Why Are Some StubHub Customers So Mad?

**Jessica Mendoza** (0:05)
To many, the event of the summer was the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Nearly 7 million people showed up to watch one of the tournament's games in person. But for a lot of fans, getting a ticket was a real struggle.

**Hanna Krueger** (0:25)
It was a battle royale. If you didn't have thousands of dollars that you were willing to part with, it was a dance to find a ticket within your budget.

**Jessica Mendoza** (0:34)
That's our colleague Hanna Krueger, who covers retail. She says a lot of people missed initial ticket sales and had to find them elsewhere.

**Hanna Krueger** (0:42)
Those who maybe last minute decided that they were really into the World Cup or finally acquiesced to a kid's pestering, said, okay, fine, I'll buy tickets. A lot of people looked to secondary ticket sites and StubHub was there for those folks.

**Jessica Mendoza** (0:59)
StubHub, the online ticketing platform, sells tickets on the second-hand market. It connects buyers to resellers, offering tickets to concerts, festivals, and sporting events like the World Cup.
But instead of chanting alongside fellow fans, some StubHub customers were stuck outside the stadium, listening to this.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:23)
Thanks for calling StubHub.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:24)
We are here for you all the way to your seat.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:27)
Your call is important to us and may be monitored or recorded.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:30)
Please wait while we transfer you to the next available agent.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:34)
Thank you for holding.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:35)
You are currently called the number one in our queue.

**Hanna Krueger** (1:41)
Some folks found that they didn't have the tickets in the days leading up to the event, like they weren't transferred into their account. So a lot of them would call StubHub, say, hey, getting a little nervous here. It's coming up.
In most cases, these fans were told, hey, don't worry about it. We have you covered. Just continue to the front gate and by game time, you will have your tickets. Unfortunately, what happened is that some folks did not wind up getting any tickets and they were empty-handed outside the gate when kickoff happened.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:15)
StubHub has blamed World Cup disruptions on what it has called the World Cup. The World Cup was a major event for FIFA, and FIFA's were obstacles with FIFA's mobile ticket app. But Hanna says StubHub's ticketing troubles predate the World Cup, and she found dozens of examples of ticketing failures for all kinds of events.

**Hanna Krueger** (2:30)
So while the World Cup obviously stole the attention this summer because it was the biggest ticketing event, I also found dozens of examples of ticketing failures that involved all kinds of different events. Talking Knicks games, Hamilton play, George Strait concert, and these all kind of span the gamut.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:48)
In other words, customers were complaining about problems with StubHub beyond and before the World Cup.

**Hanna Krueger** (2:52)
Exactly.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:56)
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza.
StubHub's Ticketing Fiasco.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:23)
This episode of The Journal is brought to you by Harvey, an AI platform designed for legal and professional services. Built and tested by lawyers, Harvey is trusted by more than 60 percent of the AmLaw 100 The platform dramatically reduces time spent on research, drafting, and document review without sacrificing quality, all while meeting the highest industry standards for security and compliance. Harvey, AI, tailored for law.
Visit harvey.ai to learn more and request a demo.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:56)
This episode is brought to you by Indeed. The right hire can make or break your company, especially if you're a small business. And relying on luck to find that person isn't really the best strategy. But you know what is? Using Indeed sponsored jobs. You can use it to boost your job post to make sure it reaches more people with the right talents, certification, location, and more. Sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed are 95% more likely to report a hire than non-sponsored jobs. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of If this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com/podcast.
Just go to indeed.com/podcast right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed here. indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs.

**Jessica Mendoza** (5:01)
StubHub got its start in 2000 with a simple premise, to make buying event tickets on the resale market easy and safe.