Ticketmaster Last Minute Drops: How the Queue Works
- uplikealadder
- Jun 4, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 6, 2023
*Disclaimer: this post is based on my research and personal experiences with last minute ticket drops, and Ticketmaster seems to be ever evolving their ways!*
The ominous Ticketmaster queue. How does it work? Why am I 2000+? What's my actual queue number? Read on to find out.
Ticketmaster's Explanation
Ticketmaster has an FAQ titled "How is the online queue managed?"
Here, they briefly explain that everyone waiting when the sale starts is given a random queue number.
Queue-It
Ticketmaster uses Queue-It to handle their queues. Queue-it is a web service that works to mitigate crashes when a website faces a large amount of traffic, in our case, for ticket sales.
Queue-it also is meant to make these high traffic events fair for everyone.
Based on my research and experience, here's how I believe it is working for these last minute ticket drops:
Visitors that were on the page when the sale begins are given a randomized spot in the queue.
As more visitors join the site after the sale has started, they get a first-come, first-served place in the queue.
When it is a user's turn, they are redirected to the Ticketmaster page with available tickets (also referred to as the map).
Check out this video from Queue-It for a visualization of how the queue works:
Video Source: https://queue-it.com/
My Observations
First: DO NOT REFRESH IN THE QUEUE
Recently, it seems that so many people are monitoring Ticketmaster for last minute drops, that we are exceeding 2000 people. This would mean that you could be one of the first to access the page and still end up randomized to higher than 2000, and you would end up on this 2000+ queue screen:
Checking Your Spot in the Queue if You are 2000+
If you are on a computer, you can check your actual position in the queue following these steps: right click the page, select inspect, at the top click network, then click the item on the left side that starts with "status". This will bring up your spot in the queue, and where you started. “QueueNumber” is where you started and “usersInLineAheadOfYou” is your current spot.
Queue Example Screen: Under 2000
If there are still tickets available eventually you will get a lower number like this:
Note: There is not always a queue for last minute ticket drops. For more info and a general "How-to" with more information on different steps of the last minute ticket drops, see this blog post.
Thanks for Reading!
Have any suggestions for blog posts on topics you'd like to learn more about? DM me on twitter @UpLikeALadder ! Follow me for tips, tricks, and updates on last minute ticket drops.
DM me on twitter with questions & I will start an FAQ page! @UpLikeALadder
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