There has been some confusion around whether tickets purchased on Ticketmaster can then be resold on secondary marketplaces like StubHub. This article will provide a comprehensive overview of the policies and restrictions in place, the reasons behind them, and the consequences buyers and sellers may face if found to violate the terms and conditions.
Can Tickets Purchased on Ticketmaster be Resold on StubHub?
The short answer is yes, tickets purchased on Ticketmaster can be resold on StubHub, but there are some important caveats. Ticketmaster has a no-resale policy, meaning buyers technically agree not to resell their tickets when making a purchase. However, this policy is difficult to enforce in practice. As a major secondary ticket marketplace, StubHub facilitates the resale of tickets purchased from various primary vendors, including Ticketmaster.
So while reselling Ticketmaster tickets violates the company’s Terms of Use that buyers agree to, thousands of such tickets are readily available on StubHub at any given time. Sellers take the risk of having their Ticketmaster accounts restricted or canceled if found to be violating the resale policy, but many still consider it worth the potential profits from reselling in-demand tickets.
Ticketmaster’s Stance on Resales
Ticketmaster actively discourages buyers from reselling tickets purchased on their platform. Their Terms of Use state:
“You may not resell or package and sell any part of your order. Any tickets or packages resold or offered for resale may be canceled without refund or other compensation.”
They justify this non-transferable policy as a way to protect fans and prevent scalpers from immediately reselling tickets at inflated prices. Ticketmaster instead recommends customers return tickets they can no longer use for a full refund when possible. This allows the inventory to go back on sale for other fans to purchase at face value prices.
However, critics counter that the no-resale policy allows Ticketmaster to double-dip on fees when a ticket is resold through their own resale platform, NFL Ticket Exchange. So while they publicly discourage resales, they profit when it occurs through “approved” channels.
Consequences for Sellers
There can be major repercussions for ticket holders that are discovered reselling their Ticketmaster purchases on sites like StubHub. According to their policies, consequences can include:
– Cancellation of the original ticket order and no refund issued
– Revocation of the season ticket holder privileges
– Banning the customer’s account from making future purchases
Ticketmaster claims they have methods to monitor resale activity across major secondary marketplaces. They can flag account holders that frequently purchase tickets only to quickly relist them significantly above face value. Accounts suspected of this broker activity face a high risk of being penalized if detected.
So while some sellers may fly under the radar, high volume resellers are likely to have their accounts eventually shut down. Getting caught reselling can mean losing the privilege of buying desirable tickets in the future.
StubHub’s Stance
In contrast to Ticketmaster, StubHub was created exclusively as a secondary ticket marketplace to facilitate resales. They have no rules prohibiting the resale of tickets, regardless of where they were originally purchased.
Their website states:
“We believe that fans should have the freedom to resell tickets however they see fit, wherever they want.”
Part of StubHub’s appeal to buyers is the inventory of major primary ticket vendors like Ticketmaster. These are often high demand tickets that quickly sell out and command a premium price on the secondary market.
StubHub takes no responsibility for how users originally obtained their tickets. They provide the platform for both buyers and sellers to transact and profit from the secondary market.
Legal Implications
While Ticketmaster discourage resales, some legal experts argue their terms wouldn’t hold up in court. When a transaction is completed, standard contract law views the ticket as the property of the purchaser. Ticketmaster lacks authority to exert control how buyers then use their property.
The following legal considerations also support the right of buyers to resell tickets as they choose:
First Sale Doctrine
This core legal principle states that the copyright holder (Ticketmaster) loses control over a particular copy once sold. The buyer is then free to reuse or transfer ownership of their purchased property.
Contract of Adhesion
Courts may rule that Ticketmaster’s Terms of Use represent a contract of adhesion. This means the terms are largely non-negotiable and the product (event tickets) cannot reasonably be obtained elsewhere. These types of shrink-wrap contracts are sometimes unenforceable if found to be unjust.
Antitrust
Ticketmaster dominates the primary event ticketing industry. Their anti-resale policies could be challenged as violating antitrust laws around fair competition. Preventing third party resales allows them to maintain an effective monopoly over the supply chain.
So the enforceability of Ticketmaster’s policies restricting resales remains questionable. Buyers assume some risk when reselling tickets, but have reasonable legal arguments on their side as well.
Examples of Ticket Resales in Practice
To illustrate how ticket resales work in practice, here are some examples of major concerts with tickets currently available on both Ticketmaster and StubHub.
Event | Tickets on Ticketmaster | Tickets on StubHub |
---|---|---|
Bruce Springsteen | Sold out | 456 tickets available |
Harry Styles | Limited availability | 2,358 tickets available |
Taylor Swift | Sold out | 8,761 tickets available |
This illustrates how even when Ticketmaster shows an event is sold out, abundant inventory is listed for resale on StubHub. Common high-demand events can have thousands of tickets readily available, despite Ticketmaster’s no resale policy.
Sellers are willing to take the risk of account cancellation given the profits possible – StubHub tickets frequently sell for over 200% their original face value. Buyers pay a premium to access tickets officially deemed unavailable.
Factors That Enable Resale of Ticketmaster Tickets on StubHub
Several key factors allow tickets purchased on Ticketmaster to be easily resold on third party sites, despite the policy prohibiting this:
Lack of Enforcement
Ticketmaster lacks the capacity to fully police ticket resales to StubHub and other secondary marketplaces. Occasional crackdowns make headlines but have limited large-scale impact. Millions of tickets change hands each year, making enforcement impractical.
Delays Between Purchase and Delivery
There is typically a delay between when a ticket order is placed and when the ticket holder receives the barcode required for entry. This creates a window where the buyer can list the tickets for resale before having physical possession.
No Resale Deterrents Built into Tickets
Tickets lack technical safeguards that would prevent or restrict resales. The holder of a ticket’s unique barcode can freely list it for resale without restriction. Ticketmaster could make tickets non-transferrable to hinder unauthorized resales but has not.
High Demand and Price Inflation
As long as high demand events sell out instantly, there remains massive incentive for initial buyers to resell tickets for profit. Limited supply and inflated demand drives a speculative secondary market.
StubHub Facilitates Anonymity
StubHub allows sellers to create anonymous accounts not directly tied to their identity. This makes it much harder for Ticketmaster to identify and punish those violating their resale terms.
Pros of Enabling Ticket Resales
While Ticketmaster frowns on the practice, there are arguable benefits to enabling a secondary ticket market:
Increases Overall Supply
Preventing any resales would severely limit the supply of tickets. Secondary markets allow thousands more tickets to be available to willing buyers. This enhances consumer choice.
Allows Fans to Recoup Value
Ticket holders who can no longer attend an event can offset their sunk costs by reselling. Strict no resale policies force eat the cost of unused tickets rather than recovering some value.
Matches Buyers Willing to Pay More with Sellers
Buyers who missed out on the initial on-sale can still access coveted tickets. Sellers who landed tickets for popular shows are matched with buyers willing to pay current market prices.
Puts Free Market Pricing to Work
Secondary market prices represent the true market value of high demand tickets better than artificial caps on initial sales. It captures what buyers are willing to pay based on real-time supply and demand.
Provides Convenience of Central Marketplace
Sites like StubHub offer buyers and sellers security, convenience, and choice rather than having to seek out private trades. Centralized competitive resale markets are efficient.
Cons of Enabling Ticket Resales
There are also downsides to permitting ticket resales, which Ticketmaster argues justify their policies:
Leads to Instant Price Gouging
Popular tickets often appear on secondary sites at inflated prices immediately after selling out. This price gouging locks out fans unwilling or unable to pay extreme premiums.
Rewards Bulk Purchases by Scalpers
Resale markets incentivize ticket brokers to sweep up inventory using bots and bulk purchases. They displace everyday fans trying to buy tickets just to attend events.
Reduces Trust in the Seller
The anonymous nature of secondary marketplaces opens fans up to fraud. Counterfeit or canceled tickets diminish trust compared to buying directly from the issuer.
Imposes Additional Fees
There are typically additional convenience and processing fees charged by secondary marketplaces like StubHub. This increases costs for buyers and reduces profit for sellers.
Contradicts Agreements Buyers Make
By reselling tickets, buyers break the formal agreements made when the tickets were purchased initially from authorized sellers like Ticketmaster.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster actively discourages the resale of its tickets on secondary platforms like StubHub through terms and conditions users agree to when making purchases. However, thousands of Ticketmaster-sourced tickets are readily resold via StubHub daily. Sellers face potential account cancellation if caught violating the no-resale policies. Yet buyers flock to secondary markets hoping to access high demand tickets the primary vendor claims are sold out.
The prevalence of Ticketmaster ticket resales on StubHub is enabled by an inability to fully enforce resale bans, delays in ticket delivery, and lack of technological safeguards. Fans are often willing to pay significant premiums over face value prices to secure coveted seats on the secondary market. This reflects true supply and demand pricing.
There are reasonable arguments on both sides of the Ticketmaster resale debate around fair access, market pricing, incentives created, and effects on consumers. But ultimately, the combination of consumer demand for tickets, StubHub’s facilitation of the secondary market, and challenges policing resale activity means Ticketmaster tickets will continue to be widely resold.