StubHub, CEO Hit With 'Deceptive Practices' Class Action Over Mass Scalping (www.cbc.ca)
- Reference: 0184452964
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/07/14/0735222/stubhub-ceo-hit-with-deceptive-practices-class-action-over-mass-scalping
- Source link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/stubhub-ceo-class-action-scalping-9.7268987
> StubHub and its CEO, Eric Baker, have been [1]hit with a proposed $5-million class-action lawsuit in the United States over the company's ties to large-scale scalpers -- connections reported by CBC News last week. The suit, filed Monday by New York ticket buyer Louis Sanquini, alleges deceptive practices and fraudulent misrepresentation over StubHub's promoting itself as a "marketplace for fans to buy and sell tickets." The online ticket resale giant has faced a storm of customer complaints after [2]cancelling thousands of World Cup tickets . The company has repeatedly said it is simply a technology platform that does not buy, sell or possess tickets. However, CBC reported last week that Baker disclosed in recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he runs Andro Capital, a hedge fund that engages in large-scale resale of millions of dollars' worth of sports and concert tickets on the StubHub resale platform.
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> Sanquini filed the proposed class action in the Southern District of New York, arguing consumers were kept in the dark and that he believed StubHub was a "neutral" marketplace. Lead counsel Kevin Steinberg told CBC News in an emailed statement that "consumers deserve honesty and transparency." A CBC investigation found that the CEO of online ticket reseller StubHub owns and manages a hedge fund that scalps millions of dollars of its own tickets. "While what StubHub is alleged to have engaged in and perpetrated upon millions of patrons is unfathomable, this case is about transparency and consumer trust. If companies make representations to the public, consumers are entitled to expect that those representations are complete and accurate," he said.
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> The claim reads: "Defendants' failure to disclose this conflict of interest, while affirmatively marketing StubHub as a fan-to-fan marketplace, deceived Plaintiff and the Class and caused them to pay prices, and accept terms, they would not have accepted had the truth been known." Sanquini argues that had he known StubHub's CEO held a financial interest and that the company was helping finance professional resellers, he would never have used the resale site to buy tickets to see rock band Kiss in 2023 or to attend a New York Red Bulls-New York City FC Major League Soccer match in 2024.
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/stubhub-ceo-class-action-scalping-9.7268987
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkvlekgy07o
Ticket prices are insane. (Score:2)
I saw Pearl Jam in 2016 for ~$75 a ticket, last year I checked on tickets and they were ~$600 a ticket.
Re: (Score:2)
I saw Pearl Jam at the height of their fame in the 90s for $28 GA near the stage.
I have seen Tool 6 times. The first time it was only $12, GA, in 1998. The last time was 2019 it was $230 for floor seats.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed: ticket prices are insane. I went to see Cold Play with a family member a few years back. Altogether, the tickets were over $1000, for modest seats at the opposite end of the stadium.
This will continue until consumers fight back. But I'm not sure whether they have the will. People still want to see their favorite bands in concert. And pipsqueak class-action lawsuits for $5M won't do a damn thing.
I think it's time for governments to address the problem. The days of middlemen gouging concertgoers shoul
Wow! (Score:2)
So the outrageous fees and monopolistic vertical integrations were not enough, they also were buying their own product and then reselling it at higher prices so they could taken in even higher fees. The brass balls on these people.....
I am shocked (Score:2)
not by the price gouging and scalping. That's fundamental to StubHub's business model. But only $5M? WFT? Oh, and look for a $10 "activist judge" surcharge on the next 5M tickets sold.
Crank it up (Score:3)
StubHub valuation: ~$4 billion
Eric Baker net worth: ~$800 million
This class action should be seeking a minimum of 20% of the company's value as well as 50% of Eric Baker's net worth.
I just stopped going to large venue music shows (Score:2)
I love music. My whole life has been playing in bands, going to see concerts and as a child of the 80s standing in long lines to get tickets or disapointment.
The prices of tickets is out of hand. The scalping is out of hand. So I just quit. I see local shows by local musicians or at venues in small towns. I don't care how much I like someone's music I'm not paying hundreds of dollars for the cheap seats to see them.
$5 million is laughably low (Score:4, Interesting)
This should not be filled asking for a mere $5 million. It looks a little like a fake suit to get him and them off the hook. Even if they settled for the full amount they are getting off easy.
Re: $5 million is laughably low (Score:2)
Ticket scalpers are overcharging for tickets? Say it isn't so! Inconceivable! /s