NATB Stands for Doing Ticket Resale the Right Way

This year, the NATB team had many opportunities to provide information to lawmakers and regulators at the state and federal levels about the ticket system. We welcome these opportunities to describe how the consumer markets for live event tickets (both primary and secondary markets) function, how they are evolving, and the issues ticketholders experience. We explain why NATB was formed over 20 years ago and how NATB stands for doing ticket resale the right way.

It’s simple, NATB member resale companies don’t believe in the need for nefarious software to hack systems to buy up all the tickets when they go on sale. For that reason, for many years we have testified in support of anti-bot legislation in states, and supported the passage of the new 2016 federal law to outlaw the use of bots. NATB members are professionals who care about the experience a ticket buyer is seeking, which is why NATB members adopted 200% refund protection for their customers.  This means if you buy a guaranteed ticket at $75 from an NATB member company, and it’s not delivered, you get $150. Our membership hopes this kind of guarantee and protection helps to steer consumers in the right direction when they are shopping on the secondary market.   

It’s for reasons like these that we, and others like the Council of Better Business Bureaus and some state departments of consumer affairs, recommend you buy with confidence on the secondary market directly from a member resale company of NATB. Buying direct can also save you money. Ticket resale exchanges are terrific and they are convenient and easy to find online, and in exchange for this comes service fees they charge on top of what the ticket seller is paid. Even so, having a variety of choices of where and how to buy tickets is a good thing for consumers, so long as their purchase is protected and involves a professional seller – whether that is a team, a concert venue, a ticketing company hired by the issuer to manage sales and fulfillment, a secondary market resale exchange, or a member resale company of NATB. Consumers should avoid rogue, unprofessional resellers.    

If you are buying tickets on the secondary market, you can always check www.NATB.org or www.VerifiedTicketSource.com to ensure the resale company you are patronizing is a member of NATB. We have been asked if ticket resale exchanges might consider noting which tickets on their sites are being offered by a NATB member resale company versus a non-NATB reseller. We like that idea! However, while this would be a nice and easy way to add another layer of confidence for the buying public, that decision is ultimately up to each exchange company. In the meantime, enjoy this summer season, there are lots of live events to add to your calendar!