Ticketbay Guide : How to Save Money When Buying Tickets as a Foreigner in Korea
[Guide to save money when buying re-seller tickets on Ticketbay Korea] Buying tickets to famous K-pop concerts in Korea can be REALLY COMPETITIVE. Even pros can find it difficult getting first in line when the ticket sale starts, and even with the fastest connection, the slowest delay when clicking can mean missing out on the first 50 rows of seats. Having helped hundreds of foreigners safely get access to Korean concerts, we understand this struggle very well. Based on our experience we have written a summary of the top 16 pro tips for buying K-pop Concert tickets in Korea.
That said, even with the best preparations, tickets do sell out. When they do, many people turn to buying tickets from third party re-sellers such as Ticketbay or Stubhub. These are platforms that allow for re sellers to anonymously post tickets and sell them to buyers securely.
While Stubhub is an established international platform, buying from Stubhub can be more expensive than purchasing from local Korean platforms such as Ticketbay, because stubhub charges a service fee of 15%, in addition to other fees on top of the listed price of the ticket. Delivery fees are also included in the price, meaning that if you are shipping the tickets abroad, you should expect to pay anywhere from 15% to 25% on top of the vendor listed price.
Ticketbay charges a 10% commission on its tickets when a vendor lists a ticket on their platform. And typically, since the vendors are only shipping the tickets locally, the price of the ticket tends to be much lower. That said, if you do not have a local Korean phone number, to register a local account, you would have to register a foreign account either on the Ticketbay.co.kr or on the Ticketbay.asia (new platform) websites. For foreign buyers, Ticketbay charges an additional 15% commission on top of the listed ticket price (meaning 115% x 110% x vendor quote). This fee does not include delivery fees via DHL so you should expect for the final commission rate to be similar to Stubhub, i.e. 15% to 25%, on the original vendor quote. Though ticketbay prices tend to be cheaper than Stubhub.
While, these platforms tend to be reliable, the commissions can add up very quickly, especially if you are buying expensive tickets. During the last BTS concert (Speak Yourself) the most expensive tickets would cost up to 5 million KRW (about 4,900 USD). That would mean spending a minimum of 735 USD in additional commission fees alone. An alternative option, would be to have a friend in Korea, who is able to buy the tickets with local rates and give them to you when you arrive in the country. This would be the ideal option.
If you do not have someone in the country to help, Wonderful can be a useful service for you. Regarding our pricing, we charge for the time taken working on your request by the minute, for as low as 1250 KRW per minute, depending on your preferred pricing package. There are NO processing fees when you pay us via bank wire transfer. (You will pay only the cost of the item(s)). When we charge your bank card, there is an 8.5% processing fee that goes to the payment processor for their services. We do NOT benefit from this fee. For more information regarding our pricing, please follow this link.
So, how can using Wonderful help save you money?
Typical concert ticket purchases take around 30 minutes to 1 hour if delivery and shipping is involved. Ticket purchase requests can take a longer time if there is an issue with the ticket vendor, or if we have to search for a ticket that matches what you are looking for. For more information regarding our pricing, please follow this link. You can save time by sending us a link for the ticket you want to purchase. This means that if there are no issues, you should expect to spend 45,000 KRW ~ 90,000 KRW on your tickets. This fee would apply for cheap tickets, and to a 4,900 USD ticket as well. If you choose to pay via card or paypal, there is the 8.5% processing fee charged to cater for exchange rate fees and platform fees.
Even considering this, the final cost would be cheaper by more than 6.5% compared to buying through Ticketbay's global option. This would also work well if you are buying multiple tickets. Please note that there is a 5,000 KRW shipping and handling fee charged in addition to the total ticket price. Also, when we purchase tickets, we receive them in our office first, from where you have the option of having the tickets shipped to your accommodation before you arrive in Korea, or we can hold the tickets and you can pick them up from our office.
One of our previous clients, did a basic comparison with another service that helps purchase tickets in Korea. You can see her review using this link : Review of two different Kpop buying services
What are the other benefits of buying tickets with Wonderful?
Wonderful is like your local Korean friend, you can ask us for anything that is legal and realistic. This means that we go the extra mile to ensure that your transaction goes smoothly, until the day of the concert, and that your trip in Korea goes well. We can help with food deliveries, airport transfers, hotel bookings, merchandise purchases and shipping abroad and many other requests. If you purchase a ticket for on-site exchange, we will assist with coordinating the meeting with the vendor and help reduce any friction due to the language barrier.
Wonderful can also help purchase tickets during the pre-sale or general sale of a concert, helping to avoid having to purchase tickets from third party re-sellers.
Other tips when buying from Ticketbay
If you plan on buying tickets directly on Ticketbay, we would like to offer some tips on how to ensure a safe transaction, based on our experience with the platform.
Do not transfer money directly to the vendor, even when they ask and offer a lower rate! You can report such a vendor to Ticketbay if they request this.
The English translations on Ticketbay (on both the regular Korean website and the global website) are often wrong. This can lead you to having misunderstandings with the vendor or buying wrong ticket. It is always safer to get an opinion from someone who understands Korean.
The best tickets for popular concerts actually sell out really fast, and are listed a few minutes after the ticket sale. However, be careful to read the rules of the concert. Some vendors immediately list their tickets, even when the concert rules make it almost impossible to transfer the ticket. Always a good idea to get a second opinion.
If tickets have been listed for a long time, it is better to look for the recently listed tickets. Since the older tickets might be sold out through other platforms. If you know Korean you can contact ticketbay and request that they confirm with the seller ( Sometimes, this does not work )
Some vendors, request that you confirm the transaction, before you actually receive the ticket. Do NOT do this, as they receive the money as soon as you confirm the transaction on the website. Wait until you have the tickets on hand and confirm they are the correct tickets, before proceeding to complete the transaction.
These are just some of the tips Wonderful has acquired over the 5 years of assisting foreigners get to their favorite concerts. If interested in our service or if you need our help, you can reach us on Facebook, Kakao Talk or Email.
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