The Search for Taylor Swift Eras Tour Tickets Remains Fierce in Dallas — Especially on Facebook
A Popular Private Facebook Group Aptly Reflects the Madness
BY Caitlin Clark // 03.29.23The “ISO” posts trickled in slowly at first. But as months passed and the weekend in question drew nearer, fervor grew. Sandwiched between posts selling barely worn Golden Goose sneakers and Restoration Hardware side tables, Dallas members of Park Cities Resale Shop were becoming desperate for one thing: tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Arlington, Texas.
For the uninitiated, Park Cities Resale Shop (PCRS) is a private Facebook group created in 2014 for members to buy and sell unwanted pieces (furniture, clothes, shoes, etc…) or go “ISO” (in search of) recommendations or items from the group. You don’t have to live in a Park Cities zip code (I’m evidence of that), but you need to be able to deliver to one. In the past nine years, the group has grown to nearly 12,000, a number predominately comprised of women, though there are still plenty of people hoping to “get in” — a close friend recently waited for months for coveted approval. The rules are vast and strict: no realtor listings, no cross-posting, no no shows, and no guns.
Naturally, because the group is private, I can’t share specifics, but the ISOs for Taylor Swift tickets have ranged in tone from earnest to desperate, defensive to silly. Some beg (those posts are often paired with wholesome pictures of young, concert-going hopefuls) while others simply shoot their shot. “Just throwing it into the universe,” wrote many a poster. The requests began popping up as soon as the Eras Tour was announced in November of 2022, creating a ticket so hot Ticketmaster essentially imploded. The Justice Department may have gotten involved, but the truth remained: if you wanted a Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticket, you had your work cut out for you — and your wallet.
As opposed to the Have Nots, the Haves were much less personable in their PCRS posts. Tickets intended to cost $200 or $400 tops were being sold for double or triple the price, occasionally up to $1,500 a ticket. “Avoid the fees and buy direct,” wrote one poster.
One brave soul risked being kicked out of PCRS to share her disappointment, claiming that Taylor herself would not approve of the markup. I’d like to think so (I’m a fan!), but it’s hard to believe Swift couldn’t have convinced Ticketmaster to create a more equitable ticket system à la Zach Bryan, a not-quite-as-in-demand artist but a rising Grammy-nominated star with some sway. Using a “Fair AXS” registration system, tickets for Bryan’s anticipated Burn Burn Burn Tour (which range from $40 to $130) are unable to be transferred or sold for profit.
It takes a bold artist to go up against a monopoly as powerful as Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, but as we saw with Spotify in 2014, a Swift stance (with a bit of help from Universal) has the power to create change.
Maybe next time. Now, however, the hunt for Taylor Swift tickets remains fierce as ever in marketplaces big and small.