Why you shouldn’t buy from StubHub
Buying tickets for events isn’t how it used to be. There’s special presale codes, verified fan tickets, exclusive mailing list access, and the list goes on. Even if you wake up early to buy tickets right when they go on sale, it’s not guaranteed you’ll get those coveted seats to see your favourite band. All these extra hoops you have to jump through are allegedly for your benefit — to prevent scalpers from getting their hands on your tickets. But the problem is that it’s easier than ever to be a scalper.
If you’ve never used ticket resale marketplaces like StubHub or Verified Tickets by Ticketmaster, here’s how it works: sellers list (high demand) tickets for concerts, sports events, plays, etc. on these sites at any price they want, and StubHub receives a commission fee if they’re sold. They do guarantee that your ticket is legitimate, or you get a full refund if it doesn’t get you into the event. However, anyone who’s ever looked into buying a ticket from sites like these would know that the price for tickets are usually sky high.
According to ticket aggregator website TiqIQ, the average price of a ticket to Super Bowl XLIX was $3,950.It’s outrageous that ticket scalpers would capitalize on a product that they don’t even produce themselves. They aren’t affiliated with the producers of the show and they don’t add any exclusive value to the tickets they’ve purchased — they merely exploit the fact that they have something that everyone else wants. Sellers know that there’s always going to be a fan who wishes that they could’ve gotten better seats, a parent who’s trying to find the perfect birthday present, and last-minute buyers who are desperate enough to pay exorbitant prices.
Some artists and venues have been trying to combat scalpers as best they can, but often fall short of expectations and actually end up making it more difficult for real fans to purchase them. Some of the tricks I’ve seen include:
- Presale codes: sponsors of the event share codes to buy tickets reserved for their members
- Early fan club access: signing up for a mailing list that will send an exclusive purchase link
- Only allowing in-person purchases at the box office: which means waiting in long lines and potentially taking a day off work or school
- Will call pick-up only: ticket holders are forced to show ID and a matching credit card to pick up their tickets at the box office
These verification checkpoints can act as barriers that prevent fans from accessing tickets. They create extra steps that not everyone has the means to obtain. For instance, some people might not:
- Have their own American Express card (a company that often provides presale codes to their cardholders)
- Be able to pay for a fan club membership (some artists charge annual fees for exclusive content and presale codes to their events)
- Have the luxury to visit the box office in person (a sizeable road trip for out-of-towners)
- Own their own credit card (a problem I faced as a teenager, when I had to borrow my mom’s card and beg her to pick up the tickets for me at the ticket outlet)
It used to be that scalpers would have to loiter around the venue the day of the event and harass passersby to ask if they were buying or selling tickets (which they still do), but now that online ticket marketplaces exist, it’s easier than ever to sell overpriced tickets. These outlets don’t even regulate the prices. Clients can list their tickets for a $1,000 markup or more if they choose. So how do these modern day scalpers get away with selling tickets for such outrageous prices? Because people keep buying them.
It’s inevitable that scalpers will always exist and continue to exploit the system, but there should be ways to police these outlets and prevent them from taking advantage of buyers. Online ticket marketplaces should enforce maximum limits for prices listed — up to a reasonable percentage of the face value of a ticket. But in the meantime, don’t buy from scalpers — and, it should go without saying, but don’t be a scalper.
Image obtained from Ticketmaster via CC0