Sellers Beware-Stubhub Policy

Full disclosure--I sold my season tickets (football) on Stubhub.

Stubhub has changed its policy for sellers. It used to be you'd get paid about a week after the sale, NO MATTER WHEN the game took place. Now, you won't get paid until about a week after the game takes place. That means, for example, if you sell your Alabama tickets on Stubhub today you won't get paid until a week AFTER the game. Meanwhile Stubhub has kept money from the buyer from today until a week or so after the game...almost 3 months.

Stubhub says this is because if the "event" is cancelled the buyer needs to get reimbursed and essentially claims the seller is still at risk. I SAY BS.!!! Once the ticket is sold, buyer assumes the risk.

Stubhub has no risk at this point. The seller cannot cancel the transaction and sell tickets elsewhere, and the buyer cannot cancel. Stubhub has already collected payment + commission from the buyer. Yet it withholds payment to seller.

Stubhub says it "guarantees" the buyer if the event doesn't take place they will get their money back. This is a lie. Nothing comes out of Stubhub's pocket. What Stubhub's "guarantee" really means is the seller doesn't get paid and assumes all the risk. Stubhub doesn't "guarantee" anything itself other than it'll make the seller pay.

Wait!...it gets worse. Suppose you sell LSU football season tickets now. You won't get paid until 5-8 business days after the first game of the season, or as long as Sept. 23 this year. But what happens if, for example, the Alabama game is cancelled for some "act of God"? Stubhub still comes after you via your credit card. And how is the value calculated? The face value of the ticket? A pro-rated amount of the total cost of the season tickets package? Stubhub doesn't say.

Essentially what Stubhub has done is stretch out the time it has use of the "float"--the money it keeps from the buyer before having to disburse money to the seller--all the while not assuming any risk. Instead of paying sellers 5-8 business after the transaction date, it pays after the event which may be way out in the future. Over millions of tickets over a long time, this is big money.

In the case of season tickets sellers, maybe you can protect yourself by cancelling the credit card on file after you get paid. Example: Sell you season tickets now and get full payment no later than September 23. Then cancel the card on file at Stubhub, or "block" Stubhub from charging to that card.

Any comments on what policies are for other ticket exchanges? Any recommendations of other exchanges?