Welcome to the website of Weet Waar Je Koopt (‘Know Where To Buy’, also WWJK), the platform to use to read about safely buying tickets for concerts, festivals, sports events, theatre shows and comedy shows. Many events are incredibly popular and sell out faster and faster. As a result, many unofficial presale outlets want to get a piece of the pie and therefore sell secondary tickets. Unfortunately, these tickets are not always valid, and prices are often much too high. 

If you want to be sure your ticket is valid and you pay the right price, please pay attention: 

  1. When buying a ticket, always (!) visit the official website of the organiser, location, event or artist. There, you’ll find a link to the official presale outlet. Most tickets to events in The Netherlands are sold by Eventim, Ticketmaster, NTK or ticket systems such as See Tickets, CM.com, GUTS tickets, Eventix, Stager and Ticketkantoor;
  2. If an event is sold out, see our tips here or view the offers at safe ticket marketplaces by Ticketmaster, Eventim (fanSALE) and See Tickets (through the official channels of its customers). TicketSwap also provides a secure environment through SecureSwap, but watch out: concerts by MOJO, Friendly Fire, Greenhouse Talent, Par-T or tickets originally sold via Ticketmaster and Eventim are not guaranteed at TicketSwap. Which means you run the risk of being refused entry at the event;
  3. If you are having doubts about a sales outlet, first check the police website to see whether there are existing reports of fraud;
  4. If you get scammed, ask the selling party for a refund right away by letter or e-mail. If they don’t respond, report it to the police. It is important to always report a company that swindled you with the Autoriteit Consument en Markt (Authority for Consumer and Market/ACM). The ACM can take action if a law has been broken; 
  5. Have you been scammed and did you pay the fraudulent party by bank? Ask your bank for their details. Read about how this works and how you might get your money back on the website of the Consumentenbond (Consumers Association). 

If you search for tickets on Google, always check if you land on the right website and don’t just click on the first provider! And after buying a ticket, never publish it anywhere with a visible barcode, as frauds might use that barcode to gain entry to the event. 

WHERE CAN I SAFELY BUY TICKETS? 

It’s actually really simple: always (!) visit the official website of the organiser, location, event or artist. There, you’ll find a link to the official presale outlet. Below you’ll find an overview of official presale outlets for concerts, theatre shows and other events in The Netherlands. These ticket sellers only work on assignment by the organising party. Please note that this list may be incomplete. 

OFFICIAL ADDRESSES FOR PRESALE

In addition to those, tickets are also sold through ticket systems of, among others: See Tickets, CM.com, GUTS tickets, Eventix, Stager and Ticketkantoor.

MARKET PLACES

There are a number of official ticket marketplaces where you can safely buy resold tickets. These platforms guarantee the tickets sold there are valid and will grant you entry to the event. They make sure the seller’s old ticket becomes invalid and provide the buyer with a new ticket with a unique barcode. This is true for the following parties: :

  • www.fansale.nl: maximum raise of 20% on top of the original ticket price; 
  • www.ticketmaster.nl: ticket buyers can resell tickets through their own account to other fans, with a maximum raise of 20% on top of the original ticket price;
  • www.seetickets.com/nl: through the official channels of its customers;
  • www.ticketswap.nl: ONLY when SecureSwap is used, maximum raise of 20% on top of the original ticket price. PLEASE NOTE: concerts by, among others, MOJO, Friendly Fire, Greenhouse Talent, Par-T or tickets originally sold via Ticketmaster and Eventim are not guaranteed at TicketSwap. Which means you run the risk of being refused entry at the event. 

ONCE BOUGHT A TICKET?

After buying a ticket, never publish it anywhere with a visible barcode, as frauds might use that barcode to gain entry to the event. 

Only if you buy a ticket through the official presale outlet (the primary ticket seller), you will know for sure you are paying the right, original price. There are no hidden costs (unnecessary bonuses) because primary sellers follow the Autoriteit Consument en Markt (ACM) guidelines. Also, official channels will handle your personal details carefully. 

Furthermore, you will know by buying from the official outlet that entry to the event is 100% guaranteed. And in the case of cancellation for whatever reason, you will have the assurance of getting your money returned. If there are changes around the event, the primary ticket seller will inform ticket buyers right away and directly. 

When in doubt whether you are dealing with a fraudulent ticket party, try to find mentions of fraud online. A handy police tool for this is the check seller details page

Some secondary sellers will double or even triple the official ticket price. Please find an overview of parties we think you should NOT buy tickets from here. 

SOLD OUT, NOW WHAT? 

If you want to buy tickets to an event that is sold out, be careful! Extra tickets may still become available at the official outlets, or be put up for sale later. The latter can happen with tickets that were previously blocked because of sightlines or guestlists that weren’t filled. It’s also possible an event is moved to a bigger venue or an extra date is added to a series of concerts. 

Follow social media outlets of the event, organiser, artist or location, and subscribe to the newsletter and ticket alerts of the primary ticket seller or organiser. This will help you notice quickly if extra tickets become available. There may sometimes also be a waiting list for sold-out concerts. 

In addition to regular tickets, some events also have different kinds: for example, tickets that allow you early entry at the venue (so you can stand in the front rows), special fan packages or packages in which food and drinks or even accommodation are included. Naturally, these tickets are more expensive, but besides extras they also offer guaranteed entry. As long as you buy them at the official ticket outlet, of course! 

If an event is completely sold out, do not but tickets from sellers at Marktplaats or Facebook. Nor via Google, as that will surely lead you to fraudulent websites. Again: you should never buy tickets through channels different from official ticket outlets. If you do, you run the risk of being refused entry and paying much more than the official ticket price. 

WHERE NOT TO BUY TICKETS 

Never buy tickets through channels different from official ticket outlets. We strongly advise you to NOT to buy through the outlets below. These websites do not act in accordance with the terms and conditions of the official ticket sellers, which means your ticket purchase involves risks. Every day, we get messages from customers who have not received their tickets, or paid too much for them. Also, you cannot rule out the possibility that these websites offer you forged or already cancelled tickets. 

In short: with the websites below, there is no guarantee that your tickets are real and will grant you access to the concert or event. Furthermore, there’s a good chance you will be paying too much for tickets that are cheaper through official outlets. Please note that this list may be incomplete.

Sellers of resold tickets: 

  • topticketshop.nl
  • onlineticketshop.nl
  • ticketplace.nl
  • tixtrader.nl
  • ticketsnederland.nl
  • ticketunlimited.nl
  • 4alltickets.nl
  • kaartverkoop.nl
  • gigsberg.nl
  • ticketstarter.nl

Marketplaces for second-hand tickets: 

  • viagogo.com
  • stubhub.nl
  • ticketswap.nl, indien er géén secure swap aangeboden wordt

SCAMMED

There’s nothing worse than thinking you have bought a ticket safely, only to find out at the event that your resold ticket does not gain you entry. Unfortunately, you are not the only one this happens to – neither are you the only one to get scammed online. Every year, the police receive tens of thousands of reports of online scams, and unfortunately this only seems to be the tip of the iceberg. 

If this happens to you, we advise you to right away ask for your money to be refunded, via letter of e-mail. If you don’t get a response, report it to the police. Also, it is important that you report the company that scammed you to the Autoriteit Consument en Markt (ACM). The ACM can take action if a company does not follow the law. 

Did you pay the fraudulent party by bank? Ask your bank for their details. Read about how this works, and how you might get your money back, on the website of the Consumentenbond (Consumers Association).

Please note: if you have a secondary ticket, there is no point in asking for a refund from the organiser or the original ticket outlet, as they have not sold you the ticket (and therefore do not have your money). 

WEET WAAR JE KOOPT (WWJK) TRADEMARK

The Weet Waar Je Koopt foundation strives to make buyers aware of safe ways to purchase tickets in a structural way. With this website as an information platform, as well as national campaigns, our mission is to stand up against fraudulent secondary ticket sales and most importantly, to make buyers aware of the risks involved. With the WWJK trademark, companies show their support of the foundation. Furthermore, companies using the trademark will be recognized as an official sales outlet and will be mentioned as such on the WWJK communication outlets. This allows buyers to know right away that they are purchasing their tickets safely.  

Please note: the WWJK trademark has been officially deposited under trademark law, which makes it illegal to use the foundation’s logo without consent. This ensures control and prevents unlawful use of the trademark, for instance by fraudulent resellers. 

If you want to be recognized as an official sales outlet, you must become a member of WWJK, after which you will receive the WWJK trademark. 

We heartily invite other industry partners to make an annual contribution. Only with this financial contribution (the exact amount will follow after application) the official WWJK logo may be used. This also helps the foundation to be able to continue their campaign after 2022. It is important to work together as an industry for the continuity of WWJK and, with that, a healthy event industry.  

Members of VNPF and VVEM may use the logo free of charge until the end of 2023. Applying for the trademark can be done via this link

Contact!

If you have any questions or want to share your experience with secondary ticketing, please send an e-mail to info@weetwaarjekoopt.nl. Sharing = caring!

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