A frustrated Oasis fan just wants to sell his concert tickets

So, in October 2024, Craig logged into Ticketmaster’s Australian site and joined the queue in an online waiting room. When he got through, he picked out two tickets for the concert in Sydney on 7 November 2025 for him and his partner. All up, he paid about NZ$500.

When he purchased the tickets, the Oasis concert was more than a year away. "None of us know how our circumstances might change," Craig says.

A wee problem arises

Craig and his partner had just had their first child together when he bought the Oasis tickets. It was only after he’d bought them that Craig began thinking through the logistics of attending a concert in Australia with a toddler in tow.

It meant organising flights, a hotel and a babysitter for at least two days away. The couple investigated some options, but nothing came through. "It's a bit difficult with our toddler," Craig says. "I'm just not sure we're going to be able to make it work for November."

Ticketmaster offers its own official ticket reselling platform, Ticketmaster Resale, for those who’ve purchased tickets for concerts they can’t get to anymore. Craig's used it in the past when he’s had to sell tickets for shows he can no longer attend in Aotearoa.

Until recently, trying to use Ticketmaster Resale in Aotearoa for Australian concerts has proved a little more difficult.

Ticketmaster Australia versus Ticketmaster NZ

Craig attempted to list his tickets through the Ticketmaster Resale site in Australia. Halfway through the process, he encountered a road block: he needed an Australian bank account to make any sale – a New Zealand one wouldn’t work.

Ticketmaster Australia’s terms and conditions state: “Our payment provider, Adyen, processes resale ticket payments and requires an Australian bank account to receive payment in Australian dollars. If you’re unable to use Adyen, we can’t process your payment.”

Craig feels this is unfair on ticket buyers from outside Australia. “I just think that if you can purchase it, you should have the same right to resell it – it’s purely a logistical thing,” he says. “They’re happy to accept your patronage from whichever account you use … it's very naive to think that everyone buying tickets lives in Australia.”

Craig doesn’t want to make money on his tickets. "I just don't want to lose $500," he says. Instead, with more and more major artists choosing to only tour Australia, he wants to warn anyone in Aotearoa who buys tickets for gigs overseas about the trouble they might hit if they can’t make the concert and need to sell their tickets.

Ticketmaster Australia makes a change

Initially, Ticketmaster Australia suggested Craig ask a trusted friend or family member living in Australia to let him use their bank account for the transaction. Craig investigated this option. However, he says it required providing a lot of personal details about the bank account holder, and he wasn’t willing to ask his Australian source for that much detail.

Ticketmaster Australia then told Craig he could sell his tickets via Twickets, a third-party ticket reselling site. This site didn’t require an Australian bank account. “These platforms give fans a safe and secure place to sell and buy tickets,” the site’s help desk told him.

Craig, however, wasn’t keen to do this either. His tickets wouldn’t be available to transfer to the buyer until 3 days before the show. Craig didn’t fancy his chances of selling the tickets at such a late stage.

Consumer NZ asked Ticketmaster Australia for comment, and it told us that, in the last week, it had made a change to “accommodate international fans”. Craig would now be able to sell his tickets through Ticketmaster Resale using his New Zealand account.

“Fans in New Zealand can now access Ticketmaster Resale for Australian shows, where the artist or event organisers have enabled resale as an option,” a spokesperson said about the change.

Craig’s happy

Craig would still love to make the Oasis show. “If things fell into place, I’d love to go,” he says. “I'm a big, big fan. But at this stage of our lives, it’s just a bit tricky.”

He’s glad, however, New Zealanders now have the option to use Ticketmaster Resale. “It seemed a bit nonsensical that it was so difficult,” he says. “I just want to be able to do things by the book. But I don’t want to lose my $500.”

*Name changed to protect identity.