Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Let’s face it. Tickets to a hot event are usually expensive. Luckily, you can get tickets at a reduced price, often from people who can no longer go to that concert or game but they don’t want to lose the money that they paid for the ticket. One such site is StubHub and we talk frankly about who this site is, how it works and whether you can trust them.
Who is StubHub?
StubHub is a US-based company that facilitates the resale of tickets. Any tickets. If you really want a certain ticket but all the usual sellers are sold out, then StubHub might offer you the chance to pick up a gem. Indeed, many sellers appreciate the chance to sell a ticket that they can no longer use (although undoubtedly some might use the site to make a profit).
StubHub is, in essence, the middleman between sellers and buyers. It provides a marketplace to list tickets and services to make payment and delivery easier.
How Big is StubHub?
These days, StubHub claims to be one of the biggest – if not the largest – ticket marketplaces on the web. When you look at the statistics, it is not hard to see why! The company has been going strong for roughly 20 years and it sells millions of tickets every year in over 50 countries.
Is StubHub a Legit Site to Buy Tickets?
StubHub is a genuine company and yes, the good news is that they are legitimate. Its original parent company was eBay and StubHub also works in partnership with hundreds of organizations and performers, furthering its legitimacy. In other words, you can view StubHub as a dependable site.
However, an honest marketplace and honest sellers are two different things. Needless to say, where there is demand, there will always be scammers – and the world of tickets is no different. StubHub offers two ways to receive your new tickets and one of them is not reliable. Let’s have a look at both options.
Option 1: Download Your Ticket
This is the safest option. HubStub has a filter that allows you to search for tickets that are instantly available. These are the printables. Once you find something, you can pay and immediately print your tickets. It is that easy!
Option 2: Email or Shipping
When you have to wait for the seller to send you the tickets, things can slow down or get really dodgy. Some sellers might not even have the tickets when they list them, so be careful if you decide to use this option.
What Sets StubHub Apart From Other Online Ticket Brokers?
StubHub is not a bunch of scalpers. The latter has a bad reputation for forging tickets and you don’t want to get turned away at the gate of your favorite sporting event. StubHub is one of the few online ticket brokers that guarantee the legitimacy of their tickets. In other words, when you buy a ticket from StubHub, they claim that you are getting the real thing.
That being said, there are reports from reviewers who claimed that they were indeed turned away at the gate because the tickets had issues. Some were apparently forgeries or the tickets matched the event but not the right time for that particular show.
Does StubHub Have Extra Fees for Buyers?
Yes. In order to work as a business, they do charge fees. Buyers can expect an extra charge at the checkout point, which is usually a percentage of what the ticket costs. You can expect this percentage to be around 10%.
The company has also faced backlash because this fee can sometimes rise to as high as 27%. Needless to say, if you are buying more than one ticket to an event, the total cost can be disheartening.
Does StubHub Have Buyer Protection?
StubHub has buyer protection. Called the FanProtect guarantee, the site will fully reimburse you under the following conditions.
- The ticket’s delivery was so delayed that you missed the event.
- The ticket is not valid for the event described in the listing.
- The seller purposefully misrepresented the ticket.
Keep in mind that you cannot return a ticket when there is nothing wrong with it. In other words, if your ticket was delivered in time, is valid for the listed event and the seller was honest about everything, HubStub will not accept returns. So, think carefully before you buy. Buyer’s remorse is not on the list of things that allow the reversal of a sale!
What Happens if My Event Gets Cancelled After I Buy Tickets?
This is a genuine concern for everyone who buys tickets, no matter where you buy them from. But when it comes to StubHub, the company has a generous policy when events are cancelled.
The site will offer you two choices. The first is a cash refund. You can also choose to receive 120% credit instead to spend on your next tickets. Keep in mind that StubHub only offers this great service if the event is not rescheduled. You cannot get a refund or credit when the event is rescheduled and you choose not to go.
If you really don’t want to go to the rescheduled event, you always have the option to resell your ticket at StubHub!
What Can Sellers Expect at StubHub?
StubHub also extends a user-friendly hand toward sellers. As long as you have a legitimate ticket, you are allowed to use the site. Creating a listing is free. However, once the ticket is sold you can expect to pay a seller’s fee to StubHub. This is usually 15% of the ticket’s total worth. If you don’t like chatty buyers, StubHub might be your dream marketplace – they also handle all communications with buyers.
Just make sure that the original seller of your ticket is fine with a re-sale. In 2006, about 100 people sold New York Yankees tickets on StubHub. Not amused, the baseball club send them letters informing them of a ban that prevented these fans from purchasing 2006 playoff tickets and 2007 season tickets. Yikes.
How Good is StubHub’s Customer Service?
On paper and in practice, StubHub has a good reputation. They have great policies in place to protect their buyers and resolve any issues. Sometimes, customers get the help that they need but this is not always the case. Buyers and sellers alike have reported unhelpful customer service reps or lukewarm responses to urgent concerns.
If you want to dive deeper into this, check out what people have experienced with StubHub at TrustPilot.com.
Our Final Verdict
We found several things to love about StubHub. It offers buyers a great opportunity to get tickets and sellers can recoup losses for an event they can no longer attend. We appreciate the user-friendly processes that are in place for listing and purchasing tickets, the many countries StubHub operates in as well as their reasonable refund policies.
However, we are concerned about the multiple buyers who are not happy with this site. With a company this large, it is understandable that there will be a big number of customers with complaints – and compliments. That being said, many of these clients have undergone experiences like being turned away at concerts for faulty tickets and customer service that refuse to give refunds.