StubHub

www.StubHub.com

StubHub is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of tickets to sports events, concerts and other live entertainment. Tickets are sold close to market value and are even available for shows that are sold out. StubHub takes a 25% commission from both the buyer and seller once the sale occurs. Buyers come from all over the country, while sellers are mainly season ticket holders looking to unload tickets instead of selling them back to ticket brokers.

The advantages of StubHub include purchasing tickets to sold out events, and purchasing tickets on short notice before an event. A business owner, for example, may be looking to give away two of his season tickets to an employee because he cannot go to the game. In the event that he cannot find an employee to take the tickets, he can put them on StubHub on Tuesday afternoon and make his money back by early Tuesday evening. That money could go directly into the company's business account, the same account that is paying for the season tickets in the first place.

The main disadvantage of StubHub is the illegality of reselling tickets in 12 of the 50 United States. StubHub has begun petitioning for these states to change their laws, but has yet to make any progress. Another disadvantage is for season ticket holders who use StubHub too frequently that are blocked by their team from renewing their season tickets or purchasing playoff tickets.

An organization would benefit through such a scheme that I spoke about earlier. Many companies have season tickets to some sports team, tickets that the company account is paying for. In the event that noone uses the tickets, it is not the main user of the tickets that suffers, it is the company that looses that money. Reselling the tickets not only prevents the company from losing money, they could even turn a small profit. I give it a 5 out of 5 on its usefulness, as it is extremely productive for individuals and organizations.