Marketplace comparison · StubHub vs consignment
The biggest marketplace is not the same as the biggest net. Once the fee stack settles, the spread can pass 30%.
StubHub is the most recognizable name in ticket resale, and for the right seller, it does the job. But if you are a season ticket holder, suite holder, or anyone moving premium inventory across a full season, the math and the workload often look different than the homepage suggests. Here is an honest comparison — what StubHub does well, where it falls short for sellers like you, and when SellTicketsFast is actually the better fit.
TL;DR
Figures on this page last verified June 2026.
- StubHub is a self-service marketplace. You list, you price, you handle disputes. Great for casual sellers, less great when you have 41 home games and a day job.
- Total fee load on StubHub in 2026 is steep on both sides. Sellers pay roughly 15% standard (10% high-volume), buyers pay 15-25%, and StubHub just settled with the FTC for $10M over how those fees were displayed.
- Pricing logic punishes premium inventory. StubHub algorithms optimize for sell-through, not for what your seats are actually worth in a hot market.
- SellTicketsFast is full-service consignment, not a marketplace. 20% commission (15% on seven Tier-1 championship events), and we list your tickets on every major platform — including StubHub.
- First regular-season sale is free for new season ticket holders. No commission on your first transaction with us.
- Use StubHub when: single tickets, casual concerts, low-stakes sales. Use us when: you have a season package, a suite, a premium location, or you just don’t want to manage the listings.
What StubHub does well
We are not here to bash StubHub. We list on it ourselves for many of our clients. It is the largest secondary ticket marketplace in North America, and there are real reasons it grew to that size.
Massive buyer pool
If a seat needs to find a buyer fast, StubHub has eyeballs no other platform matches.
Mature seller tools
Bulk upload, instant transfer integrations with most major teams, a mobile listing flow that actually works.
Brand recognition
When a buyer Googles a sold-out event, StubHub is usually the first organic result. That visibility is a real advantage and we benefit from it too when we list there.
FanProtect Guarantee
For buyers, this de-risks the purchase. For sellers, it means StubHub mediates most disputes rather than dropping them entirely in your lap.
Speed for casual sellers
If you have one ticket to one game and you want it gone, the StubHub flow is fast and fine.
If those advantages cover your situation, you may not need a consignment partner at all. The question is whether they outweigh the friction we describe next.
Where StubHub falls short for premium inventory holders
The seller who suffers most on StubHub is not the casual fan with a single ticket. It is the season ticket holder, suite owner, or multi-event premium inventory holder. Here is where the friction lives.
1. The fee structure compresses your margin
StubHub charges sellers a standard 15% commission. High-volume sellers (typically professional brokers moving significant inventory) can negotiate down to about 10%. Buyers pay an additional 15% to 25% service fee depending on the event, plus 2.9-3% payment processing on the seller side. Stack those together and the spread between what you list at and what you net can exceed 30% once payment processing is included.
2. The pricing algorithm is built for sell-through, not for your wallet
StubHub recommended-price tools are optimized to clear inventory. That is great for the platform; it is not always great for a season ticket holder who knows the secondary market for a specific game is hot. We have seen suggested prices for prime seats come in 20-40% below where comparable seats actually sold the prior week. Accept the suggestion and you leave money on the table. Refuse it and you have to manually monitor every event yourself.
3. Disputes and chargebacks land on you
FanProtect protects the buyer first. When a transfer fails, a buyer claims a problem, or a venue scan goes sideways, sellers carry the financial responsibility when something goes wrong, and the appeals process is yours to navigate. For a single ticket, fine. For a 41-game NBA package or 81-game MLB package, it is a part-time customer service job.
4. Payout timing
StubHub releases seller payouts on a schedule tied to event date and clearing windows — typically 5-8 business days post-event for direct deposit, longer for PayPal in some regions. For sellers who need predictable cash flow across a season, the lag and variability are an operational headache.
5. Junk-fee scrutiny is forcing changes mid-season
In April 2026, StubHub agreed to refund $10 million to consumers as part of an FTC settlement over deceptive ticket pricing under the agency Junk Fees Rule. The order changes how fees must be disclosed up front. That is a win for consumers and probably a long-term positive for the industry, but it also means the listing UI and conversion mechanics on StubHub are being adjusted in real time. If you are listing a 41-game package this season, you are in the middle of that transition.
6. You are the marketing team
Beyond fees and pricing, listing well on StubHub is a skill. Section labels, row formats, photo standards, listing notes, instant-download settings, transfer method tags. Get any of it wrong and your listing buries itself behind better-formatted competitors. Most casual sellers do not realize how much listing quality drives sell-through.
StubHub fees vs. SellTicketsFast: side-by-side
Here is the honest comparison. We are not the cheapest option on a fee-only basis. We are a different category.
| What you pay | StubHub (direct) | SellTicketsFast (consignment) |
|---|---|---|
| Seller commission | 15% standard, ~10% high-volume | 20% standard, 15% on Tier-1 events |
| Buyer fee (paid by buyer) | 15-25% service fee | Varies by marketplace where listed |
| Payment processing | ~2.9-3% seller side | Included |
| Listing labor | You | Us |
| Pricing decisions | You (or StubHub algo) | Us, with your input |
| Dispute handling | You appeal each one | We handle it |
| Marketplaces covered | StubHub only | Every major marketplace |
| Payout timing | 5-8 business days post-event | Predictable, post-clearance |
| First-sale offer | None | Free first regular-season sale for new STHs |
How pricing logic differs
This is the part most sellers underestimate. The fee number is what you see. The pricing decision is where the real money is made or lost.
On StubHub, you have two practical options. Accept the algorithm suggested price (optimized for sell-through, often conservative on premium inventory), or do your own homework. Doing your own homework means watching comparable sales, monitoring opponent strength, factoring in weather and travel, and adjusting prices across dozens of events through the season. Some season ticket holders enjoy that work. Most do not have time for it.
Our pricing approach is not magic, and we will not pretend it is. We have priced enough premium inventory across enough seasons that we know where the comparables actually clear, what time of week to list, when to hold, and when to drop. We do that work. You see the number we are aiming for, and we adjust together as the event approaches. The 20% commission is what pays for that work; the trade is the time and pricing intelligence we bring back.
Dispute handling: where consignment really earns its commission
If you have never had a chargeback or transfer failure on StubHub, congratulations. If you have, you know it is the worst part of selling tickets. A buyer claims the seat was wrong. A transfer did not go through in time. A scan failed at the gate. StubHub processes the buyer refund first, then debits the seller account, then opens an appeal window where you submit screenshots of transfer confirmations, ticket forwards, account logs.
The season-package math: for a single ticket, that is one annoyance per year. For a season package, multiply it. We have seen full-season holders log 10+ disputes per season across StubHub, Vivid, and SeatGeek. Each one takes 30-90 minutes to handle properly. As a consignor with us, you do not see them. We absorb the workflow.
When SellTicketsFast is the better fit
We are not the right answer for everyone. We are the right answer for specific seller profiles.
Full-season ticket holders
NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, college football. If you have 20+ games and you are not a professional broker, the time we save you is worth the spread.
Suite holders and premium location owners
The pricing intelligence and direct broker relationships matter most where the dollar amounts are highest.
Multi-event inventory holders
Mixed packages across teams, concerts, championships. You do not want to be juggling listings across every major resale marketplace, plus wholesale broker channels and our private buyer list.
Sellers with a strict time budget
Doctors, attorneys, executives, traveling parents. People whose hourly rate makes managing listings a losing trade.
Sellers who got burned on a chargeback once
And never want to do it again. A common reason people switch to consignment.
Anyone selling Tier-1 championship inventory
Final Four, Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, College Football Playoff Championship, Masters. These are our 15% commission events for a reason — the pricing leverage is real.
When you should stick with StubHub
Genuinely. We will tell you when we are not the right fit.
One ticket, one game, low dollar amount
A $60 seat to a regular-season game does not need a consignment partner. List it yourself.
You actually enjoy listing tickets
Some people like the optimization game. If pricing tickets is fun to you, do not pay us to take it away.
You are a high-volume professional broker
Pro brokers move enough volume to negotiate StubHub down to ~10% and have their own listing systems. Different category from where we play.
Tickets you would otherwise toss
If your alternative is “let them expire,” then any path that gets you something is a win, including a 5-minute self-listing.
Concerts where artist resale rules limit your options
Some Ticketmaster-locked concert tickets can only be sold back to fans through verified resale. We will tell you when that is the case rather than pretend we can move them.
Running a season package through self-service right now?
Send us the package details — we will show you what the same inventory projects to net through multi-marketplace consignment, including our fee.
FAQs
Is SellTicketsFast cheaper than StubHub?
No, on a fee-only basis we are higher: 20% vs. roughly 15% on StubHub. We are a different product. The trade is that we list across every major marketplace, manage pricing through the season, and handle disputes. For premium inventory holders, the net dollars in pocket are usually higher with us even though our headline fee is higher. For a single low-dollar ticket, StubHub is the right call.
Do you only list on StubHub, or everywhere?
Everywhere. We list your inventory on StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, TicketNetwork, and direct broker channels. The first marketplace to find a qualified buyer wins the sale, and we pull the listing from the rest. You get the visibility of every platform without managing any of them.
What happened with the StubHub FTC settlement?
In April 2026, StubHub agreed to pay $10 million to settle FTC charges that it violated the Junk Fees Rule by not displaying total prices including mandatory fees up front. The settlement orders StubHub to disclose all-in pricing going forward. From a seller perspective, the practical impact is ongoing UI and conversion changes through 2026 as the platform adjusts. It does not change the underlying seller fee structure.
How does the free first regular-season sale work?
If you are a season ticket holder new to SellTicketsFast, your first transaction with us is commission-free. Net the full sale price minus only the marketplace buyer-side mechanics. It is how we earn the chance to handle the rest of your season.
What about taxes and the 1099-K?
For 2026, the IRS 1099-K reporting threshold is $600 in gross sales. That applies on StubHub, on Vivid, on SeatGeek, and through us. We provide year-end documentation that matches what gets reported, so your tax preparer has clean numbers. This is reporting, not new tax. You always owed tax on resale gains; the form is just how it now gets reported.
Can I keep my own StubHub account and use you for select games?
Yes. Many of our clients self-list lower-stakes games and consign the high-leverage ones to us — the playoff push games, the rivalry weeks, the marquee concerts, the championship runs. There is no exclusivity requirement. Use the right tool for each event.
Related pages
Marketplace comparisons
StubHub seller fees, in depth · vs Vivid Seats · vs SeatGeek · Commission rates explained
Getting started
Start selling on STF · How consignment works · Is consignment worth it?
Ready to try a different approach?
Tell us what you have. We will give you a straight answer on whether consignment makes sense for your inventory or if you would be better off self-listing. No pitch, no pressure. Just nearly two decades of ticket-market experience pointed at your situation.
Get Started →Nearly 20 years in the ticket market · 100,000+ tickets sold · Every major marketplace · Paid every Friday