Despite being hailed as having stopped touts profiting from selling tickets at inflated prices, the initiative draws complaints from devotees who were unable to shift unwanted tickets.
- September 2, 2019
AceShowbiz - Ed Sheeran's fans have expressed anger after his anti-tout ticket resale scheme left some out of pocket.
The initiative, introduced by Ed's management ahead of his "Divide" Tour, has been hailed as having stopped touts profiting from selling tickets at inflated prices on secondary ticketing sites, by only letting fans sell at face value via the SeeTickets website.
However, it meant that some fans were unable to shift unwanted tickets, as SeeTickets charged buyers a 10 per cent resale fee, and tickets at some venues were still available at face value.
George Fox, a 20-year-old student, told The Guardian he lost $413 (£340) after trying to help sell tickets for a family member, and accused the star of profiting from the scheme as "nobody could buy off anybody else who couldn't go".
Fans also took to Twitter to complain, with one writing: "Totally understand why Ed prevents resales but with you can't have some tickets at a lower resale and others only allowed to sell at full price. #sham #unfair #lost£247."
However, representatives of Kilimanjaro Live, the "Thinking Out Loud" singer's tour managers, told The Guardian that while they "understand the frustration of someone who is unable to resell", dropping the price of tickets ultimately "throws up more questions than answers".
The "Castle on the Hill" star recently announced he planned to take some time out from music, after bringing his record-breaking world tour to a close - more than two years since the jaunt began.
