Internet auction giant eBay is one of the nation’s largest exchanges for event tickets, and in early 2007 the company bought StubHub for $307 million.

eBay helped to create the modern model of online ticket exchanges because it allows fans and brokers to quickly list event ticket inventory for resale in a single destination.

The company was sued by Ticketmaster in 2007 for contract infringement for allegedly violating contracts Ticketmaster had with several arenas. The lawsuit centered on the Lynyrd Skynyrd/Hank Williams Jr. “Rowdy Frynds Tour” of the same year, because StubHub had been named the official premium ticket vendor for the tour. Ticketmaster said that violated its ticketing contracts with several of the venues the tour was going to visit. The two sides settled the case in late 2008 under undisclosed terms.

eBay and StubHub were also sued by the City of Chicago in 2008 for allegedly not collecting the city’s 8 percent Amusement Tax on event tickets. The companies do not believe it should be held responsible for collecting the tax of individual resellers.

The company unofficially teamed up with TicketNetwork in 2009 to not allow people to resell President Obama Inauguration tickets, which had been distributed free.

eBay Fined by Australian Regulator Over NRL Grand Finals Tickets

IndustryLegalWorld September 30, 2022

Marketplace giant eBay was hit with a major fine and other infringement notices by trading regulators in Australia, according to multiple reports. The company ran afoul of regulators over regulations capping the asking price for tickets being resold in New South Wales, with NSW Fair Trading reportedly finding multiple... Read more

Viagogo Announces Completion of $4 Billion StubHub Acquisition

IndustryLegalTop Story February 13, 2020

A press release credited to Viagogo published Thursday evening announced the Swiss-based resale marketplace had completed its acquisition of StubHub, officially reuniting CEO Eric Baker with the California-based resale giant he co-founded while in graduate school. “These two complimentary marketplaces will sell hundreds of thousands of tickets daily across... Read more

StubHub Lays Off More Than 100 California-Based Employees

IndustryTop Story January 23, 2020

StubHub has laid off more than 100 employees, according to multiple sources. The employees are based in California, where the eBay-owned secondary ticketmarketplace has its headquarters. BizJournals.com, which first reported the layoffs on Tuesday, indicated the number of impacted employees at 102, primarily in San Jose. A report by... Read more

Judge Ruling Means StubHub “Drip Pricing” Lawsuit Can Continue

IndustryLegalTop Story June 15, 2018

A California judge has ruled against a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against StubHub over alleged “drip pricing” practices – showing an artificially low price to the consumer, only to disclose fees at the last minute – meaning the eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) subsidiary and ticket resale giant will... Read more

eBay’s StubHub Experiences Setback With Recent Layoffs and Decreasing Sales

Industry July 4, 2014 0

After failing to meet eBay’s earning expectations, StubHub has gone through a serious round of layoffs, letting go of approximately 100 of their 700 employees, according to TechCrunch. Due to changes in the secondary ticket market, the increasing popularity of electronic tickets, and competitors like TicketNetwork and Ticketmaster Plus,... Read more

AEG and eBay Inc. announce global ticketing partnership

IndustryTop Story November 13, 2012 0

The dominance of ticketing giant Ticketmaster was dealt a blow on Monday, November 12, 2012, with the official announcement that AEG and eBay, the owner of secondary ticketing titan StubHub, will be teaming up to sell tickets to AEG’s more than 100 worldwide venues. One of the world’s premiere... Read more