BTS fans push back against ticket resellers on Carousell and X during Singapore's first presale day
Carousell listings continue to be taken down as fans flag online posts offering concert passes at prices far above face value.
K-pop superstars BTS performed The Comeback Live Arirang at the historic Gwanghwamun Square, livestreamed on Netflix, on Saturday (Mar 21). (Photo: BIGHIT MUSIC / Netflix / AFP)
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In the wake of the first day of presales for one of the most highly anticipated concerts of the year by K-pop superstars BTS, platforms like Carousell and social media app X are seeing resellers and interested buyers move quickly as demand for tickets surges.
Fans in local ARMY group chats have been actively flagging listings on Carousell offering BTS concert tickets at inflated prices – several times their original price – with some sharing screenshots of posts and coordinating reports in an effort to have them taken down.
CNA Lifestyle observed several resale listings on Carousell earlier in the afternoon, including one offering four VIP tickets for S$5,000 and another at S$6,688 for four VIP tickets. These and many other listings seen throughout the day quickly became unavailable to view and appeared to have been taken down at the time of writing.
This comes after the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in an advisory ahead of presales that it had reached out to Carousell to remove ticket listings for BTS' upcoming Arirang concert in Singapore.
In a statement to CNA Lifestyle, Carousell confirmed their decision to "suspend the sale of BTS concert tickets in Singapore", adding that "existing listings are in the process of being removed, and affected users will receive a notice informing them about the police advisory."
Carousell said it has employed an "AI moderation system" to detect such listings. "As our moderation takes place after a listing is published, users may see newly-created listings temporarily".
The platform added that while BTS ticket listings do go up, they "have not seen evidence of scams being perpetrated thus far". It will continue to work with the authorities closely "to support user safety on the platform and do what we can to ensure sales are suspended only in rare cases".
Some sellers have also listed tickets at prices as low as S$1, directing interested buyers to contact them privately for the actual selling price.
The resale activity has also spilled onto X and has drawn criticism from fans.
In one post seen by CNA Lifestyle, a seller shared what appeared to be a screenshot of a Google Sheets document listing more than 150 tickets, complete with section, row and seat numbers, while offering buyers a PDF version of the tickets.
The post drew criticism from fans, some of whom tagged Ticketmaster Singapore's account and accused resellers of depriving "real fans" of tickets. Others warned users against engaging with the listing, writing "don't be fooled", pointing out that Ticketmaster tickets are not issued as PDF files upon checkout.
Another X user was seen offering VIP tickets – originally priced at S$388 excluding booking fees – for S$350, attaching a screenshot and screen recording that appeared to show the tickets on a mobile device with the option to transfer.
While some users expressed interest in the offer, others questioned the authenticity of the listing, pointing out that tickets are currently non-transferable.
At the same time, some fans who were unable to secure tickets during the presale have begun posting "WTB" (want to buy) listings on both Carousell and X in the hope of connecting with sellers. Such listings on Carousell were also becoming unavailable to view at the time of writing.
This comes despite repeated warnings from authorities urging fans to purchase tickets only through authorised channels and to be wary of scams involving concert tickets.
