Resale market · Ticket resale glossary
Secondary Ticket Market
Also known as: Secondary market, Resale market
The secondary ticket market is where tickets are resold after their first sale, by fans or professional brokers, on resale marketplaces such as StubHub, viagogo, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, TicketSwap or the official resale of the primary seller.
Unlike the primary ticket market, prices here are set by sellers and settle wherever buyers are willing to pay. High-demand events trade well above face value; events with weak demand can trade below it, especially close to the date.
Marketplaces make money through buyer and seller fees and usually guarantee delivery of a valid ticket. Some are open marketplaces with free pricing, others are fan-to-fan resale platforms that cap the price at what the seller paid.
For resellers, the secondary market is both the exit and the best source of data: the number of listings, the get-in price, and how fast tickets sell tell you how strong demand really is.
How prices are set on the secondary market
Sellers choose an asking price, buyers choose which listing to buy, and the price settles where the two meet. The cheapest listing — the get-in price — is the visible headline, but the real market price is what tickets are actually selling for, shown by the average sale price and median ticket price.
Supply on resale is not fixed. Every ticket holder is a potential seller, so when prices rise, more of them list and supply grows. That is why resale prices for even very popular events tend to plateau rather than climb indefinitely.
Types of resale platforms
Not every resale platform works the same way, and the type decides who can sell, at what price and how the ticket is delivered:
- Open marketplaces: StubHub, viagogo, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek let sellers set their own price and charge buyer and seller fees.
- Official resale: run by the primary seller, such as Ticketmaster's resale, with the ticket reissued to the buyer.
- Fan-to-fan platforms: TicketSwap, Eventim's fanSALE and Ticketmaster's fan-to-fan resale, usually with a resale price cap.
- Direct and broker-to-broker trading: private sales between professionals, outside public marketplaces.
How resale prices move over time
There is no fixed curve, but a common pattern: prices jump right after a sell-out, when buyers who missed out compete for a small number of listings. They then settle as more holders list. In the final weeks the market splits — strong events firm up as supply dries up, while oversupplied events drop, sometimes below face value on the day.
Restocks and extra dates can interrupt the pattern at any point by adding supply.
Worked example: reading one event's resale market
A festival with €140 face-value tickets shows 1,200 tickets listed on resale, a get-in price of €165 and an ATP of €190 over the last seven days. Sales have run at about 150 a day, and listings have fallen from 1,500 a week ago.
Sales are steady, supply is shrinking and buyers are paying above the cheapest ask. That is a firm market. If listings were rising instead while daily sales slowed, the same €165 get-in price would be a warning sign that prices are about to soften.
Regional differences in the resale market
The US has the most open secondary market, with sellers free to set prices on most events. In Ireland, resale above face value is banned for most large events. In Italy, large concerts use nominative tickets, so resale has to go through official channels that change the holder's name. Other European countries mix price caps, named tickets and official resale, and the rules can differ by event type.
Track it with Eventory
Eventory pulls together resale data across marketplaces — tickets sold, listings, average and highest sale prices over time — so you can read real demand for any event.
Frequently asked questions
Is the secondary ticket market legal?
Yes, in most countries reselling tickets on a marketplace is legal. Some countries cap resale prices, some events use named tickets that limit transfers, and using bots to buy tickets for resale is illegal in the US and UK.
Why are resale tickets more expensive than face value?
For popular events, more people want tickets than the venue can hold, so buyers who missed the primary sale pay what the market demands. Marketplace buyer fees add to the price. For events with weak demand, resale tickets can be cheaper than face value.
Do resale ticket prices drop closer to the event?
Sometimes. Events with plenty of listings and slowing sales often get cheaper in the last days as sellers try to avoid unsold tickets. Sold-out, high-demand events tend to hold or rise as supply runs out.
How can I see real resale prices for an event?
Look at what tickets sold for, not only at listings. Eventory's resale tab shows tickets sold, average sale and listing prices, get-in price, the last 20 sales and charts of price over time from StubHub and viagogo.