown after Ticketmaster's site couldn't handle the ticket demand. This led to congressional hearings and calls for Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, to be broken up.

On Wednesday, August 9, it's set to happen all over again when the sale begins for the 2024 dates. Note that there's no presale because the chances that tickets will remain for the general public after Wednesday are virtually nil.

Now for the bad news: Registration for Wednesday's sale closed on Saturday, August 5. If you did not register, you cannot participate in the sale, no matter how hard you try.

There's also another caveat: Just because you registered for the Eras Tour Verified Fan Onsale doesn't mean you'll get the chance to purchase tickets. On Tuesday, August 8, Ticketmaster will alert fans who registered if they have been invited to join Wednesday's virtual queue, along with an access code and link where they can join. While a limited number of fans will get access to the sale, others will be placed on a waitlist if any inventory is left. Those on the waitlist will receive a text message or email if invited to join the sale. According to Ticketmaster, tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and access to the sale does not guarantee you'll come away with a ticket.

With your access code, you'll be limited to four tickets. The virtual waiting room will open 30 minutes before the sale begins, so it's best to get in line as soon as it opens. Remember that Wednesday's sale times for each date are staggered: Friday, October 18, begins at 11 a.m.; Saturday, October 19, begins at 1 p.m.; and Sunday, October 20, begins at 3 p.m. You won't be assigned a spot in line until the Verified Fan sale begins. When you reach the end of the queue, you'll then be able to purchase tickets. Ticketmaster recommends not to refresh the page while waiting in the virtual queue, which may cause you to lose your place in line.

Also, something to keep in mind: Ensure you are logged into the Ticketmaster account that received the access code to purchase tickets. Otherwise, the link you received will not work.

So after the last Eras Tour sale debacle, is there hope this one will go smoother? Well, yes. After the Swift-induced site meltdown, tickets for Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour went on sale a few months later without any issues. Unlike the 2022 sale, Ticketmaster isn't offering access to Capital One card members. Again, the only way to gain access this time around is through the Verified Fan system.

Still, you should prepare for the worst. New Times contributor Celia Almeida attended the second night of the Eras Tour in Tampa after a painful process.

"I waited in the Ticketmaster queue for six hours," Almeida says. "Four of us, including myself, registered for access code, and only one of us got a code, and the rest got waitlisted."

Almeida says she was tasked with purchasing the tickets because she could access her phone on the day of the sale. She made sure she was logged into her friend's account with the access code and waited patiently for her turn.

"By the time I was given access, all that was left were resale floor seats for thousands of dollars and nosebleed tickets," Almeida adds. Luckily for Almeida and her friends, they agreed before the sale that only the nosebleed seats were within their budget.

This is all to say that on Wednesday, the best thing you can do is practice patience. Knowing your budget and how many tickets you plan to purchase will make for a faster experience for everyone.