When to buy tickets
How the lowest listed resale price moved before 588 UK shows that took place between 11 August 2026 and 9 October 2026.
21 days before the show, the lowest price was typically about the same as on show day. A week before: 0%. The day before: 0%.
Change in the lowest price, against show day
Median across shows. Above 0% it cost more that far out than on the day; below 0%, less.
Day by day
| Before the show | Median vs show day | Middle half | Cheaper then | Dearer then | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 days before | 0% | −10.9% to +8.9% | 27% | 28% | 74 |
| 14 days before | 0% | 0% to +32.9% | 19% | 30% | 236 |
| 10 days before | 0% | 0% to +16.4% | 17% | 30% | 312 |
| 7 days before | 0% | 0% to +20% | 15% | 31% | 397 |
| 5 days before | 0% | 0% to +14.4% | 15% | 28% | 435 |
| 3 days before | 0% | 0% to +10% | 13% | 27% | 499 |
| 2 days before | 0% | 0% to +1.8% | 11% | 25% | 525 |
| 1 day before | 0% | 0% to 0% | 7% | 18% | 563 |
By category
| Segment | 14 days | 7 days | 1 day | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerts | 0% | 0% | 0% | 453 |
| Theatre | — | 0% | 0% | 104 |
By venue size
| Segment | 14 days | 7 days | 1 day | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 3,000 capacity | — | 0% | 0% | 51 |
| 3,000 to 14,999 capacity | 0% | 0% | 0% | 86 |
Methodology
- The data is StubHub resale listings only. It is the lowest listed price we recorded for each show, not face value, and not what tickets actually sold for.
- We record a show's lowest listed price whenever it changes. The price on a day is the last one recorded by the end of that day; show day is the price at the end of the day of the show.
- Each figure is the median, across shows, of that show's own change between that many days before and show day. A show counts only at the points where we hold a price at both ends; a point is shown once 30 shows have one.
- "Cheaper then" and "Dearer then" count shows whose price that far out was at least 1% below or above their show-day price. Changes beyond four times or a quarter of the show-day price are treated as data errors and left out.
- UK shows that took place in the 60 days to 9 October 2026. UK football fixtures whose tickets may not be resold are left out.
- Venue size is the venue's listed capacity; shows at venues with no listed capacity count in the totals but in no size band.
Source and download
Source: NeedATicket, "When to buy tickets", https://needaticket.co.uk/data/when-to-buy, updated 10 October 2026.
Download the aggregates (CSV) — percentages and counts for every offset, category and venue size; no prices, listings or event identifiers.
Today's figures across every tracked show: Resale Price Index.