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Whatever you’re heading out to see, the golden rule is the same: buy from the seller the event names, and start from the venue or artist’s own page rather than a search ad.
The official channels
- The venue’s own box office and website. For shows at the city’s main entertainment and convention centre, the venue sells its own tickets — online, by phone and in person. Its official website is the front door.
- The tour’s named ticketing agency. Big national tours sometimes sell through a major ticketing platform; the artist’s or venue’s own announcement always names the official seller.
- The event organiser directly, for festivals and community events that are ticketed at all.
Avoiding the traps
- Search ads are where resale sites live. Type the venue name directly, or follow the artist’s official link, rather than clicking the first ad.
- A price well above face value means resale. The simplest protection is to buy only from the seller the event names.
- Screenshots of tickets are not tickets. Legitimate transfers move through the official platform.
- “Sold out” sometimes isn’t. Venues release held seats closer to the date — checking the official seller again beats paying a scalper.
Regional tips
Mackay allocations for touring shows are smaller than in the capital cities, so presales matter and popular shows genuinely sell out fast. If a show is the reason for a trip, buy the tickets before the flights — and see visiting Mackay for the rest.
This guide has no relationship with any ticket seller and earns nothing from any booking. We simply point you toward the official channels.
Buying tickets