Buying & on-sales · Ticket resale glossary
Purchase Limit
Also known as: Ticket limit, Ticket cap per order
A purchase limit (or ticket limit) is the maximum number of tickets one customer can buy for an event, typically between 2 and 8, set by the organiser and enforced by the ticketing site per account, payment card and address.
Limits spread inventory across more fans and make bulk buying harder. Tickets bought over the limit can be cancelled by the ticketing site without a refund of fees.
Using software to get around a purchase limit is illegal in several markets — the US BOTS Act and the UK Digital Economy Act both target it (see ticket bot).
How purchase limits are enforced
A limit only works if the ticketing site can link orders to the same person, so sites check several identifiers at once and review orders after the sale, not just at checkout.
- Account: the simplest check, applied to every order placed from one login.
- Payment card: several accounts paying with the same card are treated as one buyer.
- Name, address and phone number: matching details across accounts are flagged.
- Device and network signals: many orders from the same device or connection can trigger a review.
- Across stages: on some events the limit covers the presale and the general sale together, not each one separately.
Typical limits and how they vary
Limits are set event by event by the organiser and shown on the event page or in the ticket selector. High-demand shows tend to have lower limits, often four or six per customer, while smaller or slower events may allow eight or more. Premium seats, VIP packages and accessible seating can have their own, separate limits.
Limits can also apply to a whole tour, a run of dates at one venue or a single presale. Read the event terms: the number shown in the ticket selector isn't always the full rule.
Worked example
An event has a limit of four tickets per customer across all sales. A buyer gets four tickets in the artist presale, then buys two more in the general sale using the same card on a second account. After the sale, the ticketing site matches the card and cancels the second order. The two tickets go back on sale a few days later, and the buyer loses the fees.
Purchase limits and resellers
For resellers, the purchase limit sets how many tickets one person can legitimately buy per event, which shapes how inventory is planned and listed. Breaking a limit by hand is a breach of the site's terms and risks cancellation. Using software to get around it is a criminal matter in some countries: the US BOTS Act 2016 and the UK's Digital Economy Act 2017 both target automated buying that bypasses ticket limits or other security measures (see ticket bot).
Limits also affect the shape of resale supply. Most orders are for two to four tickets, so pairs dominate resale listings, which is reflected in the average tickets per sale.
Purchase limit vs ticket splits
A purchase limit caps how many tickets a buyer can take from the primary seller. Ticket splits are the quantities a seller allows a listing to be broken into on a resale marketplace, for example a block of four sold only in pairs. One controls buying, the other controls how resale inventory is offered.
Catch it with Eventory
Eventory lets you filter alerts by the number of seats available together, so you only hear about restocks that fit the quantity you need.
Frequently asked questions
Why do events have ticket purchase limits?
Limits spread tickets across more fans and make it harder for bulk buyers and bots to take a large share of a high-demand on-sale. Organisers set lower limits for the events they expect to sell out fastest.
What happens if I buy more than the ticket limit?
The ticketing site can cancel the extra orders, sometimes all of your orders for the event, and fees are often not refunded. Cancelled tickets go back on sale, which is one cause of later restocks.
Is it illegal to go over a purchase limit?
Going over a limit is normally a breach of the ticketing site's terms rather than a crime. Using bots or other software to bypass limits is illegal in the US under the BOTS Act and in the UK under the Digital Economy Act 2017.
Does the purchase limit apply across presale and general sale?
Sometimes. Many events set one limit per customer for the whole event, so presale purchases count towards it. Others set a limit per sale stage. Check the event terms before buying in more than one sale.