"The Surreal Story of StubHub Screwing Over a Kobe Fan"

[eaglescubs555]

Worth a read if you all have a chance. Screw StubHub.


TheLead Sports » The Surreal Story of StubHub Screwing Over a Kobe Fan (http://www.theleadsports.com/the-surreal-story-of-stubhub-screwing-over-a-kobe-fan/)

[JMarchand1981]

I have never used stub hub.

[bjho852]

I have never used stub hub.

x2 here.
Never used....and never will after this story!

[JMarchand1981]

x2 here.
Never used....and never will after this story!

Bingo. I have never had an issue getting tickets.

[CALVINXLIONSX81]

Not going to stop me from using the biggest and safest ticket re-sale on the internet. Not good, but StubHub does everything in their power to guarantee the fan gets a ticket.

I'll give you a good story about StubHub. Last year I bought tickets to the Lions vs. Bears game in Chicago for $150 each, end of row, 50 yard line, row 4. The seller never sent the tickets, instead of receiving a refund in this case StubHub gave us comparable tickets at any price, the catch is that the original seller who didn't send the tickets gets stuck with the bill. So in the end we sat on the 50 yard line, row 1, end of row for the same price, however, the seller had to shell out $500 per ticket.

Again to reiterate, one bad story doesn't take away from the loads of good ones I've heard about StubHub, the above was the only problem I've ever experienced with StubHub.

[xavieronly1]

Better than eBay. The same situation would only result that the seller gets negative feedback without paying the 10% fee. And as a buyer, we don't get any $100 coupon for next purchase.

Wait.... We still use eBay right?

[hychang5]

Calvin did you even read the story? The point is sellers can exploit a loophole when tickets they are selling appreciate drastically.

[NickM]

Better than eBay. The same situation would only result that the seller gets negative feedback without paying the 10% fee. And as a buyer, we don't get any $100 coupon for next purchase.

Wait.... We still use eBay right?

Bingo.

[hychang5]

If we're talking about Ebay then no, it's not the same. If you purchase tickets on eBay, the tickets are transferred to you or physically sent to you. The point of the article is that even when you "buy" ticket, the seller still has ownership of tickets and can cancel the sell and just eat a 20% fee of original sale price.

[NickM]

If we're talking about Ebay then no, it's not the same. If you purchase tickets on eBay, the tickets are transferred to you or physically sent to you. The point of the article is that even when you "buy" ticket sm the seller still has ownership of tickets and can cancel the sell and just eat a 20% fee of original sale price.

Never seen a ticket seller fail to deliver on ebay?

[Airforce777]

I have never had any issues with stubhub and have been buying my tickets there for many many years. For stubhub to allow the seller to back out like with just a little slap on the hand is ridiculous. Bad sellers like that in the hobby and ticket exchange places make me sick, I feel for the buyer that got royally screwed here.

[hychang5]

Never seen a ticket seller fail to deliver on ebay?

Okay I'll bite, tell me how a seller on eBay can get his tickets back a month after selling and delivering tickets? Yes a seller can fail to deliver tickets, but this is as if someone bought tickets on eBay, the tickets were transferred, then seller somehow managed to cancel transaction and get tickets back. This is a story about about how seller can exploit a flaw in the system of stubhub should sold tickets skyrocket.

So no, not bingo.

[yiguiri2002]

Okay I'll bite, tell me how a seller on eBay can get his tickets back a month after selling and delivering tickets? Yes a seller can fail to deliver tickets, but this is as if someone bought tickets on eBay, the tickets were transferred, then seller somehow managed to cancel transaction and get tickets back. This is a story about about how seller can exploit a flaw in the system of stubhub should sold tickets skyrocket.

So no, not bingo.

You forgot that this happened a month after buying them.

[shindo03]

Horrible.... just horrible.

[hychang5]

You forgot that this happened a month after buying them.

How can you quote me and not see that I mentioned the period of a month right the quote? Lol

[yiguiri2002]

How can you quote me and not see that I mentioned the period of a month right the quote? Lol

My bad lol. Read too fast.

[celtics]

Moral of the story is you shouldn't be a Kobe fan...

[NickM]

Okay I'll bite, tell me how a seller on eBay can get his tickets back a month after selling and delivering tickets? Yes a seller can fail to deliver tickets, but this is as if someone bought tickets on eBay, the tickets were transferred, then seller somehow managed to cancel transaction and get tickets back. This is a story about about how seller can exploit a flaw in the system of stubhub should sold tickets skyrocket.

So no, not bingo.

The point is that the tickets weren't actually transferred.

[jifengjeff]

Am i the only one using Ticketmaster here……?

[domin824]

Moral of the story is you shouldn't be a Kobe fan...

Screw the leps!

[jbrandonw]

Looks like some other ticket place ended up giving him tickets to that game, so thats a win,win. Dude gets the tickets he wanted for free, and that ticket place is gonna get some great publicity.

[eaglescubs555]

https://twitter.com/StubHub/status/684906796813697024


Love how they can correct it AFTER it hits some big sports blogs. LOL.

[kyleuk21]

Stubhub sucks. Wayyyyyy too expensive. eBay only for sporting events. Best seats for the cheapest prices of you look for them within two weeks of the game. I'll never use anything else for my tix.

[TarjetasBéisbol]

I use stubhub and ticketmaster and have never had any negative experiences. This is just one instance of a bad seller that went viral.

[byronscott4ever]

The way it's going, Kobe might be hurt again by then but still, cmon seller!

[shaner1]

Joke of a company. Making things right now, after the public backlash, makes them look even more like a joke. Fix it without the backlash and you are honorable. Now....joke.

[spinotron]

It's funny. I got the opposite experience.

I went to ticketmasters immediately after I heard Kobe's season end retirement news and bought a pair of tickets at section of player's entry tunnel for 500 each (on ticket exchange, the secondary market there). After three hours, I got email notification that tickets are not available. Then I went to stubhub to get a pair for around 1k each for a more central seating. Now tickets are 2000++. Maybe not enough hassle for sellers to back out, and most sellers might have integrity. But I'll get nervous when the event is getting near and prices keep shooting up.

[hychang5]

The point is that the tickets weren't actually transferred.

Yeah, so not like eBay. It's a flaw in the system, that's the point.

[SteveO21]

Not going to stop me from using the biggest and safest ticket re-sale on the internet. Not good, but StubHub does everything in their power to guarantee the fan gets a ticket.

I'll give you a good story about StubHub. Last year I bought tickets to the Lions vs. Bears game in Chicago for $150 each, end of row, 50 yard line, row 4. The seller never sent the tickets, instead of receiving a refund in this case StubHub gave us comparable tickets at any price, the catch is that the original seller who didn't send the tickets gets stuck with the bill. So in the end we sat on the 50 yard line, row 1, end of row for the same price, however, the seller had to shell out $500 per ticket.

Again to reiterate, one bad story doesn't take away from the loads of good ones I've heard about StubHub, the above was the only problem I've ever experienced with StubHub.

StubHub did nothing admirable here. They did their job, and still ended up making money off the transaction.

[tke1600]

Stubhub (and now NFLticketexchange) are the worst companies on the planet. They prey on their ease of use and marketing tactics to totally rip off the buyer and the seller to no end. I believe it costs 25-35% in fees in total for every ticket sold after the seller and buyer fees. They are nothing more than an ebay type marketplace yet they are 2.5-3.5X ebay's 10% fee for an intangible and even non-physical delivery service!

I am shocked that they allow tickets to be "taken back" if they seller doesn't want to sell even weeks/months later. I had no idea, as I usually purchase tickets within 24 hours of an event. Basically the article sums it up that if the seller can get more than his 20% fine, he can just screw they buyer and take them back at anytime. SUCH A SHAM PROVISION BY AN ALREADY CORRUPT COMPANY.

[CALVINXLIONSX81]

Calvin did you even read the story? The point is sellers can exploit a loophole when tickets they are selling appreciate drastically.

Yes, I read the story, but this doesn't happen often. This only happened twice within the space of two years because you had two generational talents stepping away from the game. It's a bad look on StubHub's part but people aren't just going to stop buying tickets from them.


StubHub did nothing admirable here. They did their job, and still ended up making money off the transaction.

Completely disagree, they could of easily just refunded and said good luck finding tickets but they didn't.

[xavieronly1]

No one compares to the system same as ebay. I just compared the fact that seller will find every flaw in every system to get away from it. The common part is that bad people will do bad stuff regardless what the system is, even in BO box break.

I give you 2 examples in ebay selling:

1) I sell a QB card on a night before Superbowl. I get your money on Sat night, but I can't ship out not until Monday. On that Superbowl, that QB throws 10 TDs, and his card jumps up x3. As a bad seller, I can back out the deal, and you get nothing from ebay.

2) I sell a pre-order cases on ebay today. The cases are not going to release not until summer 2016. In May, Panini says there will be MJ auto in every pack. The case jumps up x10. As a bad seller, I can back out the deal, and you get nothing from ebay.

Lastly (which is my main point), people will continue to use ebay even the policy does not punish those bad sellers hard enough. One reason is that, we don't use Stubhub on a weekly/daily basis. We use ebay every single day. People take firm action (i.e. boycott) for thing that they have choices like buying ticket on Ticketmaster or ebay or official team website. For cards, you really have no choice. You continue to use ebay even though ebay gives you nothing when the seller back out the deal.

So...Starting today, is anyone going to boycott ebay for the same reason that you don't want to buy from Stubhub?

[hychang5]

On eBay, you can't take a product back after it's been delivered a month later. In this case the tickets should change ownership as soon as it's been bought and paid for, that's the system. You put up tickets for a price, stubhub is supposed to take care of the rest, once sold those are not your tickets anymore. This was not the case and the seller exploited it. Pre-sales and talking about a product not delivered yet is not the same.

[Cactuspies]

sounds like generation cupcake at it's finest to me. if it was a concert and the singer/band cancelled then same thing: cancel-refund. How would he have flipped the tickets if he never had them? Shouldn't he have had the actual ticket or the e-ticket? that is not explained. I've never used SH so I don't know how it works like that.

it's the super bowl all over again. people got screwed out of tickets, places like stubhub had to dish out tons of refunds or pony up much more for tickets.

if kobe was put on season ending IR and wouldn't be playing then, would he have kept those tickets? Would this even be an issue? I doubt it.

the run around and cookie cutter emails from SH are not that good but the buyers reaction and emails are not very well thought out either and come off as negative and angry.

SH states right away it was the seller error, not theirs. I know we all can figure out what happened which is what the buyer does state.

boo hoo

[xavieronly1]

On eBay, you can't take a product back after it's been delivered a month later. In this case the tickets should change ownership as soon as it's been bought and paid for, that's the system. You put up tickets for a price, stubhub is supposed to take care of the rest, once sold those are not your tickets anymore. This was not the case and the seller exploited it. Pre-sales and talking about a product not delivered yet is not the same.

Then how do people flip tickets if you don't have them after you buy them?

[SteveO21]

sounds like generation cupcake at it's finest to me. if it was a concert and the singer/band cancelled then same thing: cancel-refund. How would he have flipped the tickets if he never had them? Shouldn't he have had the actual ticket or the e-ticket? that is not explained. I've never used SH so I don't know how it works like that.

it's the super bowl all over again. people got screwed out of tickets, places like stubhub had to dish out tons of refunds or pony up much more for tickets.

if kobe was put on season ending IR and wouldn't be playing then, would he have kept those tickets? Would this even be an issue? I doubt it.

the run around and cookie cutter emails from SH are not that good but the buyers reaction and emails are not very well thought out either and come off as negative and angry.

SH states right away it was the seller error, not theirs. I know we all can figure out what happened which is what the buyer does state.

boo hoo

Is the buyer supposed to be positive and happy about not getting what he purchased?

Say you buy a card on ebay of Joe Blow for $5, then before you receive said card Joe Blow becomes the hottest thing in the hobby and that card is now valued at $500, but instead of honoring the original sale the seller (along with ebay's assistance) reneges on the deal and refunds your $5, then sells the card for $500. The seller and ebay both make exponentially more money on the deal and you're left sitting there with your junk in your hand. Would you not be "negative and angry" about that?

[mgsenny]

sounds like generation cupcake at it's finest to me. if it was a concert and the singer/band cancelled then same thing: cancel-refund. How would he have flipped the tickets if he never had them? Shouldn't he have had the actual ticket or the e-ticket? that is not explained. I've never used SH so I don't know how it works like that.

it's the super bowl all over again. people got screwed out of tickets, places like stubhub had to dish out tons of refunds or pony up much more for tickets.

if kobe was put on season ending IR and wouldn't be playing then, would he have kept those tickets? Would this even be an issue? I doubt it.

the run around and cookie cutter emails from SH are not that good but the buyers reaction and emails are not very well thought out either and come off as negative and angry.

SH states right away it was the seller error, not theirs. I know we all can figure out what happened which is what the buyer does state.

boo hoo

Really? So you're saying if you paid for something, received it, and then were told you can't have it anymore you wouldn't be upset?

Generation Cupcake must include everyone because I'm pretty sure nobody would be happy with the situation this guy experienced.

[ewilkens]

Stubhub > Seatgeek > TicketExchange

I frequently sell tickets on Stubhub (occasionally buy, but less frequently) and their interface, popularity and pricing is better than all the competitors. Yes, this example sucks. Badly. Their customer service in this case was a giant let down. But I don't see it as truly indicative of all Stubhub experiences.

I would like to see them make what should be a simple fix though. When the tickets are sold, they are transferred. So then the seller can't cancel the listing.

[rttrffg2012]

I've had a few positive experiences with Stub hub, but the one story is absolutely disgusting.
I would definitely advise friends and family to think hard before buying tickets with them.

[Cactuspies]

Is the buyer supposed to be positive and happy about not getting what he purchased?

Say you buy a card on ebay of Joe Blow for $5, then before you receive said card Joe Blow becomes the hottest thing in the hobby and that card is now valued at $500, but instead of honoring the original sale the seller (along with ebay's assistance) reneges on the deal and refunds your $5, then sells the card for $500. The seller and ebay both make exponentially more money on the deal and you're left sitting there with your junk in your hand. Would you not be "negative and angry" about that?

Really? So you're saying if you paid for something, received it, and then were told you can't have it anymore you wouldn't be upset?

Generation Cupcake must include everyone because I'm pretty sure nobody would be happy with the situation this guy experienced.

if he had the tickets how did they get taken back a month later? I think what is missing is when the tickets were to be delivered and how. he may have paid for them, but did he have them? Sure the seller did wrong, stubhub is a computer like ebay help and people are not involved right away and how does the computer know that kobe retired and prices are now xxxx instead of xx?
if the tickets exchanged hands then yes I'd be pissed off and can see the issue. if the tickets never changed hands then oh well.

btw the ebay example happens every day and the seller will get negative feedback and the buyer will get squat. on the same note, the player gets hurt, and the price goes down so then 180 days later the seller has to take a return because of ebay/paypal policy

how is what happened any different than a shady seller on ebay not delivering on presells?

[SteveO21]

if he had the tickets how did they get taken back a month later? I think what is missing is when the tickets were to be delivered and how. he may have paid for them, but did he have them? Sure the seller did wrong, stubhub is a computer like ebay help and people are not involved right away and how does the computer know that kobe retired and prices are now xxxx instead of xx?
if the tickets exchanged hands then yes I'd be pissed off and can see the issue. if the tickets never changed hands then oh well.

btw the ebay example happens every day and the seller will get negative feedback and the buyer will get squat. on the same note, the player gets hurt, and the price goes down so then 180 days later the seller has to take a return because of ebay/paypal policy

how is what happened any different than a shady seller on ebay not delivering on presells?

It's not different. It's equally screwed up. Problem is, you're acting like the buyer shouldn't be upset about it and calling him a crybaby for being upset.

Also, the whole "computer doesn't know Kobe retired" nonsense is ignoring the fact that Kobe didn't announce his retirement until almost 3 weeks after the guy bought the tickets. There wasn't a mistake on the original sale price. The "mistake" was that the seller/Stubhub realized they sold too soon and missed out on a bunch of money so they reneged on the deal.

[Bryanjs14]

This is, in reality, on the seller of the tickets and not StubHub...although their policies allowed the seller of the tickets to take advantage of a loophole.

I ONLY buy tickets on StubHub that are instantly available for download or for mailing. From the sounds of it, the buyer bought tickets that had a "guaranteed to arrive by" date later down the road (meaning the seller did not have to deliver the tickets until that date), and because of this, it gave the seller a chance to back out since he had weeks or months to change his mind. I also sell on StubHub, and I always upload PDF's of my tickets so that the second someone buys them, they get them.

Bottom line, if you want complete safety, only buy tickets that are instantly available for download or can be picked up or shipped the same day you purchase. Anytime you give someone weeks or months to get you something, they could have a change of mind.

[xavieronly1]

It's not different. It's equally screwed up. Problem is, you're acting like the buyer shouldn't be upset about it and calling him a crybaby for being upset.

Also, the whole "computer doesn't know Kobe retired" nonsense is ignoring the fact that Kobe didn't announce his retirement until almost 3 weeks after the guy bought the tickets. There wasn't a mistake on the original sale price. The "mistake" was that the seller/Stubhub realized they sold too soon and missed out on a bunch of money so they reneged on the deal.

I doubt Stubhub cares the extra thousand earning from fee. The whole greed comes from the seller.

[Cactuspies]

This is, in reality, on the seller of the tickets and not StubHub...although their policies allowed the seller of the tickets to take advantage of a loophole.

I ONLY buy tickets on StubHub that are instantly available for download or for mailing. From the sounds of it, the buyer bought tickets that had a "guaranteed to arrive by" date later down the road (meaning the seller did not have to deliver the tickets until that date), and because of this, it gave the seller a chance to back out since he had weeks or months to change his mind. I also sell on StubHub, and I always upload PDF's of my tickets so that the second someone buys them, they get them.

Bottom line, if you want complete safety, only buy tickets that are instantly available for download or can be picked up or shipped the same day you purchase. Anytime you give someone weeks or months to get you something, they could have a change of mind.

Thank you! Someone finally see's my POV here.

I doubt Stubhub cares the extra thousand earning from fee. The whole greed comes from the seller.

Yuuuup :)!

It's not different. It's equally screwed up. Problem is, you're acting like the buyer shouldn't be upset about it and calling him a crybaby for being upset.

Also, the whole "computer doesn't know Kobe retired" nonsense is ignoring the fact that Kobe didn't announce his retirement until almost 3 weeks after the guy bought the tickets. There wasn't a mistake on the original sale price. The "mistake" was that the seller/Stubhub realized they sold too soon and missed out on a bunch of money so they reneged on the deal.

see above. and yes the buyer should be mad, but obviously now we all see he never had the tickets, just a payment for them. no one knew that kobe was going to retire though the buyer even states in that posting/complaint he had a feeling it would be kobe's last game (2-3 weeks before the announcement even came)

yes the seller comes off bad which I'm pretty sure I have already said, but dem da rulz right/or dem da brakes?

pretty much like those bad deals on these boards when something isn't delivered or when is a buy really a buy...

[bewareof94]

Joke of a company. Making things right now, after the public backlash, makes them look even more like a joke. Fix it without the backlash and you are honorable. Now....joke.

This can be applied to a certain card company we all know...

[motu79]

I know the situation has been resolved, but after reading the story, I would have demanded 50 more $100 coupons! Doesn't sound like their hands are THAT tied to just be offering $100 coupons here and there.

[byronscott4ever]

Didn't Jesse get free seats elsewhere? Or is StubHub taking care of him?

[desertdogg]

iam sure stubby hub. only took care of the guy cause they were caught with there panties down. but they really need to fix the problem of the sellers backing out of a sale. until they do this ill never use them.

[dengbang]

I used to buy, sell, attend all sorts of events during college. SH controls the ticket market more than people think. I won't go into details but you don't see nice guys running vegas casinos and you sure as heck wont see them in the ticket scalping business. Trends and analytics are used to keep these companies most profitable.

[jcardstore]

You know what's funny is that this guy is going to end up benefiting from this whole debacle. He's going to get so much free stuff, wouldn't be surprised if the Lakers org reaches out to him and he gets to meet Kobe or something similar

[shaner1]

Was the Seller's identity disclosed to the public? That's who I'd like to see respond to the issue.

[TarjetasBéisbol]

Mike & Mike were talking about it this morning. They both thought it was underhanded and thought that once you bought the tickets they were yours and everyone has to read the small prints. Another ticket company tried to give him better tickets than what StubHub offered.

[thepinoymamba]

This is #@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@.. Stub hub should pay bigtime. It's not a price error at all. Even Amazon honors price errors.

[bewareof94]

Easy fix - StubHub should require anyone trying to sell tickets to either offer them via instant download or ship the physical tickets within a 3-5 day window of purchase; basically if you're a seller, you need to have the tickets in hand and shipping them in a reasonable time-frame after they are sold.

That's the whole problem with Stubhub - it allows sellers to essentially sell "promises" for tickets they may or may not have at the time of purchase with the caveat that you will have your tickets before the day of the game. It's sort of the equivalent of someone selling you a previously-redeemed redemption card and telling you that they'll send you the actual card when/if they ever receive it from the card company.

As another member pointed out - we've seen this countless times when sellers back out of previously made deals when a player erupts and the card's value significantly increases right after the deal was made, so it should't really come as a big surprise to anyone in the card hobby right?. Only this time, everyone is surprised that the "middleman" actually sided with the seller - - - ironically something that eBay never does, no matter the situation, and which so many complain about on these boards.