Is Vivid Seats a Scam? 

If you’re thinking of using Vivid Seats, you need to know: Is Vivid Seats a scam? 

Below, we explain whether Vivid Seats is a scam and discuss some steps you can take to improve your safety when using this website. 

What Is Vivid Seats?

Vivid Seats is a platform where users can buy and sell tickets for live events like concerts, theatre, sports, and other entertainment. 

In other words, Vivid Seats does not sell tickets itself but rather provides a platform where others (individuals, professional resellers, or brokers) can do so. 

Every ticket bought on Vivid Seats comes with a “100% Buyer Guarantee.”

The platform also has a rewards program. Every time you buy a ticket, you collect 1 stamp. Once you have 10 stamps, you earn a Reward Credit, which you can use to purchase tickets on Vivid Seats. 

Vivid Seats was founded in 2001 and went public at the end of 2021 when it merged with SPAC Horizon Acquisition Corporation. It has partnerships with franchises and media outlets like ESPN. 

Is Vivid Seats a Scam?

No, Vivid Seats is not a scam. It’s a legitimate ticket resale platform and a publicly traded company. 

The company gets mixed reviews:

• 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (from 29,538 reviews) on Trustpilot.
• 3.2 out of 5.0 stars (from 3,172 reviews) on Consumer Affairs.
•  2.5 out of 5.0 stars (from 2,356 reviews) on Sitejabber.
• 4.7 out of 5.0 stars (from 356,261 ratings) on the App Store.
• 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (from 24,262 ratings) on Google Play. 
• 1.0 out of 5.0 stars (from 9,173 ratings) from Reseller Ratings. 

Some people say they’ve had a good experience with Vivid Seats. 

Most complaints (including on online forums like Reddit) seem to revolve around incorrect tickets (e.g., wrong location), last-minute changes, delivery issues (i.e., the tickets arriving right before the event, causing stress to the buyer), refund delays, and poor customer service.

Customers also often complain about service fees (a service charge and delivery price are added to every order on Vivid Seats). 

In 2022, a proposed class action lawsuit was filed in California over Vivid Seats allegedly using “bait-and-switch” tactics, i.e., showing low prices initially and then adding fees at the last minute. Another class action lawsuit over hidden fees was filed in New York in 2024. 

Depending on the review platform, Vivid Seats is prompt to respond to complaints. 

For example, when someone complained about their seats being switched at the last minute without their permission, resulting in them sitting far from their friend, Vivid Seats said that due to how ticket marketplaces work, inventory can become unavailable quickly, and they guarantee that you’ll receive identical, comparable, or upgraded tickets.  

Ticket Compare gives Vivid Seats a rating of 4.0 out of 5.0 stars, noting as a big positive that sellers must apply and be approved by the platform before they can list tickets.

However, in its Terms of Service, Vivid Seats notes that it “does not guarantee the accuracy of any information provided by sellers.” 

It also says that all sales are final, i.e., you won’t be able to get a refund if you can’t attend the event for whatever reason. 

Vivid Seats’ 100% Buyer Guarantee promises that your transaction on the platform is secure, that tickets will be delivered before the event, and that they will be valid.  

Visit Seats is Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited and has an A+ rating. At the time of writing, the BBB website says that Vivid Seats has received just over 2,000 complaints in the last three years. Nearly 600 of these were closed in the last 12 months. 

Security

Vivid Seats says it does not share your sensitive private information with anyone. 

It only provides sellers with the necessary information for them to be able to deliver tickets to the buyer, e.g., shipping address.

Because all transactions are processed in-house, Vivid Seats does not have to share customers’ credit card information with sellers. 

In its privacy policy, Vivid Seats says it follows “generally accepted commercially reasonable industry standards designed to protect your personal information, both during transmission and once we receive it.” 

It doesn’t specify what these standards are. 

Privacy

Vivid Seats’ privacy policy explains the kind of data the platform collects, what it does with it, and with whom it shares it.

The platform collects the following personal information: 

• Contact information (e.g., name, phone number, address).
• Password.
• Automatically collected information/device ID/interaction information (e.g., IP address, areas within Vivid Seats you visit).
• Precise geolocation data.
• Payment and financial information (e.g., credit card number, billing information).
• Ticket listing and transaction information (e.g., data about tickets you purchase, sell, or consider).
• User-generated content (e.g., your photo).
• Interests and preferences (e.g., services you purchased or considered).

Vivid Seats collects this information directly from you (like when you sign up for an account or purchase a ticket), automatically (for example, through cookies), and third parties (such as public databases and social media platforms).

The company uses your information to deliver its services, provide personalization, advertise and market to you, and perform analytics. It also uses your data for business operations and legal and safety reasons (e.g., to comply with court orders). 

It shares your information with service providers, affiliates, event partners, advertising and analytics partners, government, law enforcement, and regulators. It can also share your data in business transfers (e.g., merger or acquisition). 

Vivid Seats keeps your personal information “for as long as necessary.” 

So, Should You Use Vivid Seats?

Depends.

If you’re looking for hard-to-find tickets and don’t mind the extra fees, Vivid Seats can be a good option. 

Otherwise, you might want to look at other options. 

And, of course, where possible, buying from the original source is always the best.  

How to Use Vivid Seats Safely

• Create a strong password for your Vivid Seats account. Don’t use common passwords like “12345” or “password” and don’t include personal details as these can be guessed in targeted attacks. Also, never reuse passwords. 
• Pay with masked cards. That way, your real card number is never stored on the platform, which can keep you safer in case of a breach. 
• Don’t use social logins. Instead, create a dedicated Vivid Seats account to minimize the amount of personal information you share between sites. 
• Limit what you share in your Vivid Seats profile. Only fill out the required fields and leave optional ones blank. 
• Be smart about cookies. Browse in private/Incognito mode to minimize tracking cookies building up over time. Alternatively, regularly clear cookies/cache.  
• Use the Vivid Seats Privacy Preferences tool. This tool is located in the footer of the Vivid Seats website and allows you to turn off optional cookies, pixels, and ad‑targeting.
• Unsubscribe from Vivid Seats marketing emails. You can do so by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link within any Vivid Seats email. Transactional messages (order confirmations) will still arrive even if you unsubscribe from promotional emails.
• Opt out of interest‑based ads. You can do so through the Digital Advertising Alliance (optout.aboutads.info) or your device’s ad‑tracking settings.
• Compare seat maps. This way, “upgrades” won’t be such big surprises.
• Buy events with digital delivery where possible. Doing so reduces the risk of delays in paper ticket shipments and deliveries. 
• Set calendar alerts to ensure ticket delivery. Set an alert a week before the event date to confirm your tickets have been delivered.
• Document everything. Take screenshots of listings, order confirmations, any messages, etc. in case you need to file a guarantee claim.
• Manage your testimonials and reviews. If you’ve ever posted a review that includes identifying details (such as your full name), you can ask Vivid Seats to remove or anonymize it by emailing them at privacy@vividseats.com. Use only your first name or an alias in future reviews.
• Withdraw from the Rewards program. If you don’t want your purchase history tied to your rewards profile, email privacy@vividseats.com and ask to leave the program.
• Exercise your privacy rights. Depending on where you live, you can email Vivid Seats at privacy@vividseats.com to get a copy of all the data they have on you, delete your personal information from their systems, correct any inaccurate or out-of-date information, and limit sharing.