StubHub

StubHub is a service which acts as an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events at fair market value, even for events that happen to be sold out. The company was founded in 2000 by Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr, former Stanford Business School students and investment bankers and is located in San Francisco, CA. [cite news
title=Frugality is this startup's ticket
publisher=Businessweek online
date=February 15, 2005
url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2005/tc20050215_4828_tc057.htm|accessdate=2006-06-08] Founder Eric Baker left StubHub in 2004 following a falling out with the company, and has started a new company viagogo. [cite news
last=Charny
first=Ben
title=Online ticket scalping comes to Europe
publisher=MarketWatch
date=August 17, 2006
url=http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/marketpulse/~3/14010097/pulseone.asp
accessdate=2006-08-17] StubHub was acquired by eBay in January 2007. [cite press release
url=http://investor.ebay.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=225333
title=eBay To Acquire Online Tickets Marketplace StubHub
date=January 10 2007
accessdate=03-02-2007
publisher=eBay]

Founder Eric Baker said, "I'm probably the one person from business school who decided to take his MBA and become a ticket scalper."citation
title=Admit Two: StubHub's founders want to take the worry out of getting close seats
first=Josh
last=Fried
journal=Stanford Magazine
publisher=Stanford Alumni Association
date=November/December, 2004
url=http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2004/novdec/dept/bright.html
accessdate=2006-06-08] Sellers post available tickets at any price they choose. Unlike other online ticket resellers, such as Craigslist (free) and eBay (up front price per listing), StubHub takes a 25% commission after the sale occurs (10% from the buyer, 15% from the seller). Sellers range from season ticket holders who want to unload tickets that would otherwise go unused to professional ticket brokers.

Operations

Using the StubHub website, a buyer may select from available tickets to an event. Stubhub charges a service fee of 10% of the purchase price of the tickets. A shipping and handling charge is then imposed and tickets are either shipped via FedEx Express or picked up the day of the event.

In total, StubHub earns 25% of the purchase price of every ticket sold: buyers pay 10% more than the listed price and sellers receive 15% less than their listed price. [cite news
title=Index Ventures Backs StubHub Clone
publisher=alarm:clock euro
date=August 18, 2006
url=http://www.thealarmclock.com/euro/archives/2006/08/index_ventures_backs_stubhub_c_1.html
accessdate=2008-01-18] [citation
last=Adams
first=Russell
title=Baseball-Playoff Seats Get Harder to Score
newspaper=Wall Street Journal
publisher=www.wsj.com
date=September 27, 2006
url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115932133147875112-JAb5hh_q9wTp8b2KnkMgZ_irono_20061026.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
accessdate=2008-01-18]

ports partnerships

StubHub has formal relationships with several professional teams and college sports programs.

*NFL: Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, and Washington Redskins.
*NBA: Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, Portland Trail Blazers, and New Jersey Nets.
*NHL: Washington Capitals and Phoenix Coyotes.
*"'NCAA [cite web
title=NCAA Basketball Tickets
url=http://www.stubhub.com/ncaa-basketball-tickets/
accessdate=2008-01-18] "': USC, Cal, Alabama, Georgetown, Stanford, Oregon State, Air Force, Rutgers, West Virginia, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Southern Miss, San Jose State, Purdue, St. John's and Arizona.

Starting with the 2008 season, Stubhub will become the official online provider of secondary tickets for Major League Baseball. [cite news
last=Newman
first=Mark
title=MLB partners with StubHub
publisher=mlb.com
date=August 2, 2007
url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070802&content_id=2125070&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb]

UFC began their relationship with StubHub in April 2008 with UFC 84 being the first event to officially have tickets available for selling or buying through the service. [http://www.ticketnews.com/node/2603]

Controversies

New York Yankees

In 2006, more than 100 New York Yankees season-ticket holders suspected of reselling their regular-season seats on StubHub received letters denying them the right to buy playoff tickets and barring them from buying season tickets for the 2007 season. [cite news
last=Sanderson
first=Bill
title=YANKEES SHUT OUT SEASON-TIX SCALPERS
publisher=nypost.com
date=September 23, 2006
url=http://web5.nypost.com/seven/09232006/news/regionalnews/yankees_shut_out_season_tix_scalpers_regionalnews_bill_sanderson.htm
accessdate=2008-01-18] [cite news
last=Sandomir
first=Richard
title=That Season Ticket on eBay? It Could Cost Seller the Seat
publisher=The New York Times
date=September 24, 2006
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/sports/baseball/24tickets.html
accessdate=2008-01-18]

New England Patriots

In 2006, the New England Patriots sued StubHub to bar it from reselling the team's tickets. The team reportedly filed the suit after fans showed up at games with phony or voided tickets bought over StubHub. While some were counterfeits, others were voided tickets sold by fans after they had their season-ticket privileges revoked. [citation
title=Tickets to big trouble: Pats sue StubHub over Internet
last=Van Voorhis
first=Scott
publisher=The Boston Herald
location=Boston, Mass.
pages=26
date=November 23, 2006
url=http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=168645] [citation
last= Reed
first=Keith
title=Patriots Sue Ticket Reseller in Effort to Fight Scalping
publisher=The Boston Globe
location=Boston, Mass.
pages=A1
date=November 23, 2006
url=http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/11/23/patriots_sue_ticket_reseller_in_effort_to_fight_scalping/?page=2
accessdate=2008-01-18] citation
last=Mohl
first=Bruce
title=Patriots play tough
newspaper=The Boston Globe
location=Boston, Mass.
date=December 3, 2006
pages=D1
url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/12/03/patriots_play_tough/
accessdate=2008-01-18] That problem, the Patriots argue, is worsened by a guarantee from StubHub that if tickets turn out to be fraudulent, the website will find alternate accommodations for the buyer. "Our experience is that as the listings on StubHub have increased, so also have the number of people who show up at the stadium with invalid tickets."

On July 6, 2007, a Suffolk Superior Court judge allowed StubHub to proceed with its lawsuit against the New England Patriots. [citation
last=Mohl
first=Bruce
title=Ticket-sales suit against Patriots gets green light
newspaper=The Boston Globe
date=July 7, 2007
url=http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/07/07/ticket_sales_suit_against_patriots_gets_green_light/
accessdate=2008-01-18] Stubhub is accusing the Patriots of attempted monopolization, conspiracy to restrain trade and unfair trade practices.

On October 19, 2007, a court upheld an order forcing StubHub to turn over a list of every New England Patriots Season Ticket Holder since 2002 that had used the site. The Patriots have stated that they may strip the season ticket holders of their seats. [citation
last=Mohl
first=Bruce
newspaper=The Boston Globe
title= Patriots get StubHub users' names
date=October 19, 2007
url=http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/10/19/patriots_get_stubhub_users_names
accessdate=2008-01-18]

Anti-scalping legislation

In 38 states, reselling event tickets is legal, so long as the sale does not take place at the event site. The other 12 states have varying degrees of regulation, including registration requirements and maximum markups. Stubhub, Ticketmaster, TicketNetwork, and others have begun to lobby state legislatures to repeal or modify the stricter anti-scalping laws. In Florida, Stubhub made over $6,500 in campaign donations to members of the state legislature in support of a 2006 bill to amend Florida's 61-year old anti-scalping laws. Many consumers, as well as lobbyists for the leisure and entertainment industries were opposed to the bill, and claimed it will drive up prices for consumers while hurting their share of the ticket market. [citation
title=Bill lifts restrictions on ticket resale prices
first=Sarah
last=Talalay
first2=Sean
last2=Piccoli
newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel
location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida
date=May 2, 2006
url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/1030183591.html?dids=1030183591:1030183591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+2%2C+2006&author=Sarah+Talalay+and+Sean+Piccoli+Staff+Writers+Tallahassee+Bureau+Chief+Linda+Kleindienst+and+staff+researchers+Barbara+Hijek+and+Jeremy+Milarksy+contributed+to+this+report.&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=8.B&desc=BILL+LIFTS+RESTRICTIONS+ON+TICKET+RESALE+PRICES] [citation
title=The scalpers in Tallahassee
author=Editorial
newspaper=The Ledger
location= Lakeland, Florida
date=June 6, 2006
url=http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/NEWS/606060307/1036
accessdate=2006-06-08]

References

ee also

*Ticket resale
*Ticket summit

External links

* [http://www.stubhub.com Official site]
* [http://www.stub-hub.ca Canadian site]