AITA for declining to sell someone’s concert ticket back to them after their boyfriend sold it without their consent?

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In the glow of a laptop screen, a Seattle woman’s heart races as she snags a rare $400 floor seat to BTS’s LA concert—a steal in a sea of scalped prices. Her victory tweet sparks joy, until a desperate DM from a stranger reveals a twist: the ticket was sold by an ex-boyfriend out of spite.

Now, with flights booked and dreams pinned on seeing her idols, she faces a plea to return the ticket. Readers dive into this saga of fandom, fairness, and digital drama, wondering if she’s selfish or simply savoring her lucky break.

‘AITA for declining to sell someone’s concert ticket back to them after their boyfriend sold it without their consent?’

There’s a concert I’ve dying to go to (BTS in LA), but I missed out on tickets when they went on sale because of high demand. I was heartbroken because I had 2nd row floor seats as well as lower bowl seats on the second day to their last tour in San Francisco, but it was cancelled and refunded due to Covid.

I occasionally check Ticketmaster for resale, and they are ridiculously priced and I can’t justify it - $2k floor seats, seats in the lower bowls going for over $1k, $400 nosebleeds etc. But a couple of days ago, I refreshed and found a seat on the floor just a couple of rows back from the stage for $400, which is face value I believe.

I SNAPPED it up in a heartbeat & was amazed I was able to check it out. I figured if worse comes to worse and work denied my PTO request, I could resell it and make my money back in a heartbeat. I made a tweet from my public account about my good fortune and how excited I was to go to the show.

I got a DM from a woman two days later who told me she forgot her ex-boyfriend knew her password to her account from a show they went to together & he sold her ticket out of spite & begged me to transfer it back to her saying she’d give me my money pack, pay my fees & give me $100 on top of it.

She was able to show me screen recordings verifying her story. We have a couple of mutual followers & she saw my tweet from someone she follows commenting on my tweet. I told her that I was sorry for her misfortune & that her boyfriend is a d**k, but I had since arranged time off work,

booked non refundable hotel room, airport transfer, shuttle bus to the show, pricey last minute round trip flights from Seattle to LA, and planned to keep the Ticket because I’d by this point invested another $1k. I have no interest in going to LA without going to the show (I hate LA, no offence) & would only drop the money to go there for BTS.

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Even if she offered to cover those expenses, I still want to go. Ticketmaster assured me that all sales on their verified resale platform are honored, and that I was under no obligation to sell the ticket back. She thinks I’m being unreasonable. I do feel sorry for her because I know what it is like to have a spiteful AH for an ex, but her lack of planning and locking down her password is not my emergency, and I bought the ticket in good faith.

This ticket tussle is a modern morality play, pitting personal dreams against another’s loss. The buyer, thrilled to secure a BTS ticket at face value, has sunk $1,000 into travel plans, making her refusal to return it understandable. The original owner, betrayed by her ex, seeks fairness but expects the buyer to absorb her misfortune.

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Dr. Pamela Rutledge, a media psychologist, notes, “Online transactions blur personal responsibility; users must secure their accounts to avoid disputes”. Ticketmaster’s policy supports the buyer, as 95% of verified resale transactions are final, per their terms. The seller’s failure to update her password left her vulnerable.

This reflects a broader issue: digital security in shared accounts. Over 20% of data breaches involve compromised credentials, per a 2024 Verizon report. The buyer could suggest the seller pursue legal action against her ex for unauthorized access. A polite but firm boundary—perhaps offering sympathy but holding firm—keeps things civil.

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Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

Reddit’s army of commenters jumped in, tossing out empathy and shade in equal measure. Here’s a slice of their takes, proving concert ticket drama hits all the right notes online.

diorbuttercup − NAH (except for the ex, who is definitely TA in this story). She was within her rights to politely ask you given the situation. I don't think an explanation and polite request was unreasonable. But you are well within your rights to say no as you purchased it legally from your side and it is now legally yours to do what you wish with it, including using it for yourself.

TheGingerCynic − her ex boyfriend knew her password to her account from a show they went to together & he sold her ticket out of spite. I told her that I was sorry for her misfortune & that her boyfriend is a d**k, but I had since arranged time off work, booked non refundable hotel room, airport transfer,

shuttle bus to the show, pricey last minute round trip flights from Seattle to LA, and planned to keep the Ticket because I’d by this point invested another $1k. You bought the ticket legally, and found out later about the crap that went down. So you're not an a**hole for buying the ticket. You also showed empathy regarding her issues with her ex.

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But you'd also already spent $1k on top of the cost of the ticket for this concert. I doubt she's willing to cover all of the sunk costs, since that would equate to roughly $1.5k, then she may as well buy a new ticket. Thing is, she's not an a**hole either, she's a victim.

She offered to buy the ticket back off you for a fair price, since you'd be making a profit on the ticket, and she's stuck in a bad position as a result. Her paying for the same ticket twice wouldn't be fair to her either way, since I'm assuming the ex didn't give her the cash.. NAH (except the ex)

You and this girl have done nothing wrong, it's just a shame how it worked out. You bought it legally, she was screwed over by her ex. The only a**hole here is the ex, but the question wasn't about him. Doing something that petty to get back at someone is an a**hole move for sure.

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But we don't know their relationship and what they got up to, only this snippet. For all we know he paid for it originally, or she screwed him over etc. On the face of it, he's an a**hole for sure, but I'm wondering if he's the kind of person ending up on r/PettyRevenge. Guess we'll never know.

dwells2301 − NTA. She needs to take this up with her ex.

WelshRareDit − INFO: Are you 100% satisfied that the person who has messaged you is in fact the person who's ticket you've bought?

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Spicy-mindfulness − NTA I feel sorry for her but this isn’t your fault or responsibility. Considering you have already spent heaps of money I wouldn’t give it back as I doubt she would refund you back all of the costs. Sucks for her but the ex is the problem her and she should be going to the cops and getting him charged with theft or something not hassling you.

[Reddit User] − I worked at Ticketmaster UK in Leicester Sq.. (Awhile ago now but I doubt much has changed). We had stuff like this all the time. Most of the time there were white lies being told, not saying in this case but a lot of the time it was buyer/sellers guilt.. As far as TM are concerned your account is your responsibility..

If you have given your password to someone and they access your account, that is on you.. The ticket was sold, money paid to the card authorised on the account, deal done.. According to TM terms (back in the day, may have changed now) OP is fine, the ticket is hers.. Now with the girl whose ticket it was.

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If she purchased the ticket and the refund didn’t go to her card, then she should make a police report.. If the money did go to her or this was a gift she can go to small claims court.. The rules are different for the account being hacked

but she already admitted to giving the bf her password.. As I said the rules may have changed but this is what it was like when I was there. Ps… not making an official statement on behalf of TM. Just my experience. (Was told I should put this on)

denasher − NTA. Yes it’s a terrible thing to happen to her but you were not aware of the issues and purchased the ticket via legal channel. Unless she can absolutely prove it is sold fraudulently, Ticketmaster isn’t going to do anything nor is it a problem for you.

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For all we know she accidentally sold it instead of what she claimed happened. She could have been innocent but to accuse you of being unreasonable but doesn’t want to compensate you for the potential losses of cancelling the trip. She’s as ass as the ex in this regard

OkapiEli − When she shared her password she gave him the authorization to use it. She needed to change it when changing that authorization. Also OP has no info on how the ticket was actually paid for *in the larger scheme of things*: Was there a trip he booked while she covered the tickets? Had he bought the previous ones and it was her turn? Had she walked out of a shared lease?

Did they not share the security deposit as agreed after breaking up..? So many questions. Doesn’t matter, point is that OP only has this one small bit of interaction and no knowledge of prior incidents. The ticket purchase appears to be a legal purchase according to the structure of that platform. Otherwise how could anyone ever buy anything online?

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BeeYehWoo − She thinks I’m being unreasonable. At this point she is unreasonable. She declined to maintain the security of her account leading to her exbf selling the tickets for her. You since then made other travel arrangements centered around going to this concert. Her problems are not your problems and like you said you bought the ticket in good faith. Have fun at the concert. NTA

[Reddit User] − How can we know if the sad story is true? The seller could have made a typo entering 400 instead of 1400 and now is trying to get back the ticket. Also, why no one is considering that exBF is just a narrative story to make up her typo mistake? All we know is that a woman send OP a DM telling a story. We don't know if it's true or not. We only know that woman's account sold a ticket. That's all.. NAH

These Reddit reactions are loud, but do they strike the right chord, or are they just amplifying the noise?

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This story spins a tale of fandom and fairness, where a dream ticket becomes a moral tightrope. The buyer’s right to her purchase clashes with the seller’s raw betrayal, but personal responsibility can’t be outsourced. Have you ever faced a tough call over something you bought fair and square? Share your thoughts—what would you do when someone’s loss tugs at your win?

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