A woman in Los Angeles, California, bought tickets for Coachella 2026 from a well-known resale company. According to her, she was caught off guard when the company decided to cancel her purchase, and then offered them back for a whopping $13,000.
Editor’s note: We received a statement from Vivid Seats, which we will share below. They have also provided clarification on this story and its details.
“We can confirm that in this situation we provided the customer with a full refund, $1,000 in store credit, and complimentary replacement VIP tickets. Our customer service team resolved the situation within five hours of initially discovering the issue and notifying the customer. Vivid Seats maintains a nearly 100% on-time ticket fulfillment rate for tickets sold on our platform. Every purchase is backed by our 100% Buyer Guarantee, ensuring tickets are accurate, valid, and delivered before the event, or customers receive their money back.” – Vivid Seats
Alexe Godin shared her ticket situation on TikTok. She is a French Canadian woman living in Los Angeles who usually posts lifestyle content on her account. Her Coachella clip, however, quickly went viral, garnering more than 300,000 views, 22,000 likes, and 450 comments.
The California woman directly called out the resale company, Vivid Seats. According to her, she purchased Coachella tickets from them weeks ago. Two days before departing for the festival, however, Alexe was notified that her tickets had been canceled. She said that the reason was that they wanted to “upsell the tickets.”
“They tell us we can repurchase our tickets for $8,000,” Alexe said.
She said in the clip that she was “on a pinch“, as she had already booked non-refundable housing in Coachella Valley. Despite the exorbitant pricing, she agreed to pay $8,000 for the tickets she had previously purchased. Vivid Seats, allegedly, then changed the terms once again: they offered the tickets for $13,000.
At that point, the California woman was unwilling to purchase the tickets. She will, however, go to the Coachella Valley regardless due to the non-refundable housing. Shockingly, Alexe also revealed that her previously purchased tickets were refunded in store credit.
Editor’s note, per Vivid Seats: “Vivid Seats provided the customer with a full refund, $1,000 in store credit, and a complimentary replacement VIP ticket. The situation was resolved within five hours of initially discovering the issue and notifying the customer.“
Furthermore, regarding the change in terms, Vivid Seats provided clarification on what has transpired since the original report.
“Vivid Seats is a ticket marketplace, and we do not set the price for tickets listed by sellers on our platform. Due to an issue with the seller’s ability to fulfill the order, it was canceled. At that point, Vivid Seats’ customer service team promptly notified the customer of the issue, provided a refund and store credit, and offered to assist her in purchasing replacement tickets from among other listings on our platform – not repurchasing the tickets from her previous order.”
Upselling Draws Backlash
The clip sparked multiple responses.
Some users told Alexe she should fight the charge. One user wrote, “Dispute the charge on your credit card. Have everything in writing.” Another one said, “I hope you can get some legal help for this matter.”
A small number of viewers criticized Alexe for her willingness to pay $8,000 for Coachella tickets. One person commented, “People talking about 8k+ like its $5 is diabolical.” Another one said, “People are still going there [Coachella] in this economy.”
With Coachella just around the corner, a story like Alexe’s was prone to gaining traction. Of course, the alleged upselling by Vivid Seats prompted backlash, forcing them to lock comments on their account. This also translates to virality.
Editor’s note, per Vivid Seats: While we originally reported that we were unsure of the ticket status or whether Vivid Seats had made contact, that is no longer the case.
Per Vivid Seats, “Vivid Seats left multiple public messages on the video clip and spoke to the customer directly on the phone. Additionally, the customer service team had proactively and promptly notified the customer of the issue with their order and resolved the matter within five hours of initially discovering the issue and notifying the customer.” The image below from TikTok also confirms this.
We are glad that everything ended well for the influencer, and hopefully, she gets to enjoy her trip knowing everything has been resolved. All is well that ends well.
