SeatGeek is an online ticket marketplace that allows users to buy and sell tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events. The site was launched in 2009 and has grown significantly in popularity over the past decade.
But is SeatGeek a reliable place to purchase tickets? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll look at the pros and cons of using SeatGeek and provide an in-depth analysis to help you decide if it’s the right ticketing platform for your needs.
The Advantages of Using SeatGeek
Here are some of the key benefits of using SeatGeek as your go-to site for event tickets:
- Wide selection of tickets – SeatGeek provides access to millions of tickets for events across the United States and even some international destinations. You can find tickets on SeatGeek for NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB games, concerts, shows, festivals and more.
- Aggregates listings from multiple sellers – Instead of having to search each ticket site individually, SeatGeek compiles listings from its official partner sites as well as resellers, fans and other independent sources. This gives you a much larger pool of ticket availability.
- Interactive seat maps – Every ticket listing on SeatGeek shows an interactive map of the venue so you can view exactly where the seats are located. This helps you avoid purchasing partially obstructed view or otherwise poor seats.
- Real-time ticket prices and historical data – SeatGeek’s Deal Score feature factors in the listing price, historical ticket prices for that event, and current demand to rate each deal on a 0-100 scale. This makes it easier to determine if a listing is overpriced or underpriced.
- Buyer guarantees on valid tickets – SeatGeek promises all tickets purchased on its marketplace are valid and will get you into the event. If a listing is fraudulent, you’ll get a full refund.
- Safe and secure checkout process – SeatGeek uses industry-standard encryption technology to keep your personal and payment information secure. Many buyers report quick and easy checkout when purchasing tickets.
- Excellent customer service – SeatGeek receives praise from users for having helpful, responsive customer service available by phone, email or online chat.
These advantages have made SeatGeek one of the most popular online ticket marketplaces. The company has grown quickly by providing an easy, convenient user experience with the features buyers want when shopping for tickets.
Potential Drawbacks of SeatGeek
However, there are also some potential downsides to consider when using SeatGeek:
- Pricing not always the cheapest – While you can find good deals on SeatGeek, its prices are not always the absolute lowest. Other sites like StubHub or even the box office may have cheaper last minute tickets in some cases.
- High volume of reseller listings – A majority of SeatGeek’s ticket inventory comes from resellers, brokers and speculative sellers rather than directly from the venue or team. This means there’s a chance you could get misleading listing details.
- Additional fees added later – SeatGeek’s listed ticket prices often don’t include additional service and delivery fees that get added at checkout. So that cheap ticket sometimes ends up costing more.
- Cancellations and changes not handled by SeatGeek – For any ticket exchanges, refunds or other changes, you have to go through the original seller not SeatGeek. This can be a hassle if you run into an issue after purchasing.
- Lack of buyer/seller protections – SeatGeek offers less protections compared to competitor StubHub. For example, it won’t reimburse you if a seller never sends the ticket.
- Tickets not always mobile friendly – Some tickets purchased on SeatGeek can only be printed at home and are not optimized for mobile entry. This reduces convenience.
These potential pitfalls don’t automatically make SeatGeek untrustworthy. But they are factors to keep in mind as you evaluate options for where to purchase tickets.
Is SeatGeek legit? Evaluating its reliability
With the pros and cons in mind, is SeatGeek ultimately a legit and reliable option for buying tickets? Here are some key facts that support its trustworthiness:
- SeatGeek is an authorized ticket reseller – It has official partnerships with major leagues, teams, theaters and concerts. This legitimizes them as a safe source.
- Extensive positive reviews from buyers – SeatGeek earns 4 out of 5 stars on platforms like TrustPilot based on thousands of buyer reviews highlighting its ease of use.
- Responsive customer service – SeatGeek employs a knowledgeable customer support team available by phone or online to promptly handle any issues.
- Low fraud occurrence – Fraudulent or invalid tickets are rare occurrences on SeatGeek based on reports. Their screening process vets sellers.
- Upfront pricing – SeatGeek displays full ticket prices including fees so there are no hidden costs sprung on you later.
- Industry standard security – Your personal and payment data is securely protected when using SeatGeek.
When you weigh all of these factors, SeatGeek does appear to be a legitimate ticket source you can trust. They provide a mostly safe, reliable ticketing marketplace used by millions of buyers annually.
SeatGeek Reliability by Event Type
While SeatGeek may be considered reliable overall, it’s helpful to look at how dependable it is on a more granular level for specific event types.
SeatGeek for Sports Tickets
SeatGeek earns excellent marks in the sports ticketing arena. It’s one of the top places fans shop for tickets to NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, and college sporting events. Reasons it’s trustworthy for sports include:
- Officially authorized by major leagues – SeatGeek has partnerships with the NFL, NBA, NHL and more to resell their tickets.
- Huge selection of tickets at a wide range of price points.
- Interactive seat views show sightlines to help avoid obstructed seats.
- Easy transfer of mobile tickets via email or app.
- Ratings make it easy to identify best ticket deals.
Sports fans can have confidence finding and purchasing tickets for any sporting event in any city through SeatGeek.
SeatGeek for Concert Tickets
SeatGeek is also a great source for concert tickets. Users can conveniently find seats for top touring musical acts and festivals using the site. Reasons it’s reliable for concert events include:
- Official partnerships with major concert promoters like LiveNation.
- Huge inventory that aggregates primary market and resale concert tickets.
- Sort concert listings by price, Deal Score, seating location and more.
- Easily transfer tickets to your friends if needed.
- Fast ticket delivery, often within minutes via the app.
Music lovers can score amazing concert seats through SeatGeek for hot tours and sold out shows.
SeatGeek for Theater & Comedy Tickets
In addition to sports and concerts, SeatGeek provides a dependable source for theater and comedy show tickets. Benefits for Broadway, Las Vegas and other stage show tickets include:
- Authorizes official show ticket inventory for resale.
- Compiles show listings aggregated from multiple seller sources.
- Interactive seating charts help pick the right seats.
- Ratings make it easy to identify top ticket deal.
- Fast and easy digital ticket delivery process.
Fans of musical theater, magic shows, stand up comedy and other live productions can trust SeatGeek to connect them with seats for any show in any city.
Tips for Safely Buying Tickets on SeatGeek
While SeatGeek is generally a dependable source for tickets, there are still precautions buyers should take to ensure a smooth, successful experience purchasing tickets. Here are some top tips for safely buying tickets on SeatGeek:
- Carefully examine ticket listings, especially from lesser known sellers. Verify details like seat locations, restrictions, included amenities, etc.
- Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. Make sure reputable sellers are offering similarly priced tickets before buying.
- Read recent seller reviews to gauge reliability and service. Avoid sellers with primarily negative feedback.
- Understand SeatGeek’s buyer guarantees and protections before purchasing. This allows you to identify potential risks.
- Pay with a credit card when possible to gain added fraud protections and ability to dispute charges if needed.
- Transfer tickets to your account immediately after buying. Don’t leave hard tickets in a seller’s possession who could sell them multiple times.
- Download tickets via the app when available. This provides added security features like rotating barcodes that make duplication difficult.
- Carefully review all ticket details upon receipt. Verify the event name, date, seats and other vital info is accurate.
While buying tickets on SeatGeek comes with an element of risk like any resale marketplace, following these tips will help protect you from fraud and minimize the chance of issues.
Alternatives to SeatGeek
SeatGeek is far from your only option when looking to purchase tickets online. Here are some of the top alternative ticket sites to consider using instead of or in addition to SeatGeek.
StubHub
StubHub is arguably SeatGeek’s biggest competitor in the secondary ticket marketplace. Like SeatGeek, StubHub provides an online platform to connect ticket buyers and resellers.
Pros of StubHub include:
- Slightly cheaper average ticket prices on some events.
- More seller protections – reimburses buyers if tickets are invalid or never delivered.
- Supports last minute eTicketing for fast delivery.
- Larger international inventory for overseas events.
Cons of StubHub include:
- Higher buyer fees that can raise final checkout costs.
- No aggregate Deal Score rating to easily identify top values.
- Fewer site features and worse mobile experience compared to SeatGeek.
Vivid Seats
Vivid Seats provides a ticket marketplace similar to StubHub and SeatGeek. It mixes primary and resale ticket inventory.
Pros of Vivid Seats include:
- All-in pricing that doesn’t hide fees until checkout.
- FanProtect Guarantee refunds buyers if event is canceled and tickets can’t be resold.
- Reward program benefits frequent buyers with ticket discounts and perks.
- Excellent customer service rated highly by reviewers.
Cons of Vivid Seats include:
- Smaller overall ticket inventory and selection.
- Fewer filtering and sorting capabilities when searching listings.
- Lower tech and weaker mobile experience compared to SeatGeek.
Gametime
Gametime is a mobile-focused ticketing app geared towards last minute ticket buyers. All its listings are for events starting within the next few hours.
Pros of Gametime include:
- Specializes in ultra-last minute tickets with fast digital delivery.
- No seller fees and compete transparency around final price.
- Strong mobile experience and app-only platform.
- Good for cheaper last minute deals on some events.
Cons of Gametime include:
- Very limited event and ticket availability.
- Few filters and details on specific ticket locations.
- Must have smartphone and app to buy tickets.
- Primarily oriented around sports and concerts, less for theater/comedy shows.
Official Box Offices
For the most peace of mind, buying directly through the official box office or team/band website is always the most secure option. This guarantees you are getting a legit ticket sold at face value price. Downsides often include longer sellout times for hot events and less flexibility around exchanges or transfers.
Is SeatGeek Worth Paying For?
SeatGeek offers two paid membership options called SeatGeek Pro and SeatGeek Premier that provide additional benefits beyond the free site/app.
Here’s a look at what you get with each paid plan:
Feature | SeatGeek Pro | SeatGeek Premier |
---|---|---|
Cost per Month | $9.99 | $24.99 |
Savings on SeatGeek Fees | 25% Discount | 100% Waived |
Advanced Filtering Tools | Yes | Yes |
Early Access to Sales | No | Yes |
Rewards Program | No | Yes |
Dedicated Support Team | No | Yes |
For casual users buying the occasional ticket, the free version of SeatGeek is likely sufficient. But frequent ticket buyers may find the Pro and Premier memberships worthwhile for the extra tools, discounts and perks provided. Premier also offers significant savings by waiving all buyer fees that normally add 10-15% to each order.
The Bottom Line – Is SeatGeek Reliable?
When weighing all the evidence around security, buyer protections, reviews and more, SeatGeek does appear to be a legitimate and generally reliable platform for purchasing tickets. The vast majority of buyers have safe, satisfactory experiences obtaining tickets through SeatGeek across a wide range of live events.
That said, there are still risks involved when buying tickets through any secondary marketplace. Following smart practices around vetting sellers, paying securely, and immediately transferring tickets to your account can help mitigate those risks.
For the most peace of mind, buying directly from the source remains the most foolproof option. But SeatGeek offers a convenient, trusted alternative marketplace to access tickets – mainly resale – for sold out events you otherwise couldn’t attend. Their excellent inventory across pro sports, concerts, theater and more, interactive maps to preview seats, and range of prices make it easier to find and purchase the perfect tickets for any show. Just stay vigilant to protect yourself from the small risk of fraud when using any ticket resale platform.