Ticketmaster vs AXS – The Ticketing Dilemma

Ticketmaster and AXS are trendy ticket marketplaces widely known among ticket hustlers. These platforms have made online booking of live events much more convenient. Their professional services and assistance have left them a good name amongst users.

Often the question is raised by users as to which platform to rely on when booking tickets. While both platforms have received positive reviews from users, there are some pros and cons for each that help decide which platform suits you the best. We will be discussing all these discussion points in detail to help you make this decision.

Related: Ticketmaster vs. Vivid Seat [2023]

Highlights

• Ticketmaster and AXS are both well-known ticketing marketplaces. Both of these are popular, but they have their own pros and cons. These will determine which platform is tailored to your use.
• Although both are easy to navigate, users have expressed that Ticketmaster is easier to use.
• Ticketmaster and AXS both have a processing fee and a service fee that’s applicable to every ticket you buy and the price of the ticket.
• As for sellers, Ticketmaster charges a service fee that is, once again, dependent on the price of the ticket. It also subtracts a listing fee. As for AXS, they have a resale fee, but it is completely free to list a ticket.
• There is also the pricing criteria to consider. Both Ticketmaster and AXS let the sellers decide the prices. However, since more shows and tickets are available on Ticketmaster, this makes their prices much cheaper.
• You can make Ticketmaster payments with multiple options that include Debit and Credit Cards, Ticketmaster Gift Cards, MasterCard, Discover, and even Diners Club. Meanwhile, for AXS, any Debit card or Credit card can work.
• The delivery method for Ticketmaster includes Electronic Tickets, Mobile Entry, Print-at-Home, US Mail, and UPS Standard Tickets, whereas, AXS has Standard Mail, Will Call, e-ticket, and Mobile-ID. AXS sellers often decide the mode of delivery themselves.
• Ticketmaster is branded as one of the most reliable and secure ticketing platforms. Meanwhile, AXS is known for rechecking sellers before letting them list tickets in order to prevent fraud.
• AXS has received backlash for their extremely rude and disrespectful customer support representatives, while Ticketmaster seems to have received good reviews about theirs. Both sites have options to file requests online and have helpline numbers.
• There are also some general pros and cons you can find below in this article in more detail.

CATEGORY	TICKETMASTER	AXS
Ease of Use	Easier to Use	Harder to Use
Service Fees	Lower Priced	Higher Priced
Pricing Criteria	Dependant on the Seller	Dependant on the Seller
Payments	More Payment Methods	Less Payment Methods
Shipping	Buyer's Choice	Seller's Choice
Safety and Security	More Secure	Less Secure
Customer Support	Good Support	Horrible Support

Walkthrough – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

The ease of use is a significant factor in which of these platforms is the right one for you. Both Ticketmaster and AXS, have made the process of buying and selling tickets very simple. Users have reported that Ticketmaster is much easier to use than AXS. Here is a walkthrough of the whole process for you.

Buying Tickets

First, let’s take a look at how to buy tickets on both these platforms and compare the ease of usage between the two.

Ticketmaster

1. Visit the Ticketmaster website or Download the App.
2. Select the event you’re interested in, and Select Find Tickets.
3. Look for the seat that you want and check all the information. before clicking Next.

   

4. Select a Delivery method, add valid personal details, and make the payment.
5. Confirm your Order.

   

6. A confirmation email will be sent to your email address.

AXS

1. Go to the AXS home page or the App.
2. Look for the event you’re interested in attending, and Select Get Tickets.

   

3. Add your personal details and Choose your seat.
4. Select your Delivery method and make a payment.
5. Check your email for confirmation.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Also read: Ticketmaster vs. Eventbrite – Which One Is Best For You?

Selling Tickets

Now, let’s take a look at the procedure for selling tickets on both of these platforms and compare them to figure out which platform assists the seller the most.

Ticketmaster

1. Login to Ticketmaster, and Select Your Order.
2. Click Sell, and then Sell Tickets.

   

3. Search for the event you want to sell tickets for and Click Sell Tickets.
4. Add the required information, and select a Payment method.
5. Confirm the Listing.

AXS

1. Go to the AXS homepage, and Sign in. You can also use the App.
2. Select Your Tickets.
3. Search for the event you want to sell tickets for. If there is no Sell Tickets option for it, then your tickets can’t be resold.

   

4. Choose the seats you want to sell. Add the price and the offer expiry time.
5. Add a mode of payment, this can be a credit card.
6. Review all details and click on List Tickets.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Service Fees – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

Knowing which platform is more economical to use can certainly assist you in making a choice between the two platforms. We can assert this based on the overall use cost.

Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster is known to have a hefty service fee that is added according to the price of the ticket. This is added to every ticket you purchase. This can only be seen after the order is ready to be paid for, so before that, there is no way of knowing the actual amount each ticket will be worth. They also charge a processing fee that is charged only once on the whole order. According to Ticketmaster, this is charged for the shipping of tickets, support, and ticket handling.

Now as for selling tickets, Ticketmaster works in two ways. If you’re the original seller of the ticket, then you will be charged a service fee based on the value of the ticket. If you’re reselling the ticket, then a listing fee and a service fee will be subtracted from the amount you get when the ticket is sold. A processing fee may also be charged at times.

AXS

Like Ticketmaster, AXS will charge a service fee from the buyer for every ticket you buy and also depending on the price of the ticket. AXS also has an order processing fee that is charged only once per order.
As for the sellers, AXS does not charge a listing fee. So it is 100% free to list your tickets, however, upon a sale, AXS does deduct a resale fee. this depends on the price of the ticket and is automatically deducted.
According to users, AXS charges about 33% of the ticket fee as service charges, which is quite expensive when compared to other platforms like Ticketmaster.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Pricing Criteria – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

Now that we’ve established economic comparisons based on the platform fee, let’s take a look at comparisons between ticket prices.

Ticketmaster

The prices are not decided by Ticketmaster but by the original event sellers, or resellers. Moreover, there is no guarantee that you will find a ticket that’s at its original face value. Ticketmaster lets sellers fluctuate their prices accordingly. These fluctuations can be attributed to demand in the market, the popularity of the event, and the date of the event. Thus there isn’t a set price for any events.

AXS

As for AXS, prices depend on the popularity of the event, the size of the venue, and based on the seller. If you’re buying from individual brokers, the prices will be different from the market value. On AXS, the smaller concerts with less popularity start from $20-$40, whereas theatre shows starting prices range from $50-$200. As for the arena events, the pricing starts from $150.
Both platforms have similar pricing methods, as both allow individual sellers to choose their own pricing. However, Ticketmaster does seem to have more options and more collections of events available. This makes getting a cheaper deal much easier as more tickets are available there.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Payments – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

Both Ticketmaster and AXS have multiple payment methods available, they’re explained below to determine which of them is more suitable for you.

Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster has multiple payment methods that can be used for buying or selling tickets. Some of these include MasterCard, Discover, Diners Club, Ticketmaster Gift Card, or Debit Cards. Although users have complained about problems arising during changing payment method mid-order processing. There may be some technical bugs with this feature.

AXS

As for AXS, Payment can be made with Debit or Credit Cards. Moreover, it is strongly recommended that you familiarize yourself with this website’s rules and policies first. You can even pay for tickets with international cards, or cards from other countries. This is quite convenient.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Shipping – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

There are multiple modes of shipping tickets after the order has been processed. Let’s compare the modes both of these platforms offer.

Ticketmaster

For Delivery of tickets, Ticketmaster is on par with the following methods: Electronic Tickets, Mobile Entry, Print-at-Home, US Mail, and UPS Standard Tickets. Factors such as how many days till the event, the event itself, and some others correlate with which delivery method is suitable for users. The cost of delivery is already marked and defined in the portion of the fee.

AXS

Ticket delivery methods include Standard Mail, Will Call, e-ticket, and Mobile-ID. The latter is a favorite amongst customers. For AXS buyers, It’s important to note that, at times, the delivery method will be set by the seller. The tickets almost always arrive without problems, but there have been some complaints about delivery.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Safety and Security – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

The safety and security of the user’s private information is a huge factor to base your preference on. Both platforms have measures in place for this purpose.

Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster has a special department dedicated to the monitoring and controlling of security. They have a team that deals with any suspected fraud and immediately responds to complaints regarding security issues. Their service is chosen due to its name in many countries for being reliable and safe to entrust data.

AXS

AXS has been recently growing its trust in the industry and has maintained a good level of security. There have been few complaints about fake tickets and they use several schemes to deal with fraud or bot detection. Moreover, the company’s employees are tasked with carefully checking the identity of the sellers.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Customer Service – Ticketmaster vs. AXS

Reliability is a key factor in choosing a site to put your trust in. This prompts the comparison between customer services of both marketplaces.

Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster’s toll-free helpline number is (800) 653-8000. Customer support representatives are available from 9 AM to 12 AM EST and can be instantaneously accommodating during these hours. Ticketmaster is known for its good customer service. Customer service has gone down due to the pandemic and it is being revived currently. The crisis caused mass cancellations, and the website suffered causing the customer service response to drop.

Ticketmaster also has a Customer Support page on which you can generate a request, and wait for a response, This is usually very effective and customers report that they often take 2-10 days to solve your problem.

AXS

AXS also has a helpline number 1-888-929-7849 that has representatives available from 8 AM to 10 PM CST from Monday to Friday. For Saturday to Sunday, the timings are 12 PM to 8 PM CST. Although they are known to respond fast, there are a huge number of customers that have reported disrespectful responses from customer support. You can also submit a request on their website and a customer representative will get back to you; Unfortunately, the issues are rarely resolved and the customers were not satisfied. Based on user reports, Ticketmaster is better at customer service than AXS.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Which is better for you? -Ticketmaster vs. AXS

Now let’s look at some Pros and Cons aside from all the factors we have discussed above to figure out which is the one for you.

Ticketmaster

Let’s take a look at the Pros and Cons of Ticketmaster to determine if it’s beneficial overall.

Pros

• Ticketmaster offers a 100% Ticket guarantee.
• The ownership of tickets is transferrable to your family to friends without having to list the tickets for resale.
• You can utilize filters to find the event, and tickets you need within minutes.
• There’s a huge selection of events of all types.
• You can simply use the digital barcode version of the ticket or print it at home.

Cons

• You can only resale Ticketmaster-bought tickets on the platform.
• Some events may not be available on Ticketmaster.

AXS

Now, let’s take a look at the Pros and Cons of AXS to determine if it’s beneficial overall.

Pros

• Tickets become really cheap towards the end of the booking time.
• You can get to the event you want to book instantaneously due to filters.
• There are barely any glitches or bugs in the App or website.
• Often buyers provide guarantees with tickets.

Cons

• Prices of tickets become really high even on the last days if the event is in demand.
• Customer service is very challenging and impolite.
• It’s not possible to transfer ownership of the tickets, and refunding is very difficult.
• There is not a 100% guarantee that the tickets will be genuine.
• The site is often problematic to use.
• Some events may not be available on AXS.

Winner: Ticketmaster

Final Words

Although both platforms are doing a good job of providing safe, easy, and fast ticketing, the pros and cons given above set them apart. These distinctions make a user opt for one over the other and set both marketplaces apart. Hopefully, our explanation has helped you reach a well-versed conclusion on which platform is the one for you.

We also solve all Ticketmaster error codes, so make sure to check that out if you have any issues with Ticketmaster!

• Ticketmaster Error Code U102 – 12 Concrete Solutions
• Ticketmaster Error Code u533 – [11 Quick Fixes]
• Ticketmaster Error code u001- 10 Easy Solutions
• Ticketmaster Error Code u521 – [Fixed]
• Ticketmaster Error Code 0002 [Solved and Explained]