StubHub canceling order after "tickets sold below market value"

mschostok · April 2016

I bought a ticket for $88 on StubHub for MSG2 in section 202 (cheap, I know, I immediately pulled the trigger on it). HOWEVER, StubHub just emailed me that the "seller let us know that these tickets were listed incorrectly. Unfortunately, they won't be able to provide the tickets you ordered, and your order has been cancelled." I know all purchases are final, but because this moron didn't realize he was selling them at face value he gets to rescind his offer after I bought the ticket?

bootlegger10 · April 2016

I would think Stubhub should give you a free replacement ticket.

whoyouare72 · April 2016

That is bull f****** s*** I would call StubHub and raise hell

nothinasitseems · April 2016

what the hell?!

wall232 · April 2016

That is some bullshit.

DPrival78 · April 2016

wow.. fuck that

sorry, hope you get something worked out

EM194007 · April 2016

bootlegger10 said:
I would think Stubhub should give you a free replacement ticket.

Or at least a replacement for what he bought it for.

That's just wrong on StubHub's part.

mschostok · April 2016

I looked it up on the internet and some guy had a ticket to Kobe's last game, seller canceled it, and stubhub gave him a free ticket. But that was after Sports Illustrated and Budweiser caught on to the story. I'm pretty pissed nonetheless.

mschostok · April 2016

Also, bought the ticket 2 days ago. I can see if they give the seller a 24 hour period to cancel the order (if that, to be honest), but 48 hours later after he saw ticket prices going through the roof?

hihobibo · April 2016

Call stubhub, don't take their first offer, which is like a 20% refund. Ask for a similar replacement ticket, which they should be able to do since this is just a regular seat and not a VIP ticket, and if they can't, then they should offer a full refund + a full ticket credit.

That has happened to me a few times, and this is their typical script.

Weston1283 · April 2016

Wow, I didn't know stubhub was THAT low. Terrible.

bootlegger10 · April 2016

Weston1283 said:
Wow, I didn't know stubhub was THAT low. Terrible.

For 12.12.12 concert at MSG, I got sold a bogus ticket for $800 and Stubhub gave me a free ticket + refunded my $800. I would think with a phone call this person should be able to work something out with Stubhub.

kasedoug · April 2016

mschostok said:
I looked it up on the internet and some guy had a ticket to Kobe's last game, seller canceled it, and stubhub gave him a free ticket. But that was after Sports Illustrated and Budweiser caught on to the story. I'm pretty pissed nonetheless.

Was just about to mention this as I went to that game (Luckily won suite tix). A lot of people tried to jump on tickets immediately that Sunday back in November when the news broke that Kobe was retiring. It really sucks for you as the buyer as they should honor the price it was available at. Unfortunately, StubHub's in it to make $$$ just like the sellers are and gets a bigger fee cut at the higher prices. Seems like they're doing this more and more with in-demand events. Definitely given them less of my business in recent years in favor of a local broker that's always giving out and promoting discount codes.

JamIsGood · April 2016

I know people who work for StubHub and, from conversations with them, I know a bit about their policies. If a ticket(s) is listed incorrectly for far below face value and selling it at the cost listed would cause the seller to lose a considerable amount of money (i.e. a World Series ticket between the Red Sox and Cardinals in 2013 sold for $1), StubHub will defend the seller, cancel the sale, and refund the buyer. Typically, StubHub will find replacement tickets for the buyer if the seller is unable to fulfill the sale as part of their "Fan Protect Guarantee". If replacement tickets cannot be found within a similar price range (StubHub will replace them at a higher cost and charge the seller the difference if the seller is at fault), then StubHub will cancel the order and refund the buyer. Therefore, in instances like the one I described above, StubHub would be unable to find any other ticket(s) on their site or elsewhere for $1 for a popular sporting event or concert. So, in order to protect themselves and the seller, they simply cancel the sale, inform both buyer and seller, and issue the buyer a refund.

I can understand how this would be frustrating for the buyer if they thought they were getting a great deal. From what I understand, situations like the one described above are very rare. Keep searching OP and hopefully you'll find another ticket somewhere!

JamIsGood · April 2016

Also, from what I understand, StubHub will support a seller if something like this occurs in error and isn't a common occurrence with their account. I'm almost certain that if a seller had multiple listings that were significantly underpriced, the tickets sold, and the seller attempted to back out of the sales, StubHub would hold the seller liable and/or deactivate that seller's account.

mschostok · April 2016

Got a full refund, plus a $100 coupon for a ticket. Just got one in Section 225 row 11 for a really decent price. Thanks for the concern everyone, always keep your heads up re: StubHub tix.

SPEEDY MCCREADY · April 2016

mschostok said:
Got a full refund, plus a $100 coupon for a ticket. Just got one in Section 225 row 11 for a really decent price. Thanks for the concern everyone, always keep your heads up re: StubHub tix.

Right on!

bootlegger10 · April 2016

We all hate paying Stubhub fees, but they come through in the end at least.

AllNiteThing · April 2016

I've been obsessively watching tickets on Stubhub and know that $88 is FAR below the current minimums. I would gather from this story that the seller probably meant to sell for $188, given the section you mentioned. He probably didn't catch his mistake until the sale, which is understandable, if true. I would totally be pissed if I were in your shoes. Then again, I would be pissed if I were in his shoes. Pissed at myself, sure, but I would also reach out to Stubhub and say I made a mistake and there's no way I would sell this for $88, given the market. Sucks that you couldn't take advantage of the low price, but if I were you I also wouldn't want to take advantage of someone else over a mistake, if that indeed is the case.

Then again, if he complained not because of a mistake but because he realized he could make more money, well then he's a dick.

JamIsGood · April 2016

That is the one good thing about StubHub. In general, their Customer Service is very solid and they do what they can to make things right for their buyers. Glad to hear that you got a full refund and a $100 credit, OP. I'll be at MSG2 myself on Monday night so maybe I'll see you there

jjflash · April 2016

mschostok said:
Got a full refund, plus a $100 coupon for a ticket. Just got one in Section 225 row 11 for a really decent price. Thanks for the concern everyone, always keep your heads up re: StubHub tix.

AllNiteThing · April 2016

mschostok said:
Got a full refund, plus a $100 coupon for a ticket. Just got one in Section 225 row 11 for a really decent price. Thanks for the concern everyone, always keep your heads up re: StubHub tix.

Dude...that is awesome! I've always had a great experience with Stubhub. Glad to hear it worked out for you.

Ryan · April 2016

Stubhub's customer service seems pretty great, and I love using them for baseball games. Have never paid anywhere close to face value for baseball tickets.

branscop · April 2016

bootlegger10 said:

Weston1283 said:
Wow, I didn't know stubhub was THAT low. Terrible.
For 12.12.12 concert at MSG, I got sold a bogus ticket for $800 and Stubhub gave me a free ticket + refunded my $800. I would think with a phone call this person should be able to work something out with Stubhub.

Score!

PJ_Soul · April 2016

mschostok said:
Got a full refund, plus a $100 coupon for a ticket. Just got one in Section 225 row 11 for a really decent price. Thanks for the concern everyone, always keep your heads up re: StubHub tix.

That's good news! Terrible that this kind if thing can happen. I had no idea that stubhub sellersncould pull that.... Is this what happened to everyone who discovered they weren't getting the tix they paid for when they arrived for the superbowl (i think in Arizona??)?

walkunafraid · April 2016

kasedoug said:

mschostok said:
I looked it up on the internet and some guy had a ticket to Kobe's last game, seller canceled it, and stubhub gave him a free ticket. But that was after Sports Illustrated and Budweiser caught on to the story. I'm pretty pissed nonetheless.
Was just about to mention this as I went to that game (Luckily won suite tix). A lot of people tried to jump on tickets immediately that Sunday back in November when the news broke that Kobe was retiring. It really sucks for you as the buyer as they should honor the price it was available at. Unfortunately, StubHub's in it to make $$$ just like the sellers are and gets a bigger fee cut at the higher prices. Seems like they're doing this more and more with in-demand events. Definitely given them less of my business in recent years in favor of a local broker that's always giving out and promoting discount codes.

Hey, I was there too. Except I bought my tickets for $48 apiece before the season even started and they were still at regular price. Everyone told me to sell when tickets went up to $800 a pop for the furthest of the nosebleeds, but no way in hell was I going to do that. The experience ended up being more than worth every penny that I didn't make by completing that sale (about $1500), in my opinion.

walkunafraid · April 2016

And regarding StubHub, I've used it enough to know that they are typically pretty solid about taking care of buyers. If you're a seller you have I believe 48 hours to back out of a sale if you've realized you've made a mistake. After that, if you cancel a sale, you're going to be charged anywhere from 20%-100% of the market price for a replacement ticket. So it really is pretty rare to purchase a ticket and then have it pulled. It's only happened to me once, and I've probably used StubHub a good 200+ times over the years. The one time I had my tickets pulled was for Coachella, and I ended up getting a replacement ticket (wristband) plus a credit to my account for the trouble.

sherm · April 2016

mschostok said:
Got a full refund, plus a $100 coupon for a ticket. Just got one in Section 225 row 11 for a really decent price. Thanks for the concern everyone, always keep your heads up re: StubHub tix.

As someone that uses stubhub pretty frequently im happy to hear how that played out. Have been fortunate enough to never have an issue.

MayDay10 · April 2016

Something similar happened to me for the Baltimore 13 show. Stalked for a long time. Found a nice pair in the wings for a decent price... but the guy sold them elsewhere or something.

Because they were low price for the location, and pairs were somewhat scarce at that point, stubhub defaulted me to much worse seats at that price. I emailed and they reached out via phone. Was able to get 2 singles in the same area within a few seats of one another.

mschostok · April 2016

You guys are the shit, see you all on the road!

StubHub canceling order after "tickets sold below market value"

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