WSJ reports customer service issues at StubHub
The WSJ recently reported that StubHub customer service has taken a serious hit, and as a result, a proposed class-action lawsuit is in the wind. The article points to a large increase in complaints and a reduced support budget that looks suspiciously related to improving their bottom line in advance of their September 2025 IPO. It hasn’t got better for World Cup customers this summer – read the article in the WSJ to get all the details.
I know StubHub well. I end up buying a lot of my tickets from third parties – roughly half of my 129 games so far. It isn’t my first stop though. The first thing I do is to reach out to my network of fans. Those school “contacts” are my best source for tickets. Twenty-three times I have gone to that well, and eighteen times I have come away with free tickets. Talk about your friends and family discount!
If that comes up empty, I start doing my research. I will go to the individual school websites to see prices and ticket availability. I then go to third party sites to see what those prices look like. Over the years, a couple of constants have become clear.
Unless they are playing a cupcake, most Power Four schools will be sold out. Surprisingly, even then, the third-party premium I have been paying has been around eight dollars. Excluding the five games (Auburn, Clemson, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Utah) where I have paid $100 (or more) premium over face value, I have averaged a ~$12 discount with the likes of Seatgeek, etc.
The second constant is that there’s little to no value to be found when buying Group of Five tickets from third parties. The fan base is so small, they often don’t even try to sell their tickets through third parties. An even worse case is a venue where the fan base is particularly committed and the venue is small. James Madison is like that. After seeing their online prices rival those of the Big Ten and SEC, I realized I had to carefully plan out purchasing my tickets to see the Dukes.
Still, smaller schools are almost always cheaper. Over the last fifteen years, I have averaged about $16 a ticket bought directly from a school versus $27 for something online. These days though, even a small school is probably going to run you $25. The other thing that has gone away is the role of the scalper. I used to use them all the time, averaging a $10 discount over the face value of the ticket. And despite security concerns, only once (out of twenty-six purchases) did I buy a fake ticket. Likewise, I have only had a couple of bad experiences with online purchases.
Of the six that I have used, StubHub has been my go-to. They have been a fairly reliable vendor. The biggest issue I have had with StubHub was with re-selling. I don’t sell tickets often, but sometimes I might buy four tickets to get a discount. Smaller schools do some nice four-pack promos with free food and souvenirs. In the past, I have resold some of those tickets. Hard to believe that a free hotdog and soda was not enough incentive for someone to buy our fourth ticket for Kent State at Miami O.
To be fair, I was not blameless in my StubHub selling issue. Attempting to resell a parking pass three hours before kickoff and after four beers was not likely going to result in a seamless sale. The whole thing was complicated by ludicrous supply chain. These passes went from Mizzou via Ticketmaster to Stubhub to me. Trying to reverse that chain and complete that sale proved to be impossible in the short time before kickoff.
StubHub dinged me for the sloppy and failed attempt to deliver the parking pass. After a few attempts to resolve the issue with the sparse Stubhub support staff, I just gave up. I figure it was karma for leaving someone in the lurch. I did cancel the sale but it took nearly an hour to realize StubHub wasn’t coming to the rescue. Nonetheless, for big ticket purchases I have limited concerns with either StubHub or Seatgeek.
Some free advice
Heed my warning, do not wait until the last minute to get your tickets. While I have certainly made ticket repurchases right before kickoff (in one case after being ghosted by a drunk Florida frat boy), I find that locking tickets down a couple of hours before game time is best. Prices have settled down and it leaves you enough time to jump through the virtual downloading hoops. From lost cell service to e-tickets locked in seller’s wallets, things can and do go wrong. It makes me long for the days of haggling with the scalpers in parking lots.
Clearly, I will roll the dice on tickets from time to time, but you need to know when to put down the bones and pick up the bills. And some general advice, getting singles and pairs of tickets late is easy but buying for any larger group is problematic. If you are being constrained by a group seating requirement, it is best to pay the premium and get those tickets early.
Speaking of getting tickets early, I did manage to get some 2028 Olympic tickets in the latest drop. They aren’t cheap but like a lot of folks, I am treating it as a once in a lifetime event. The most galling thing though is the amount of service fees. I bought seven tickets covering three events and those fees totaled over $300. That’s almost as much as I paid to see Colorado play Nebraska.
That’s right, I paid $395 to see the Huskers smack Dion Sanders and his Buff’s 28-10. A grim reminder that we all pay too much once and awhile. But right now, I am looking good. Two weeks before the season starts, and the tickets for my first three games are safely in hand, all at face value.
Enjoy the last couple weeks, the college football season is right around the corner.
Tree
