Authorized partners
Approved by the event, with agreed rules for pricing, inventory, data and the fan experience. These relationships can help you reach more fans.
If a $50 ticket resells for $150, who keeps the extra $100?
Free PDF · Four warning signals, nine actions and seven questions.
Showpass powers more than 200,000 active events and works with over 30,000 event organizers. Drawing on data from that organizer network, we compiled this guide to help you spot unauthorized resale earlier, connect the warning signs and protect your fans and revenue.
EXAMPLE
Your event receives the original $50 ticket price, but your fan pays $150—and may assume you set that price. They arrive expecting a $150 experience, leaving your event to answer for expectations created by a $100 markup you never received.
Approved by the event, with agreed rules for pricing, inventory, data and the fan experience. These relationships can help you reach more fans.
Operate without your approval. A ticket may be valid, but you have less control over its listing, price and the promises made to the buyer.
Tickets bought with stolen payment details can be resold before a dispute arrives. The original payment may later be reversed, adding another cost to the event.
WHERE THE GUIDE COMES FROM
Developed from Showpass Founder and CEO Lucas McCarthy’s IFEA 2026 session, “How to Know When Your Event Is Under Attack by Resellers,” this guide brings together the session’s four warning signals, nine practical actions and seven questions for your ticketing provider.
It focuses on what to examine: purchase timing, shared buyer details, purchase locations, ticket transfers and marketplace listings. One unusual order is a reason to investigate. Connected signals give you a stronger basis for review.
For festival, fair and event teams preparing for high-demand sales. Download the guide and use it to start a more useful conversation with your provider.
FREE GUIDE FOR EVENT ORGANIZERS
Get the practical checklist for spotting suspicious buying activity and choosing your next steps. Use it with your team and your ticketing provider.
From Showpass’s IFEA 2026 session on unauthorized resale, with practical checks for festival, fair and event teams.
The warning signs can appear before the complaints. Get the guide to learn:
