Canadian Heritage Committee on May 7th, 2019

[Paul Nowosad]

That is one of the key questions for us. The transferability of the ticket seems to be something that, we think, is in the best interests of the fans. Transparency concerning how many tickets are available, when and at what price is an area that.... I can't really answer that question, because this information is not always disclosed.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Do you condone this? What do you do about it, from StubHub's standpoint? You obviously recognize that it's a problem.

Would you agree that it's a concern?

[Paul Nowosad]

I think the role of the platform is to provide a marketplace for interested buyers who trust our brand, trust our systems and trust our guarantee, and not to control, I guess you could say, the number of tickets available for any individual show or band through gain.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Let me just drill down further.

You don't agree, though, do you, that somebody should be allowed to go in and bulk buy in that way?

[Paul Nowosad]

No. Any significant violation of policies on a primary...or the use of bots or any of that technology, we strongly discourage. All terms and conditions of every single purchaser, primary or secondary, should always be upheld.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Is there anything you can recommend? What should StubHub do to prevent that?

[Paul Nowosad]

From our point of view, when we discover that bot activity or malfeasance on the side of the seller has been used to secure or acquire tickets that are available on our site, we have hundreds of people on the side of our company who are working on the customer service and bot protection side to remove those tickets and ensure that such sellers are not part of our ecosystem.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

How often does it happen?

[Paul Nowosad]

I don't know how often it happens. I can tell you that we are vigilant 24 hours a day, both with technology and with individuals.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Another question I had is whether StubHub.ca is the same as StubHub.com. If you go to one, is it the same as going to the other?

[Paul Nowosad]

From an inventory perspective, it's a global marketplace.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Okay.

Can you just share with me, then, your business model? How does StubHub make money?

[Paul Nowosad]

The business of providing the tickets is similar to that of almost anybody else in the marketplace, primary or secondary. There are fees associated in support of the sale of the ticket and there are fees supported in the purchase of a ticket, and those fees go towards paying for the consumer protection, the overall staffing and the customer service that goes along with providing that service on a global scale.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Is it a percentage that you make by ticket price?

[Paul Nowosad]

Based on the dynamic market conditions, it's a percentage.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Might I ask what the percentage is?

[Paul Nowosad]

On the sell side, the percentage is 10% of the face value of the tickets being posted.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

If I have a $70 ticket...?

[Paul Nowosad]

It's easier if you say $100.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

That's fair. I probably should say $100. If I have a $100 ticket—

[Paul Nowosad]

I can do the $70 math. It's $63 that you would be remitted.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Just so that I'm clear, though, on the percentage, is it based on what I want to sell the ticket for?

[Paul Nowosad]

Yes.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

It's not face value—

[Paul Nowosad]

No. You're choosing to sell the ticket for a price.

We are charging a percentage against that price to provide this service to create access to a buyer's market.