The ticketing reckoning has come for StubHub

It seems we are still moving slowly toward a true reckoning for ticketing services. Ticketmaster faced most of the heat last year, particularly during the Eras Tour fiasco. The so-called monopoly of Live Nation/Ticketmaster has become a major focal point in this debate, but other services are not safe from scrutiny. StubHub is the latest to get taken to court, as the attorney general of Washington, D.C. has sued the company over hidden fees, according to the Associated Press.  

Hidden fees are another one of the big issues at hand in the ticketing service conversation. That’s the cunning little trick where you try to buy a ticket at one price, and then get hit with “fulfillment and service” fees at the very end of your checkout (also called “drip pricing”). President Joe Biden’s administration made a big push against these “junk fees,” and several services (including LiveNation, though its follow-through is questionable) committed to “all-in” pricing, where consumers can see the fees up front. 

StubHub apparently used to do all-in pricing years ago, but changed because—obviously—the company could make more money off of drip pricing. The lawsuit notes that all these hidden fees don’t show up until you’re several pages deep with a timer counting down creating a sense of urgency that discourages you from comparing different prices and traps you into buying. The lawsuit alleges that the hidden fees can total up to 40% more than the advertised ticket price.

StubHub, of course, says its practices follow the law and industry standards. “We strongly support federal and state solutions that enhance existing laws to empower consumers, such as requiring all-in pricing uniformly across platforms,” the company said in a statement (via the AP). Attorney General Brian Schwalb obviously disagrees. ​​“For years, StubHub has illegally deceived District consumers through its convoluted junk fee scheme,” Schwalb said in a statement (via Variety). “StubHub lures consumers in by advertising a deceptively low price, forces them through a burdensome purchase process, and then finally reveals a total on the checkout page that is vastly higher than the originally advertised ticket price. This is no accident—StubHub intentionally hides the true price to boost profits at its customers’ expense. The District is home to one of the nation’s largest and most vibrant live entertainment scenes, and StubHub’s predatory tactics disproportionately harm District residents. That is why today we’re suing to end StubHub’s exploitative pricing scheme.”