Another example of the algorithm not working
This week, I was on Stubhub to try to sell my family's tickets to a show after we caught a bug and had to cancel the trip. The show is popular but not sold out, so it was important, I would even say critical, to set the price below the face price that similar tickets can be bought for at the venue.
The face value was $95 per ticket. Stubhub's algorithm said, set your tickets at $120 to be the lowest offer. When I set the tickets at $85, Stubhub hid them from the recommended filter. $35 below the next lowest offer, and hidden. Because Stubhub would rather not sell a ticket at all than give up some profit margin on it.
When I changed the price back to $120, magic happened and my listing became "amazing" and "recommended." Except, it didn't sell. Fortunately, a friend took them off my hands.
This is the third time I was unsuccessful trying to sell my tickets on Stubhub. Each time, it was the stupid algorithm either hiding my offers or forcing me to set a price that did not make sense to buyers.
Screw Ticketmaster also for their fees and making the tickets not eligible for direct resale.
If you buy on Stubhub, always uncheck the default "recommended" filter - and you will be amazed at how much money you might save!
Posted Aug 7, 2025, 4:44 PM UTC