Presales and Online Queues: How Ticket On-Sales Really Work

Why popular tickets disappear so fast, how presales and held-back tickets work, what to expect in an online queue, and how to prepare without breaking the rules.

go2.fan · Last reviewed October 24, 2026 · 6 min read

Imagine the general on-sale starts at 10 a.m. By 10:05, the best seats are gone, or were never there. If that sounds familiar, you are not imagining it. For many popular events, a big share of tickets is sold before the public sale even begins, and the public sale itself happens in an online queue that rewards preparation.

This guide explains how presales, held-back tickets and online queues fit together, using findings from the GAO and the FTC. It doesn't recommend any ticketing company. Every event sets its own sale plan, so treat what follows as a map of the common pieces, not a description of any one sale.

Why popular tickets sell out so fast

The FTC staff report on its 2019 "That's the Ticket" workshop describes a feature of the ticket market: intentional underpricing. Artists and teams often keep prices below what fans would pay, partly to avoid half-empty venues and partly to be seen as fair. That gap between face value and market value draws in brokers who try to buy underpriced tickets and resell them for a profit.

Add a limited number of seats, presales and held-back tickets, and the share available at the general on-sale can be smaller than fans expect. The National Consumers League testified, as GAO reported, that events with many holds and presales sell out more quickly during the general on-sale because fewer seats are available.

Presales: who gets early access

GAO's 2018 report explains that tickets to popular concerts are often first sold through presales, which let certain buyers purchase before the general on-sale. Common presales are for holders of certain credit cards or members of the artist's fan club, and promoters, venues or other groups may also run them.

There are no comprehensive data on how many tickets go through presales, because that information is usually confidential, according to GAO. Industry representatives told GAO that 10 to 30 percent of tickets for major concerts are typically offered through presales, and as many as about 65 percent for major artists at large venues. A 2016 New York State Attorney General study found that an average of 38 percent of tickets were allotted to presales for the 74 highest-grossing concerts at selected New York venues from 2012 to 2015.

Views on presales differ. Some groups told GAO that presales raise fairness concerns, and that some brokers join fan clubs or hold multiple credit cards to get presale access. Event organizers said fan club presales can reward dedicated fans and that credit card presales can help pay marketing costs. The FTC staff report noted that fan club presales are usually publicized on artists' websites or in press releases.

Holds: tickets set aside

Venues, promoters, agents and artists commonly hold back a portion of tickets from public sale, GAO found. Holds may go to media, guests, or the artist's friends and family, or provide flexibility when the seating layout is not yet final. Industry representatives told GAO holds typically are a relatively small number, a few hundred for major events, while the New York Attorney General's review of high-grossing New York concerts found that about 16 percent of tickets, on average, were allocated for holds.

Here's the useful part for fans: GAO reported that promoters typically release unused holds before the event at face value. Sold out on day one doesn't always mean sold out for good.

Online queues and purchase limits

When demand is high, many sellers put buyers in a virtual waiting room before they can pick seats. The FTC staff report describes virtual waiting rooms and fan verification programs as industry efforts to defeat or deter bots.

Once you get in, the clock usually starts. GAO noted that primary sellers typically limit the time to complete a purchase, for example 10 minutes from selecting tickets to paying, and that during that time the selected tickets are taken out of inventory.

Sellers also set purchase limits. The FTC notes that ticket issuers often limit how many tickets one person can buy for an event. Its October 2026 press release, citing a complaint, describes security measures such as quantity selectors capped at the limit and checks on whether purchases tie to verifiable accounts with unique credit cards, email addresses, phone numbers and IP addresses.

These rules have legal backing. The BOTS Act makes it unlawful to circumvent measures used to enforce posted purchase limits or to maintain the integrity of posted online purchasing order rules. The FTC says using fake identities or multiple credit cards to get around limits can violate the Act even without bots. More on that in our guide Ticket Bots and the BOTS Act: What the Law Bans and Who Enforces It.

How to prepare without breaking the rules

The FTC's tips for fans are simple:

Look for chances to buy before the public on-sale. Sign up for newsletters or alerts from artists, venues and ticket sellers, follow them on social media, and check with your credit card company about promotions.
Set up an account with the ticket seller ahead of time, so you're ready to buy as soon as tickets go on sale.
Check back later. Promoters might release more tickets after the first release or add another show.

A few more practical steps follow from how on-sales work:

Read the sale's posted rules, including purchase limits and any registration deadlines, before the day of the sale.
Know your budget and your seat preferences in advance, since the checkout clock may be short.
Confirm presale news on the artist's, team's or venue's official channels. A message offering presale access for a fee is a classic scam setup.

Prices can move during the sale

Some events use dynamic pricing, where prices change with demand. The FTC staff report describes dynamically priced tickets as ones whose prices change in real time depending on market demand. The FTC's fees rule allows dynamic pricing as long as pricing information isn't misleading, and it requires sellers to show the total price, including mandatory fees, upfront. If a presale offers a member-only discount, the FTC says the price shown to everyone should be the one available to everyone, until you qualify.

If you miss out

Don't rush to the first resale listing. Seats may come back as holds are released or shows are added. If you do buy resale, be wary of listings that appear before an event has even gone on sale, which may be speculative, meaning the seller doesn't have the ticket yet.

Key takeaways

Presales and holds can take a large share of tickets before the general on-sale, though exact shares are usually confidential.
Sign up for official alerts, check card and fan club presales, and set up your account early.
Online queues, checkout timers and purchase limits are common; read the posted rules first.
Getting around purchase limits with extra accounts or identities can violate the BOTS Act.
Unused holds and added shows mean it's worth checking back before paying resale prices.

Sources

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