Is StubHub worth its inflated prices?
PRO: StubHub is just another example of capitalism, rather than a malicious way to make profit
These days, concert tours are the lifeblood of almost every musical artist. Although record sales are quickly becoming a thing of the past, very little could ever replace the excitement of actually seeing a great band play live.
Luckily for artists, fans still love to go see their favorite groups play — as long as they can overcome the large hurdle of obtaining a ticket.
In the past, acquiring a ticket meant calling or actually traveling to the venue’s box office, which could be a huge hassle. Now everything is just a click away. From massive arena shows to small clubs, getting a ticket is almost as easy as downloading a book on a Kindle — until they sell out, of course.
But that’s the name of the game, right? You win some, you lose some.
Again, not anymore. Great resale websites, such as StubHub.com, offer unsuccessful fans a second chance at a ticket.
For instance, if not for StubHub, I wouldn’t have been able to secure my dad’s birthday present last year: two tickets to a sold-out Furthur concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
On the other hand, I found out the day before New Year’s Eve last year I wouldn’t be able to attend the midnight concert — Lotus — I had been so excited for. Fortunately, I was able to scalp the ticket in less than three hours on StubHub without having to leave my desk chair.
There are as many stories of success with StubHub as there are stories of failure, but in the end, it’s better to have the option available than not.
Objections to the site and sites like it are everywhere. The biggest complaint is often levied at the role of professional scalpers in marking up ticket costs on StubHub to make a so-called “dirty buck.”
Even on the surface level, this is nothing more than standard capitalism: Someone online is holding a ticket at a certain price, and a buyer has to decide if the experience is worth the cost.
People upset by the pricing tend to point to the use of bots — proxy programs that can buy tickets automatically — and other tricky Internet tools as a way for scalpers to cheat and effectively rob people who want to go to the concert.
There’s no denying this kind of thing happens, but the reasons for price inflation on StubHub are more complicated than greed and have little to do with the perceived malice of sellers.
Infamously, when LCD Soundsystem announced its final show in 2011, there was a major problem on StubHub with the extreme overpricing of resale tickets. At first, pre-sale tickets being resold on StubHub were set to sell for between $100 and $200, but then prices suddenly inflated to an average of $500 when the tickets were released to the public.
While LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy’s tweets blamed bots and an apparently flawed StubHub system, many of those same tweets were posted before the tickets were officially on sale and may have artificially inflated the value of the tickets.
More importantly, it’s the industry standard for promoters of large shows — such as LCD’s closing ceremonies at Madison Square Garden — to sell marked-up tickets to brokers, aka professional scalpers, who then resell the tickets through sites such as StubHub. This way, the band can make more money, and the scalpers have to raise prices.
So while it’s very easy to blame phantom bots, mean scalpers and StubHub’s ethical principles as the reasons for an overpriced ticket, it’s a brash, unfair accusation.
Every system has its problems, from the pains of air travel to the redundancy of the Department of Motor Vehicles, but just like in those organizations, the benefits of StubHub and related sites outweigh the costs.
–Zachary Berman
CON: StubHub allows sellers to drive ticket prices to exorbitant levels, cheating fans out of shows
I write this view in honor of the concert-goer who refreshes the website exactly at noon to score coveted tickets to see her favorite band, only for tickets to sell out before the page has loaded. I write in honor of the fan who must choose between one unreasonably priced ticket from a secondary vendor or next month’s rent. I write because though I know scalping has been going on for years and won’t ever fully end, it is beyond frustrating that people other than the bands I love and the management and venues that help them come to play for me are able to take advantage of me and profit off my desperation.
To some extent, I know I cannot truly blame StubHub, the online ticket reselling platform that has helped buyers and sellers connect for countless shows. Long before the Internet, scalpers would wander around venues pre-show, offering fake tickets at jacked-up prices for sold-out shows. However, StubHub seems to have worsened the problem. Because the process is so easy — sellers no longer have to go to the show to sell their tickets — more and more people have turned to reselling tickets as a way to make quick cash. On top of this, the design of the website and the fact that StubHub takes a cut from both buyers and sellers allow ticket prices to go up even higher.
Celebrities find it frustrating as well. Last year, well-loved comedian Louis C.K. unveiled a plan to combat ticket scalping. He sold tickets from his own personal website and warned consumers that any ticket sold for above the going price of $45 would not be valid. He canceled and refunded any ticket that he saw was resold in an online market for more than that price and checked IDs at the door if scalping was suspected and the buyer was told to pick up the ticket at will call.
Most artists set ticket prices with their fans in mind, and though some will sell at the highest possible market value they can get away with in order to turn a larger profit, many will keep costs as low as possible to make their show accessible to everyone — not just the most desperate.
Many times, I’ve seen my favorite bands come and go while I sit idly at home, unable to afford the high price tag offered on StubHub. True, it’s my own fault for not getting tickets before they sold out, but what am I to do when my only chance falls within a 30-second window and those who get through are the ones with the fastest fingers or the best computer-hacking software? Maybe my chances would have been better if it weren’t for the hundreds who logged on solely to put their tickets back on the market for five times the price.
It may be time for all artists to follow in C.K.’s footsteps and take efforts beyond just limiting the number of tickets sold. Make tickets will-call only and be strict about IDs, or even have a ticket police force monitoring resale sites. It’s annoying for everyone involved, but it may be necessary to ensure whoever who is there hasn’t been ripped off. It’s time for shows to be accessible again.
–Kelsey Hughes
