Tickets for an upcoming Jimmy Barnes concert have been sighted online for more than the original price available from the theatre box office.

Resellers are advertising the tickets online for inflated prices, prompting the Warrnambool City Council to issue a warning.

Lighthouse Theatre manager Mik Frawley said scalpers were selling the overpriced tickets through third-party websites when there were still tickets available from the official ticketing outlet or venue.

Council is urging people to be cautious when purchasing tickets for performances and events online.

Mr Frawley said aggressive online marketing by third-party sites meant they could appear in search results ahead of official ticketing outlets. As a result, some people had clicked through and bought expensive tickets without realising they were not purchasing from the original source.

Some of these resellers were even advertising tickets they had not yet obtained.

“The resellers wait for an unsuspecting buyer, then purchase legitimate tickets and pocket a substantial mark-up,” Mr Frawley said.

Tickets to the upcoming Jimmy Barnes show at the Lighthouse Theatre are priced at a maximum $119.90 through the official Lighthouse Theatre website. But Mr Frawley said he had seen tickets for resale at more than double that price.

Resellers have also targeted other upcoming events in the south-west.

Mr Frawley said ticket resellers often told prospective buyers there were very few tickets left to certain events to prompt people to make quick purchases. But, he said, in reality many good seats were still available direct from the theatre.

“Many resellers use legitimate third-party sites intended for use by people to resell valid tickets to events they could no longer attend”, Mr Frawley said.

Mr Frawley said legitimate tickets would be honoured by the Lighthouse Theatre so as to not further disadvantage those who have been overcharged.

He urged people to always check with the official ticketing outlet, venue or organiser before purchasing from a reseller to ensure they bought legitimate tickets at the correct price.