The Difference Between A Ticket Broker & StubHub
Last week we explained the difference between a ticket scalper and a ticket broker. This week we are back to bust some myth's people have when it comes to ticket brokers & StubHub.
StubHub has done a very good job as positioning themselves as the “go to” place for buying tickets on the secondary market. However StubHub is NOT a ticket broker, or even a ticket owner, so what is StubHub and what do they have to do with the secondary ticket market, this week we'll explain in the form of some myth busting.
Ticket Brokers v. StubHub
Myth #1: StubHub Is A Ticket Broker
StubHub is not actually a ticket broker. The company is just a web based marketplace, like Ebay, that gives ticket owners the ability to sell tickets.
(a Ticket Broker is a professional ticket expert that licensed to buy and sell tickets.)
Myth #2: StubHub Owns The Seats You Are Buying
StubHub doesn't actually own ANY of the tickets they are selling. All of the tickets are owned by individual resellers. These resellers could be YOU, or anyone else that owns tickets to any ticketed event. Most of the time the tickets being sold on StubHub are owned by a Ticket Broker who is utilizing StubHub's app to sell their tickets. In fact Oracle Data recently published a report that 81% of the sellers on StubHub are actually ticket brokers.
A funny example of this is the newly minted Los Angeles Chargers. StubHub owns the naming rights to the 30,000 seat stadium the Bolts will be playing in next season. Unfortunately for StubHub they don't even own any of the seats at stadium named after them. The Chargers & the NFL issued a joint statement saying that they would be cracking down on any season ticket holders who try to resell their seats, saying it reserves “the right to enforce a policy that all season tickets should be used primarily by Season Ticket Members and their personal guests.”
Myth #3: SubHub Makes Their Money From The Sale Of the Ticket
StubHub actually makes their money by charging the buyer & the seller a fee (or commission) to use their software. That fee is 15% for the seller and ranges between 2-25% of the ticket price for the buyer. Unfortunately for the buyer (you) StubHub has never published how they decide what the fee will be for the buyer they simply state
"Fees to the buyer change based on the event location, timing, performer/team and demand. We reserve the right to change these fees at anytime, including after a ticket is listed."
If you do the math and it adds up to StubHub making between 17-35% of the listed ticket price (the price you see) to use their web site. That is way more of margin than a broker or scalper ever make.
Here is an example of the fees for the buyer
Myth #4: Buying Tickets On StubHub Guarantees Your Ticket
StubHub has done a fantastic job of marketing their tickets as guaranteed. Unfortunately that just isn't true. A great example of this is the Jesse Sandler "Kobe's Last Game Ticket" debacle. The short of this story is a Lakers fan bought tickets from a season ticket holder to Kobe's last game, before his retirement was announced. When the Mamba announced his last season prices for the tickets on the secondary market rose by 1,000% and the season ticket holder cancelled the sale, leaving poor Jesse without ticket to see his favorite player's last game.
The fact of the matter is that unless you are buying tickets from a professional seller on StubHub there is always a chance the seller could renege on their sale and StubHub can't do anything to stop it.
Myth #5 StubHub Just Cares About Selling Tickets
If you actually read StubHub's end user license agreement you will find that they can now sic robocalls and auto-texts on any telephone number it associates with you, without permission and without it necessarily being from StubHub (any of the partners/parent companies can use your data as well). Additionally StubHub also OWNS all their user information even from closed accounts. The point being that StubHub's value is as much in their user data as it is in the amount of cash that changes hand on their site.
Myth #6 StubHub Is The Official Market Place Of ______
StubHub has often marketed themselves as the official fan marketplace of (insert any sport). The fact is this is just about as true as the "#1 Dad" T-Shirt you bought pops for father's day. This is purely marketing and hyperbole is most cases. All of the major sports leagues and their franchises either have their own ticketing platforms, except the MLB, which allows teams sell the right to be the official reseller to the highest bidder.
Ok so what....
The point of this email is not to completely trash StubHub. We actually use it to sell tickets all the time. Our point is that StubHub is not a Ticket Broker, it's just a website & marketplace. At the end of the day StubHub is not a ticket professional who can actually get you a good deal on tickets or call the box office manager when there is a problem with your seats, it's just another company making money off convenience.
Next week we'll tell you what a Ticket Broker actually does and why we think everyone should have one in their rolodex.
| 
Comments
Post a Comment