Hello, everyone! I hope you are having a great day. The month of February went so well for me. It’s my birth month and already got an early celebration of it when I went to ONE OK ROCK Ambitions Asia Tour Live in Manila last January 29. My Valentine’s Day was even made colorful just by reminiscing the concert. (Haha!)
Filipino fans were very much looking forward celebrating the first month since the concert but it’s funny when February only has 28 days this year. Isn’t it ironic? People were debating whether to celebrate it on February 28 or March 1. Why not both days, then? That’s sounds more fun! A two-day celebration!
Since my mind is still preoccupied by this rock band, I thought I might write a blog on how I was able to buy a ticket to the show without leaving the comforts of my home. But before we proceed on how to purchase SM Tickets online, let's have some couple of pros and cons of buying tickets online.
PROS
● SKIP THE LINE
Have you experienced camping outside the mall or ticket outlet waiting for it to open? Then running like a mad chicken to get first in line? Well, no more camping outside ticket outlets and running!
(I know madman should be the right word but I can't help compare those random noises a running chicken makes to the random squeals of excitement of fans while rushing to get in line. Running is also a total disadvantage for people with short legs, by the way. Haha!)
Here's a video of people camping for the EXO concert tickets last 2017.
(video source: fangirlaw via Youtube)
Seriously, I was shocked knowing that someone camped as early as 11:30 P.M.! That's insane!
Your'e lucky if you are among at the nearest line but that doesn't guarantee you'll have a hundred percent chance of buying your preferred seat. Remember, online buyers are also on the look out. No matter how early you arrived, ticket selling at the outlet and online begins at the same time. If the online buyers can click faster than the staff at the booth then you lose the war.
Purchasing online gives you the privilege of being first in line always. Thus, having a bigger chance of reserving your preferred seat. You can immediately have access to the website to purchase once the ticket selling begins unlike falling in line at a ticket outlet and wasting your time and energy at the long queue which feels like forever. Then finding out that the seat you've been eyeing on has been already bought by someone else when finally it's your turn to buy. A fan's worst nightmare, indeed!
Say, "Never again!" Get your tickets online! Be the first to access the seats and have yours reserved right away with your lightning speed clicks! Just make sure you got a stable internet connection when purchasing, else, you'll lose the race!
● SKIP THE TRAFFIC
Aside from the human traffic at the ticket outlet, you need to travel to get there, of course. Road traffic is unprecedented but must be expected. So to make sure you get to your destination on time, you have to wake up early. Some fans would even go as far as camping outside the ticket outlet very early like I've said previously.
Doesn't that sound exhausting? Whereas buying the ticket online will save you a lot of time. You can do other things that matter rather than getting paranoid stuck in traffic. Purchasing online is also an advantage and is very advisable for busy people and those living far from a ticket outlet. Why stress yourself and waste your time traveling when you can have it in just a few clicks!
For me, I bought my ONE OK ROCK ticket online and my transaction was a breeze! I was very confused back then whether to get a ticket, that it caused the seat I was eyeing on to be taken by someone else. Seriously, when my friend told that the seat was taken, I panicked and immediately switched my laptop when I reached home. I have no time to travel an hour or two to get to a ticketing outlet for I was also dealing with some things back then. So thank goodness to their online ticketing system! It did not only saved me time and effort but also money(bus fare).
● BUY EVEN AFTER BUSINESS HOURS
For the busy people, this one is for you!
Definitely a perfect option when you can't make it to the operating hours of the ticket outlet. Through online, you can buy a ticket 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Buy in your pajamas, that's no problem! No more cramming and racing against time!
● LESS HUMAN INTERACTION
Alas! Shy, awkward and introverted aliens! Uhm..I mean humans! This is for us! Reserving a ticket online doesn't require any interaction with someone. It's just you and your laptop doing the online transaction through the website. Basically no human interaction. But why did I say 'Less' instead of 'No'? Well, I'm not sure how it goes with other ticketing businesses but SM Tickets requires you to claim your ticket personally at their outlet. At least, the human interaction is lessened! No more awkward talks with what show and seat you will buy. No more judgmental looks when you are buying a VIP ticket for a not-so known foreign artist. (My case when I bought LiSA tickets. Haha.)
Claiming your ticket at the booth is the only thing that will require you to deal with a person. And it's very easy to claim it too! So I'd say, buying ticket online reduces human interaction by 80%!
CONS
● POOR INTERNET CONNECTION
If you have poor internet connection then buying online is a major problem. But you can always ask a favor to a friend who got a good internet connection to help you. What are friends are for? (Lol.)
Here's a video about the dilemmas of buying tickets online.
(video source: Christian Hull via Youtube)
I know some of you out there can relate to this video!
● WEBSITE CRASHES
Just like a poor internet connection, a website that crashes is one of the nightmares online buyers may have to deal especially when you are on a race of owning a seat at the most coveted areas of the venue for a very popular event. At these moments, there is nothing you can do but to stay alert while you wait patiently for the website to go function normally again.
● YOU NEED A CARD TO PAY
A debit/credit card is mostly needed for online transactions. You can't pay by throwing your cash on your screen. SM Tickets doesn't have a bank deposit option for their online buyers. You don't have other option other than buying with cards that has VISA or MasterCard written on them or a BancNet acount for the Online Banking option. So when buying tickets online especially on SM Tickets, a card is a must.
● CLAIMING THE TICKET AT AN OUTLET
For SM Tickets, you have to claim your ticket at one of their outlets. Well, it's a disadvantage to some but not for me. Like I've said earlier, claiming is very easy and I claimed mine when we had our short vacation at Baguio City. But if you have no other business to do around and just traveled far only for the reason of claiming your ticket, then it is a disadvantage on your part. Anyway, you can also claim your ticket at the venue on the day of the show, only if you are patient enough to wait. (But be sure to confirm it first with the ticket company, okay?)
HOW TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE AT SM TICKETS
(image source: Katsanslimites)
Photo taken after the concert. The stub has been already torn off.
Buying a ticket at SM Tickets through online is very easy. If you are planning to buy in the future and it will be your first time, then take this steps as your guide. I'll share to you how I bought my ticket for the ONE OK ROCK concert.
● CREATE AN ACCOUNT
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
Registration page for new accounts on SM Tickets website.
The very first step you need to do is to sign up at smtickets.com to create an account. Make sure that the account name you enter to register is the same as the account name of the debit/credit card you will be using to pay and redeem the ticket.
● CHOOSE AN EVENT
Once you have created your account, choose an event at the drop-down menu on the homepage and click "GO" You will then be directed to your chosen event's page where you can see information regarding the event or artist. Included also on the page are the ticket tiers.
● CHOOSE YOUR SEAT
Scroll down the page to see all the ticket tiers available. Select your preferred tier then click on the drop-down menu to choose an area. Click the "Select Seat Manually" to choose a seat.
(Note: When a tier is already sold out, the tier will be indicated as "NOT AVAILABLE" under the SEAT SELECTION column. Meanwhile, when a specific area of a tier no longer appears on the selection, this means that the area is already sold out.)
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
Choosing my seat.
A pop up window will appear which shows the available seats of your chosen area. An estimation of the angle of your area from the stage is also included. (Look for the word "STAGE") Now you would surely notice the colors have either red or black color. What does it mean?
A RED seat means the seat is still available for purchasing while BLACK means the seat has been already bought and no longer available. Click on the seat you wish to buy (highlights in BLUE color) and click the close button to close the pop up window.
(Note: Before closing the pop up window, double check the seat you wish to buy. If you are only buying one seat, make sure no other seats are selected other than what you are intending to buy.)
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
Summary of my ticket purchase.
Scroll down to see the details of your purchase. Double check it again, don't forget to read and check the box of Terms and Conditions, and once you are sure, click on the "Checkout" button. By the way, an online fee is charged per ticket. I think the fee varies per event. Mine was Php 100. (The online fee is fine with me because it's still cheaper compared to the bus fare. But I think it can be a disadvantage when you are buying more than 1 ticket.)
If you were to ask me the maximum number of seats you can buy, sorry but I can't give an answer to that. You may directly contact SM Tickets' Customer Care or to their official social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) for this matter. Although I am sure that you can purchase more than 1 ticket, of course.
● PAYMENT
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
SM Tickets' payment page.
You will be then directed to the Payment page where you need to finish and submit the form within 15 minutes. Double check your details before clicking on "Proceed."
(Note: There are two ways of paying your ticket, through Credit Card or Online Banking. You can use cards supported by VISA or MasterCard for the Credit Card option while you need to have BancNet account for the Online Banking option.You can also use the card GCash by Globe.)
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
Error message while processing my payment.
Patiently wait until the processing is done. In my case, the page was loading for about 5 minutes until it stopped and gave an error message. I panicked a little but tried to stay calm to think. I was thinking of clicking the back button or refresh button but I'm afraid that it might charge my card twice.
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
Page where tickets you recently bought will be listed.
Instead, I opened a new window and went to the SM Tickets homepage. I clicked "My Account" then clicked again "My Account" on the selection. I then clicked on the "My Tickets" tab. There I found my ticket transaction and it has been successfully purchased even though the payment page stopped. Click the blue highlighted text that says "Click here" under the "Claim Your Ticket/s" column.
(image source: SM Tickets; screenshot by Katsanslimites)
Button to download the voucher.
A pop window will appear and you have to click on the green button which says "CLAIM AT SM TICKETS OUTLET" to download your voucher. According to others who had also tried purchasing online, an e-mail will also be sent with the link to your downloadable voucher. In my case, I think I never received an e-mail and it's weird.
● PRINT YOUR VOUCHER
(image source: Katsanslimites)
Ticket voucher from SM Tickets. I'm sure I took a photo of my printed voucher but I'm afraid I deleted it accidentally when I was freeing up some phone space. Sorry.
Your voucher is not your final ticket. This will only serve as your proof when claiming your ticket at the SM Tickets outlet. The soft copy of your voucher is in PDF file. Have it printed and don't forget to read what's written on it. Provide the details needed as well.
(TIP: When you don't have your own printer, have your voucher printed only when you are about to claim your ticket to prevent the ticket from being stolen. I had mine printed only a day before I claimed my ticket.)
CLAIMING AT SM TICKETS OUTLET
Before heading to an SM Tickets outlet make sure that have your printed voucher with you plus the debit/credit card you used to buy the ticket online and a valid I.D. for verification purposes. These three are very important so don't forget even one of them! Write on the information needed on the voucher too before going to the outlet to save time.
You can claim your ticket to ANY SM Tickets outlet nationwide before or during the day of the concert/event. (Check all the SM Tickets outlets location HERE.) Present your voucher, debit/credit card, and your valid I.D. to the SM Tickets staff for verification. (Verification process only takes about a minute.) Once verified, the staff will then print your ticket. Your debit/credit card and I.D. will be returned to you while the voucher will be taken by the staff.
(image source: Mhaiiiself; edited by Katsanslimites)
The actual ticket and my hand photographed by mhaiiiself when we went to Strawberry Farm. (Hehe!)
That's it! You just have successfully bought a ticket to your dream show! Now keep it safe until the big day!
CONVENIENT AND HASSLE-FREE!
We all live a busy life. We want things to be done the easiest way; transactions, the fastest way. "Time is gold," they say. That is why buying a ticket online is a very good option. It's fast, convenient, and hassle-free! It gives customers the freedom to buy wherever you are at your most convenient time.
I am really thankful of the advantage it gives, because I was able to buy a ticket to my favorite band's concert immediately right in my home. It doesn't really matter if I can't get a hold of the real ticket at once. The most important thing is I get to buy the seat I want before anybody else does. And if it wasn't for the online ticket service, I would still have to travel an hour or two to get to a SM Tickets outlet. The travel time could've cause the seat to be bought by others. Who knows, right?
We're at the digital age, why not use it to our advantage?
Thanks for reading!
✧Katsanslimites
