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People used to view ticket reselling unfavorably. The mere mention of the word scalping brings to mind shady characters loitering on street corners, selling concert tickets for a higher price to people who could not get one for themselves before they sold out. Keep in mind ticket reselling is different than scalping, which is illegal in many places.
How To Sell Concert Tickets: Online
Here are the eight best steps to take when you want to sell concert tickets online.
- Step 1: Choose your preferred online ticketing platform or resale website.
- Step 2: Create an account or register on the site.
- Step 3: Post your ticket listing.
- Step 4: Research other listings to make your sale price competitive.
- Step 5: Select a payment method such as PayPal, credit card or physical check.
- Step 6: Use your social media to promote your ticket listing.
- Step 7: Once purchased, transfer ownership of the ticket to the buyer.
- Step 8: When a sale is finalized, remove that listing.
Good To Know
Ticket reselling, which is mainly done online, means you buy concert or event tickets at a lower price and then sell them at a higher sale price to earn a profit. It could also mean ticket brokering or touting. You buy concert tickets from a licensed seller, such as a concert organizer, in bulk, and then resell them at a higher price.
How To Sell Concert Tickets: Ticketing Platforms
You can always do a ticket resale on Craigslist and eBay, but here are some websites dedicated explicitly to ticket buying and selling.
StubHub
StubHub is one of the most popular resale sites. You can list your tickets on the website for free. However, StubHub charges a commission fee slightly higher than other resale options when you do sell a ticket.
Despite that, StubHub is a great option since it gets a ton of visitors. Here’s how to sell concert tickets on StubHub:
- Step 1: Search for the show you want to sell tickets for.
- Step 2: When the event pops up in the search result, click the “Sell” button. It will be next to the venue.
- Step 3: You will have to create a StubHub account at this point. Some questions you need to answer include the number of tickets you have in your possession and whether you would ship or email them.
- Step 4: Once you have done this, set a price for the tickets. There are two options for this; declining price and fixed price. The latter is self-explanatory, but if you pick the declining price option, StubHub will slowly lower your tickets’ cost as the event approaches to keep them competitive.
- Step 5: Finally, you have to choose the payment method.
SeatGeek
You can also sell concert tickets on SeatGeek. The process is explained below:
- Step 1: On the website’s home page, sign up to make an account.
- Step 2: Go to the “My Tickets” section.
- Step 3: At the top of the page, you will see a link to upload tickets. Upload PDFs of the tickets to your account.
- Step 4: Go to the event page and look for the event you are selling tickets for.
- Step 5: Click “Sell Tickets” on the details page.
How To Sell Your Concert Tickets: At Venue
Selling concert tickets at a venue is only okay on a case-by-case basis. Here are steps you can take to do so if you have permission statewide to sell at that location.
- Step 1: Research local and state laws to make sure reselling is allowed.
- Step 2: Be flexible with your ticket pricing to ensure you’ll sell it before the show.
- Step 3: Make sure to arrive early at the venue hours before the event starts.
- Step 4: Choose a visible and high-traffic location to sell so people can find you easily.
- Step 5: Make the exchange, ticket for cash, Venmo or PayPal, simultaneously.
How Is Ticket Scalping Different?
Ticket scalping is often illegal since scalpers do not abide by local laws governing the sale of tickets. Scalping is sometimes referred to as a black market. However, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two, as explained by SeatGeek’s former director of growth and communication, Will Flaherty.
He says, “The lines are blurring between a professional scalper and someone who sells their tickets. Back in the day, brokers would have to fax each other updated inventories. Now, that information is readily available to sellers online.”
Final Take
Ticket reselling can be profitable, although it might not seem so to some people. After all, why would someone buy a ticket for $1,000 when it was being sold for $700 earlier? Well on the one hand, if the concert tickets are for a famous artist, they sell out quickly as fans who need help getting their hands on tickets are ready to buy them at a higher price to hear their favorite artist live. On the other, if there is a last-minute rush for an event, people hurry to buy tickets and are willing to pay resellers a higher price.
FAQ
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding selling concert tickets.
- What is the best way to sell concert tickets?
- The easiest way to sell tickets is either at the venue if you have permission or online through a ticketing platform such as SeatGeek, StubHub or VividSeats.
- Is reselling concert tickets illegal?
- Ticket reselling is a legal trade that takes place in compliance with local or federal laws. The reseller buys these tickets from a licensed seller who is compliant with any ticket-selling regulations in the jurisdiction whether they are extra tickets, online tickets or season tickets.
- Why won't Ticketmaster let you sell tickets?
- Ticketmaster does not allow fan-to-fan sales on every event. If there is no option to resell it means it is not authorized by the event organizer.
- Is it better to sell tickets on Ticketmaster or StubHub?
- Ticketmaster offers great ease of use for those who have purchased tickets through the platform. StubHub is good for tickets bought from any platform as their process offers more flexibility.
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Lydia Kibet contributed to the reporting for this article.
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