StubHub CEO Sued Over Alleged Deceptive Scalping Practices
StubHub's 'marketplace for fans' is run by a mass scalper, SEC filings reveal
StubHub and its CEO, Eric Baker, face a $5-million class-action lawsuit alleging deceptive practices. While marketing themselves as a neutral fan marketplace, SEC filings reveal Baker runs a hedge fund that engages in mass ticket scalping on the platform. Plaintiffs argue this hidden conflict of interest misled consumers into paying inflated prices for events like the World Cup and Kiss concerts.
If companies make representations to the public, consumers are entitled to expect that those representations are complete and accurate.
- darth_avocado
> StubHub and its CEO, Eric Baker, have been hit with a proposed $5-million class-action lawsuit
This should be much higher. A class action lawsuit shouldn’t be worth less than what these people can make scalping a single Taylor Swift concert.
This just opens an opportunity for them to settle, admit no wrongdoing and then include a clause in the settlement that prevents further lawsuits.
- dopamean
The article makes it sound like the information about Andro is new but it has been known for years. An SEC filing[0] from March of last year mentions it and I was able to find a post on Wall Street Oasis[1] talking about Andro three years ago. Awful, predatory behavior for sure. Is it just the issues with the World Cup ticket sales that have made people care about this?
[0] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337634/000119312525...
[1] https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/andro-c...
- dclaw
End it.
Make reselling tickets illegal again overall.
Allow resale within 5 days of the show only (for those that genuinely can't make it), and for face value+original fees only.
- i_am_jl
For StubHub to have insider dealing isn't so surprising, but I am shocked at how brazenly and openly it's occurring. Nothing covert or concealed, just the CEO of a marketplace openly admitting that they run a hedge fund that resells scalped goods on that marketplace while keeping other scalpers off the platform.
- vjvjvjvjghv
I don’t really understand the outrage over scalpers. Isn’t this just normal market behavior? Is a retailer that buys things and sells them with a markup a scalper?
People seem to be willing to pay crazy prices for events.