Singapore – Multi-category classifieds and recommerce marketplace Carousell announced it will suspend the sale of Taylor Swift’s concert tickets on its platform across all six markets after seeing a rise in ticket scams.
Carousell will be suspending ticket sales from February 23 to March 9, 2024, and will remove the existing listings on the platform by February 26.
The recommerce platform knew there was trouble after it had seen a rise in ticket scams in the lead-up to many of Taylor Swift’s shows across her global tour, as well as Singapore being the only stop of the Eras Tour in Southeast Asia.
While Carousell is aware that the majority of the ticket listings were genuine, they are also mindful of the unique case of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and have made the one-off exception to adopt such an approach.
For extra safety measures, especially given the nature of a consumer-to-consumer platform, Carousell will utilise a mix of AI detection and manual moderation to detect and remove listings.
The recommerce platform is also encouraging its users to help report any listings directly through the ‘Report Listing’ feature that’s available on both the web and the app. A manual moderation team will be reviewing the reports within 24 hours after they’ve been reported.
Furthermore, to reinforce safer transactions in the ‘Tickets & Vouchers’ category, Carousell has made it mandatory since October 3, 2023, for all Singapore sellers to verify their identities via Singpass before being able to list in the category. Additionally, there will be advisories in the ‘Tickets & Vouchers’ category to educate users on how to transact safely.
Carousell has swiftly apologised for any inconvenience and trouble their decisions may have caused. The platform emphasised that they are not stopping any genuine consumers from transacting but also urges everyone to do background checks before closing any deals.
Scammers never go out of style, so the platform is also reminding buyers to be more cautious when purchasing tickets from third-party vendors who may be selling counterfeit or stolen tickets.
For users who are looking to sell their tickets with genuine intent, Carousell strongly urges them to check and adhere to the reselling terms and conditions laid out by the official channels.
Su Lin Tan, chief of staff at Carousell, said, “Selling concert tickets is not prohibited by our community guidelines, as we are an open and inclusive marketplace. However, this concert is unique in that we expect many overseas concertgoers who may not know how to adequately protect themselves from local scam tactics.”
“Additionally, we realise that the two weeks leading up to the Eras tour shows are prime for scammers taking advantage of last-minute panic buying of concert tickets. Hence, we are stepping in to do our part to manage the situation on our platform and working very closely with the Singapore Police Force. We are monitoring the situation vigilantly and taking action against scammers,” she further explained.
