It can be extremely frustrating when someone is a fan of a sports team or a band and sees the opportunity of watching them live disappear. The announcement of a tour or a team reaching the playoffs creates huge excitement between friends who are desperate to head along to make their presence felt.

All too often when tickets go on sale there is a huge demand which sees them sold out despite all the efforts in the world to be by phone and digital device to try and obtain one. The post-mortems quickly begin with all kinds of hard luck stories and conspiracies being thrown around. There can still be a way of making a purchase through a tickets marketplace, which is one of several ways to ensure that future disappointments are less likely to occur. 

• A secondary market allows someone to buy a ticket which has been obtained through reputable sources or has been returned by someone who cannot attend or a business that may have blocks of seats at a venue but isn’t interested in a particular event. This is a safe way to buy, especially through a trusted company that has been around for decades, even if it does sometimes mean paying above the face value.
• It sounds obvious, but it is surprising just how many people get caught out because they haven’t planned properly, assuming that there will be no great demand for tickets. If a group of people want to attend there is nothing wrong with all being ready to jump out of the blocks at the very second that the tickets are released. It might be for a women’s sports spectacular, with any spare tickets being passed onto friends who want to attend.
• Many of those who will be providing the entertainment have pages on social media that can be followed which provide up-to-the-minute information regarding any tickets that are going on sale. In the cases of bands, they might add an extra night due to demand, so it is wise to remain in the loop, while others who view might hear of where there are tickets available that hadn’t previously been considered by a person left without.
• Singing up online for any updates and future events is sensible too. This may be by receiving emails or alerts on an app. It is important to remember only to buy from authorised ticket sellers who will provide their customers with consumer rights for online sales. The venue or ticket sellers will be in touch the instant any tickets become available.
• There are other options such as becoming a member of a fan club which often has a section of seating reserved for their loyal followers to purchase, which ensures the tickets go to the right people. A last forlorn hope might be entering any competition that has tickets up for grabs as a prize. 

Being prepared is the best way to purchase tickets for a sell-out event, often obtained through a secondary marketplace.