Ticket exchange

Ticket exchanges allow people to buy and sell tickets online. For example, an individual who purchased tickets to a concert may find that they can no longer go and hence sell their tickets on a ticket exchange. Originally, this industry was dominated by street-based touts working outside large events and venues, buying tickets cheaply from people who had spares and selling them on to last-minute buyers. While some street touts may still exist, the advent of the internet has transformed the industry. Secondary markets today are predominantly online. There are two types of ticket exchanges, also called secondary marketplaces - for event tickets and for travel reservations.

Event ticket exchanges are predominantly dominated by four big players - StubHub, Viagogo, Seatwave and GetMeIn. Among these big online ticket marketplaces, smaller players are emerging offering slightly different services, like marketplaces which limit the price of the tickets to the current live price. The event ticket exchanges have suffered significant criticism in recent years for enabling 'armchair' touts.[1] These are small groups of people who purchase a large number of event tickets before fans are able to purchase them for themselves. These groups then sell these tickets on the ticket exchanges for a significantly higher price.

There are online marketplaces where people can offer their transferable flight tickets and hotel reservations for sale. For travellers without travel insurance, it can reduce losses when unable to travel. Flights are transferable if the name on the ticket can be changed. There are over 60 airlines which allow name changes[2]. These airlines always charge a fee for this service. The resale of airline tickets depends only on the rules of the airline and not on the country of the seller.

Ticket exchanges for travel reservations also facilitate the resale of hotel rooms and package holidays, such as SpareFare.net.

• Ticket resale
• Tout