Ticket KPIs · Ticket resale glossary
Resale Rate
Also known as: Venue resale rate, Share of capacity resold
Resale rate is the typical share of a venue's capacity that gets resold for one event — the median across the venue's recent events with resale sales.
It shows how active the secondary ticket market is for a venue. A high resale rate means many of its events attract resale demand; a low one means most tickets stay with the people who bought them.
It's built on venue capacity and the resale tickets sold per event, and pairs well with resale price percentiles for the same venue.
How resale rate is calculated
For each recent event at the venue: event resale rate = resale tickets sold ÷ venue capacity. The venue's resale rate is the median of those values across its events with resale sales, typically over the last 12 months.
The median is used rather than the average so that one blockbuster with an unusually active resale market doesn't define the venue. Events with no resale sales are left out, so the figure describes a typical event that does trade, not the share of events that trade at all.
Worked example: a 10,000-capacity arena
An arena hosted seven events with resale sales over the past year. Resale tickets sold were 300, 450, 600, 800, 950, 1,400 and 2,600. As shares of capacity, that's 3%, 4.5%, 6%, 8%, 9.5%, 14% and 26%. The median, the fourth value, is 8%, so the venue's resale rate is 8%.
The average would be about 10.1%, pulled up by the single 26% event. In plain terms: at a typical event here, around 800 tickets change hands on resale. A new show with a much faster primary sell-out could beat that; a show struggling at primary will probably fall below it.
Why resale rate matters for resellers
Resale rate is a venue-level starting point. Before an event has any sales of its own, it tells you how deep the resale market at that venue usually is. Some venues sit in cities with an active secondary ticket market; at others fans keep their tickets, or resale is restricted.
Combined with resale price percentiles for the same venue, it answers two questions at once: how many tickets usually trade, and at what prices.
How to interpret high and low resale rates
Translate the percentage into something you can act on:
- High resale rate: lots of tickets trade, so there's liquidity. You can sell, but you'll compete with many other sellers.
- Low resale rate: little trading, so fewer competitors but also fewer buyers. Check whether prices are high (scarce supply) or low (weak demand).
- Rate vs size: 5% at a 60,000-seat stadium is 3,000 tickets; at a 1,500-capacity club it's 75. Always convert the rate into tickets.
- Venue mix: arenas hosting sport, comedy and concerts blend very different markets into one number.
Pitfalls with resale rate
Resale rate only counts sales on the marketplaces measured; private transfers and sales on other platforms are invisible. In countries with resale restrictions — Italy uses nominative tickets for large concerts, and Ireland bans resale above face value for most large events — rates can look low because much of the market is restricted, not because demand is weak. Capacity also varies by layout, so use the verified venue capacity for the configuration in question.
Track it with Eventory
Venue pages on Eventory show the resale rate and resale tickets per event, based on the last 12 months of events.
Frequently asked questions
How is resale rate calculated?
For each recent event at a venue, divide the resale tickets sold by the venue's capacity. The resale rate is the median of those percentages across the venue's events with resale sales, typically over the last 12 months.
What is a good resale rate?
It depends on what you want. A higher rate means a more liquid market where tickets sell, but also more competition. Compare venues of similar size and type rather than looking for a single good number.
Why use the median instead of the average?
Because one exceptional event can distort the average. The median shows the resale level at a typical event at the venue, which is a more reliable basis for planning the next one.
Where can I find a venue's resale rate?
Eventory venue pages show the resale rate and resale tickets per event, based on the last 12 months, next to verified capacity, resale price percentiles and when resale tickets sell.