Does Ticketmaster keep money when you sell tickets on it?

Ticketmaster is the largest primary ticket outlet for major entertainment events in the United States. Many event organizers use Ticketmaster to sell their tickets both as initial sales and for resales. This leads to the question – does Ticketmaster keep any money when you resell tickets on their platform? The short answer is yes, Ticketmaster does take a cut from ticket resales on their platform. However, the amount they take varies based on the event and circumstances around the resale.

Ticketmaster Fees for Initial Ticket Sales

When tickets are first sold through Ticketmaster for an event, there are a number of different fees involved:

• A service fee – This goes to Ticketmaster for providing the platform and ranges from 10-25% of the ticket price.
• A facility fee – This goes to the venue hosting the event and is usually a flat per ticket fee.
• An order processing fee – This also goes to Ticketmaster, typically around $5 per ticket.

So on initial sales, Ticketmaster collects both a percentage of the ticket price and a per ticket order processing fee. The specifics on these fees vary based on the event, venue, and ticket price.

Ticketmaster Fees for Resales

For resales done through Ticketmaster’s platform, there are again fees collected:

• A service fee – Just like on initial sales, this is a 10-25% fee for Ticketmaster’s services.
• An order processing fee – Usually around $5 per ticket ordered.
• A seller fee – This is taken from the seller’s profits and is around 10-15% of the sale price.

So in resale cases, Ticketmaster collects both a percentage service fee and order processing fee like initial sales. Additionally, they take a percent cut of the seller’s profits.

Seller Incentives for Using Ticketmaster Resale

Given Ticketmaster takes a cut of resale profits, why would a seller choose to resell tickets through them versus other secondary marketplaces? There are a few potential incentives:

• Wider distribution reach – Ticketmaster has a large customer base to market resale tickets to.
• Ticket transfer capabilities – Tickets sold on Ticketmaster can be securely transferred to buyers digitally.
• Event sponsorships – Some events sponsor Ticketmaster for official resales, giving site visibility.

So while Ticketmaster’s fees reduce seller profits, the visibility, security, and sponsorship opportunities often make up for this when compared to other resale sites.

Ticketmaster Resale Versus StubHub

StubHub is Ticketmaster’s largest competitor in the ticket resale market. Here is a comparison between the two:

As you can see, the fees are broadly similar between the two platforms. Both take a cut of the ticket sale price and charge small order processing fees. The key differences are Ticketmaster charges per ticket for processing while StubHub charges per order, and StubHub’s seller fee is slightly higher at 15% versus 10-15% for Ticketmaster.

Impact on Buyers

The fees collected by Ticketmaster on resales don’t directly impact buyers. The buyer will pay the ticket resale price set by the seller plus the standard service fees and order processing fees. The seller fees simply cut into the profit the seller makes on the sale.

However, if those seller fees cause fewer tickets to be relisted on Ticketmaster versus other platforms, it can indirectly reduce selection for buyers on the site. Buyers may find fewer affordable tickets if sellers are incentivized to list elsewhere.

Ethics of Ticketmaster Resale Fees

Ticketmaster’s resale fees have drawn some ethical criticism over the years. Some arguments against their practices include:

• Double-dipping – Ticketmaster makes fees both on initial ticket sales and resales, meaning they take a percentage twice for the same ticket.
• Incentives for initial underpricing – Since Ticketmaster profits from resales, they may have incentive to purposefully underprice tickets initially to drive resales.
• Lack of transparency – Fees are convoluted and not always clearly disclosed to ticket buyers.

However, Ticketmaster argues they provide value by offering a secure marketplace for ticket resale and that their fees are reasonable for that service. They also point out they are not setting resale prices themselves – third party sellers determine resale pricing.

Does Ticketmaster Profit from Resales? Answer Summary

In summary:

• Ticketmaster collects around 10-25% service fees on all ticket resales done through their platform.
• They also charge a per ticket order processing fee and take an additional percentage cut of the seller’s profits.
• These resale fees are similar to competitor StubHub but have drawn some criticism over ethics and transparency.
• So Ticketmaster does directly profit from ticket resales through these various fees collected.

While Ticketmaster provides a major resale marketplace, the fees collected on sellers and lack of fee transparency have caused dispute over whether their policies are fair and ethical for customers. Buyers should be aware of the added fees involved when purchasing resale tickets through Ticketmaster.

Conclusion

Ticketmaster is the dominant primary ticket seller for major live entertainment events in the United States. They also operate one of the largest secondary resale marketplaces for event tickets. When tickets are resold through Ticketmaster, the company collects fees from both the buyers and sellers of the tickets. These fees include service fees, order processing fees, and a percentage cut of the seller’s profits.

While Ticketmaster argues these fees provide value by supporting a secure resale marketplace, they have also drawn criticism for reducing transparency on overall ticket costs and creating possible conflicts of interest in Ticketmaster profiting from both initial sales and resales. When deciding whether to resell or purchase tickets on Ticketmaster, customers should closely consider the impacts of their various buyer and seller fees. There are often viable alternative resale platforms such as StubHub where the fee structures may be more favorable.