You’re sitting there with two tickets to a show you can’t attend. Maybe your cousin scheduled her wedding on the same night as the Eras Tour, or work just got in the way. It happens. Now you’re looking at your phone, wondering if you’re about to lose five hundred bucks or if you can actually flip these things. If you want to sell tickets on Vivid Seats, you’ve probably realized it isn't quite as "one-click" as the buying process.
It’s a bit of a grind. But it works.
Vivid Seats isn't just some secondary marketplace; they are a massive player in the game, often competing directly with StubHub and SeatGeek. They have this "Buyer Guarantee" that makes people feel safe buying from you, which is great for your visibility. However, as a seller, you're essentially entering a contract. You aren't just posting a classified ad. You are promising to deliver a specific digital or physical asset by a hard deadline. If you mess up, they’ll charge you.
Why Selling on Vivid Seats is Kinda Different
Most people think every ticket site is the same. They aren't. While Ticketmaster is the "primary" seller for most big events, Vivid Seats is a "secondary" marketplace. This means the price you set isn't dictated by the venue. You decide the value. If everyone else is listing for $200 and you want $500, you can try it. You probably won't sell, but the power is yours.
One thing to keep in mind: Vivid Seats uses a platform called Skybox for many of its professional sellers, but for the average person just trying to offload two seats, you’ll likely use their standard seller portal. It’s intuitive enough, though the fees can bite. Expect them to take a cut—usually around 10% or more—of the final sale price. Honestly, it’s the price of admission for getting your tickets in front of millions of eyeballs.
The Paperless Problem
We need to talk about mobile transfer tickets. Most tickets these days aren't PDFs you can just upload. They live inside a specific app—like the MLB app, Ticketmaster, or a team-specific portal. When you sell tickets on Vivid Seats, you often won't actually "upload" the ticket to them. Instead, once someone buys them, Vivid Seats sends you an email with the buyer's info. You then have to go into your original ticket app and "transfer" them to the buyer's email address.
It feels sketchy the first time you do it. You’re basically sending a high-value asset to a stranger's email and hoping the system recognizes you did it.
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Don't worry. The system tracks the transfer. Just make sure you use the exact email address Vivid Seats provides. If you typo that email, your tickets are gone, the buyer doesn't get them, and Vivid Seats will likely charge you a penalty fee to cover the cost of finding the buyer a replacement. It's a high-stakes game of copy-paste.
Getting Your Listing to Stand Out
Price is the biggest lever, obviously. But it’s not the only one.
When you’re setting up your listing, be incredibly specific. If your seats are "Obstructed View," for the love of everything, check that box. If you don’t, and the buyer complains, Vivid Seats will claw back your payment. On the flip side, if you have perks—like "Club Access" or "VIP Parking Pass included"—shout it from the rooftops.
The Under-the-Radar Strategy
Check the "Zone" pricing. Sometimes, the cheapest ticket in Section 101 is $150, but the cheapest ticket in Section 102 (which is basically the same view) is $180. If you’re in 102, don’t just match the 102 price. Look at the whole "Zone." If you price your 102 tickets at $149, you become the #1 best value in the entire lower bowl.
People love a bargain, even if it's only by a dollar.
Also, consider the "Even or All" rule. Most sellers hate being left with a single ticket. If you have four tickets, you might want to set the "split" to only allow people to buy 2 or 4. Selling 3 tickets leaves you with a "single" which is notoriously hard to sell because, well, most people have friends.
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The Payday Reality Check
Here is the part that catches everyone off guard: you do not get paid when the tickets sell.
Read that again.
If you sell tickets on Vivid Seats in January for a concert happening in June, you are waiting until June for your money. Vivid Seats (and almost every other major exchange) holds the funds until the event has actually happened. Why? Because if the headliner gets laryngitis and cancels the tour, the buyer needs a refund. If Vivid Seats already gave you the money, they’d have to chase you down to get it back.
So, they just keep it in escrow.
Once the event ends—usually within 7 to 10 days—they trigger the payment. You can choose PayPal or a direct deposit (ACH). Personally, I prefer ACH because PayPal sometimes tacks on their own internal fees or holding periods, and when you’ve already waited six months for your cash, you want the full amount.
Tax Stuff (The Boring But Necessary Part)
Since the 1099-K regulations changed, the IRS is way more interested in your ticket sales. If you sell more than $600 in a calendar year, Vivid Seats is going to ask for your Social Security number or Tax ID. They have to. If you don't provide it, they'll freeze your payouts.
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Just keep your original receipts. If you bought a ticket for $200 and sold it for $250, you only owe taxes on the $50 profit, not the full $250. But you need the paperwork to prove that.
Common Pitfalls That Cost You Money
Mistakes are expensive here. If you list tickets and then realize you accidentally sold them on a different site at the same time, you are in trouble. This is called a "Double Sale."
If you can't deliver the tickets you promised, Vivid Seats will charge you a fee that is often 100% of the sale price. They use that money to buy the frustrated customer new tickets so the brand doesn't look bad.
- Double-check your dates. Ensure you didn't list the Friday show when you have Saturday tickets.
- Monitor your email. When a sale happens, you usually have a 24-48 hour window to complete the transfer.
- Delete old listings. If you decide to go to the game after all, delete the listing before you leave your house. If it sells while you’re walking through the turnstiles, you’re on the hook.
Is It Better Than StubHub?
Honestly? It's a toss-up. StubHub has more global recognition, but Vivid Seats has a massive loyalty program called "Vivid Seats Rewards." Because frequent buyers get every 11th ticket free, there is a very loyal base of customers who only shop on Vivid. This is good for you. More buyers means a higher chance of a quick sale.
The interface on Vivid is also arguably a bit cleaner for individual sellers. It doesn't feel quite as "corporate" or cluttered.
However, the "wait until after the event" payment policy is a universal pain across the industry. If you need money today to pay rent, selling tickets isn't the solution. It's a long-game reimbursement.
Step-by-Step Action Plan
- Gather the Goods: Get your original confirmation email open. You need the exact section, row, and seat numbers. No guessing.
- Price Search: Go to the Vivid Seats "Buy" page. Search for your event. See what others in your section are charging.
- List Early: Prices usually drop right before the event as people panic. List your tickets as soon as you know you can't go.
- The Transfer: Once you get the "Sold" email, log into the app where the tickets live (Ticketmaster, etc.). Hit "Transfer." Enter the buyer's email from the Vivid Seats instructions.
- Confirm: Go back to the Vivid Seats seller portal and click the button that says "I have transferred these tickets." If you don't click this, the system doesn't know you did your job.
- Verify Payment Info: Make sure your bank account or PayPal is linked correctly before the event date.
- Wait: Set a calendar reminder for 10 days after the event to check your bank account.
Selling tickets doesn't have to be a nightmare, but it does require attention to detail. Treat it like a small business transaction. The more professional you are with the transfer and the accuracy of the listing, the faster you get your cash and the less likely you are to deal with customer support.