Young singer-songwriter Taylor Swift’s fans have mixed feelings about her Eras tour as people experience fading merchandise and ticket troubles. 

Since the announcement of her Eras tour in Nov. 2022, Taylor Swift became a trending sensation in modern media, especially after the release of her most recent album, “Midnights.” Swift has been a top female artist since she began releasing music in 2006, with albums like “1989” and “Folklore” sweeping top spots on the Billboard 200, making her a sensational young artist. 

Swift’s release of her tour tickets on Ticketmaster was nothing short of a disaster. While she broke the record for the most number of tickets sold in one day (two million), many fans encountered difficulties within the platform. A lot of fans experienced delays and extremely long queue times on Ticketmaster as the website crashed for many due to a lot of user traffic on the platform. Junior Emilia Harbors was anxiously anticipating the day of ticket sales, only to be met with extremely long queue times and a buggy website.

“It was honestly the most upsetting experience,” Harbors said. “I miss the days when you had to buy tickets in person so bots and resellers couldn’t take everything.”

Discontentment spread like wildfire on pages like TikTok and Twitter as people were upset that Ticketmaster would allow themselves to be so unorganized for a major tour event. Many people were in disbelief that the website experienced so many performance issues and delays on the day of ticket releases.

As a result, Ticketmaster released a statement regarding the situation.

“Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow’s public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been canceled,” Ticketmaster’s Twitter post stated.

Millions of fans were unable to purchase tickets during and after the ticket presale event. Ticketmaster released another official statement explaining the entire situation on their website, detailing that the influx of people trying to buy tickets was too much for their system to handle. For everyone to get a ticket, Swift would need over 900 stadium shows throughout two and a half years, performing every night.

Although many fans were unable to purchase tickets, some fans were able to secure their spots at the concert venues for the tour, even if they were at higher prices from resellers. As thousands of people prepared for the upcoming concerts, many released their outfits inspired by Swift’s songs for the tour on TikTok. From bedazzled shoes to cowboy hats, pink hearts, and bold black attire, fans dressed to recreate each of Swift’s albums. Alissa Horrigan, a junior, mentioned her experience attending the Tampa show.

“Me and my friends spent two days decorating our tour ‘fits,” Horrigan said. “My mom thought we were over-dressing but when we got there, legit everyone was dressed up–it was so cool.”

Swift quickly became a trending topic of discussion across all media platforms. Opening at Glendale, AZ, Swift stunned concert attendees as well as the internet with her first performance of the tour as she performed for over three hours. Fans were left in awe as they experienced Swift’s outfit-changes live as she progressed through the setlist which spanned her many eras.

“When she [Swift] got onstage, I started crying,” Horrigan said. “It was the most magical thing ever ’cause like, I grew up listening to her ever since I was little, so seeing her in person was such a full circle moment.”

Despite the magical experience, things start coming back to reality once fans bought their merchandise. Long lines at the merchandise trucks left a lot of products out of stock, including crewneck sweaters that many fans longed for. In addition to this, many fans took to social media to express their discontent with merchandise defects after washing.

Swift fans encountered issues with their merchandise after they washed it, as many claimed the ink faded very badly. Washing it by hand and other gentle cleaning methods seemed to make the ink fade regardless.

In response to the complaints, Swift’s merchandise website released a care notice explaining that the tour collection merchandise was supposed to have a faded, vintage look, encouraging fans to follow the product care instructions on the label. They did, however, offer fans the opportunity to reach out if they felt their product was too faded, so they could possibly receive a replacement.

Swift’s sensational tour has only just begun and already many things have happened, both good and bad. From ticket mishaps and faded merchandise to three-hour-long concerts and emotional crowds, the Eras tour has made a lasting impact on fans all around. Swift’s last concert will be in Los Angeles, CA in August.