Stubhub Earns A Ticket To The FTC

Ticket exchange company flouts NAD recommendations regarding additional fees

Everybody Else Is Doing It!

The National Advertising Division was unmoved.

Under the National Advertising Division's (NAD) consideration: StubHub, a website that features tickets to sports events, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events. The division was taking a close look at StubHub's pricing conventions – specifically, the fact that the website was advertising ticket prices upfront without adding in taxes and fees (which were disclosed to the customer only at checkout).

StubHub's response to the investigation would be familiar to any parent of a middle-schooler: All major ticket-sale websites followed the same disclosure practices. Because everyone was doing it, the consumer had an understanding of what to expect when making a purchase. In addition, the company claimed that it had, in the past, listed the entire charge upfront, and lost market share because of it.