“I bought tickets for “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg for November 12, 2025. Naturally, I picked the most expensive seats—because apparently I enjoy financially suffering for “prime location.” I even bought parking in advance, because I’m thorough like that.
So imagine my joy when I discovered later that StubHub—sitting smugly at the top of Google like it owns the entire internet—isn’t even part of the theater. Silly me for assuming the site plastered all over the search results was, you know, legitimate and connected to the actual venue. Nope. I could have clicked one inch lower and bought everything directly from the Mahaffey for much less. What a concept.
But let’s get to the main attraction.
I paid $39.74 for a parking pass. Pricey, yes—but I naïvely assumed “prime parking” meant somewhere within the same ZIP code as the theater. Turns out this “prime” parking was a half-mile away—basically a scenic urban hike we had not planned on. But since we didn’t know any better, we gamely trekked the distance.
And when we finally reached the theater—slightly winded but still upright—what did we see?
A huge onsite parking lot for ten dollars. Ten.
So yes, we paid more than triple the price to park farther away. Because apparently at age 80, what we really needed was a cardiovascular challenge disguised as “parking.”
So here’s my public service announcement:
Scroll past StubHub.
Scroll like your financial sanity depends on it.
Go directly to the venue’s website unless you enjoy surprise hikes and premium prices for bargain-bin service.
Sure, I missed the fine print—that’s on me. But companies that charge top dollar for bottom-tier convenience? That’s on them. And trust me, they’re happy to take your money and give you as little as possible in return.
You’ve been warned.”
“Thank you stubhub for ruining my event. Totally worthless company. Had bought a ticket to aftershock this year for Sunday GA that was supposed to be here the Thursday before the event it never showed up. After talking to multiple live agents who were mostly unhelpful, one of them the day before the event told me if the ticket wasn't there by Sunday they would get me another ticket. (Clearly wasn't going to make it in time for me to before I had to leave Sunday morning from Georgia). So getting ready to leave Sunday morning because the event starts at just after 11am and like I figured no ticket still. Called stubhub again finally got on with a live agent who said it needed to be escalated to some other department for resolution. After explaining that the show was today and how I can't understand why a multi billion dollar company can't get me a 2 hundred dollar ticket so I can see the show I paid for and not gotten a rental car for nothing. He attempted to get done what he could only problem is he worked for a company that does not value people who make them successful or the time and money people invest in who might not have a lot just really need to get out and do something for themselves. This unfortunately was the second time this year they screwed me over. Though this forum is hard to find I'm hopeful that I can save someone else's event/plans from being ruined and recommending you go with a company other than stubhub even if it costs more. A little bit potential saved in the beginning will cost you a whole lot more in the end.”
“Flew to Las Vegas Sphere with 3 kids. Paid a fortune for tickets to see Wizard of Oz a month before our trip. Morning of event 3 hours before show I get an email the tickets have been released and they would be transferred to my TickeMaster account. Followed the prompts only to see message “Oops these tickets have already been claimed by another email address”. StubHub chat said they would investigate in 3-4 days. Ticket Master said out of their hands not their department. StubHub human agent offered a refund or I could get other different tickets but the show was sold out so no chance. There were never any tickets and they were not delivered. and we missed the show.
Don’t they understand?
We didn’t want a refund.
We wanted the show.
They want you to think it’s not them but they are the problem because it’s their system. Their flawed and broken design.
It’s not the resellers. It’s not the performers. It’s not the venue. It’s not us the customers. It’s TicketMaster/StubHub games that has abandoned simple customer service and simplicity. We all miss the days of having a simple ticket in hand for one published price for everyone and no BS games. Sad times. Everything is a gamble these days.”
“I bought tickets through StubHub because they advertise “100% guaranteed” and say you can “buy and sell with confidence.” That’s a lie.
Here’s what actually happens: you buy tickets, they take your money immediately, and then you get an email saying your tickets will “arrive soon” and you’ll need to “accept them.” Translation: they don’t actually have the tickets they just sold you.
In my case, I was told I would get my tickets at least 3 hours before the show. The time came and passed and still no tickets. Two hours before the event, I had to reach out to them because they didn’t even bother contacting me. It took 20 minutes to get someone in their chat, only to be told I could either:
Take worse tickets (literally last 2nd to last row of the stadium), for the same price, or get a refund and not go at all even though we’d already planned the night, gotten ready, and paid for a babysitter.
So basically, StubHub sells you premium tickets they don’t actually have, waits until the last minute when you’re too invested to back out, and then offers you garbage seats or nothing. That’s not a “guarantee.” That’s bait and switch.
They did have better tickets listed on their own site when they offered me the trash tickets but wouldn’t give me those. They wouldn’t discount the worse seats. Just a robotic “we understand your frustration.”
StubHub’s system is broken, dishonest, and fraudulent. They ruined our night, wasted our time, and turned what was supposed to be a fun event into a headache.
If you’re considering buying through StubHub, don’t. There’s no confidence, no reliability, and certainly no guarantee. Only regret.”
“We never received or tickets and were billed. I just got back from trip where I tried to use StubHub, so will now see if customer service will refund me.”
“Do not sell tickets on StubHub .if you have problems they won’t help you .automatically charge your credit card with computer generated.no one to dispute to except computer .total scam .the rep told me the computer automatically generates email canceling your sale .then charges you .he said there is no way for them to fix or change it .they said the only way is to dispute it with your credit card .this is highly suspicious and illegal practices.i am already out over 600.00 and counting.”
“I ordered platinum parking passes that were never emailed to me. I contacted customer service and was given gold parking passes instead. This was the option I was given and it was at the time the event started that I had to choose the downgrade. I contacted customer service to get refunded the difference and all I was told that it was policy. But at what time, did I have to read the policy when I was at the gate being denied entry for not having the email. So hastily I chose the option of gold passes. StubHub did not offer any compensation even though their policy states comparable or better.”
“I bought 2 (two) tickets on Oct 21. for Galatasaray - Ajax game on Nov. 5th..
Order 627 171 241
Guest access code M96KKX
Section 420
Row 23
Seat 91-92
Price per ticket $407.61
Service fee $307.13
Total paid $1.122.35
I was handed the tickets for admission. We were not allowed to the stadium by Ajax.
I expect your company to sell me the tickets and deliver them to me... this did not happen.
I request full refund of $1.122.35.
Mab.”
“We accidentally purchased standing only tickets than once we realized that we connected them to upgrade them and buy two more. They said no can’t do it . Than we list them to sell them through them and we did it wrong so they charged us another $900 just from listing them wrong . I will never buy through them and I’ll try to prevent anyone else from getting scammed from them as well”
“The tickets were not delivered , i was promised alternate tickets were to arrive 1 hour prior to the concert at which point i could either accept the tickets or demand a refund . I was told i would receive an email 1 hours prior to the concert which never arrived . When i called the help line the person demanded i prove i hadnt received the tickets after sending him 3 copies of the email he escalated to the next level of BS artists and told us to wait up to 5 days to receive an email to confirm a possible refund . What a joke”
“DO NOT use this company to purchase tickets for any event. I was advised wrong and am liable for paying for someone else's tickets. Customer service is useless and the chat is a joke. Don't trust them!”
“I bought expensive tickets on StubHub thinking I was safe because of their so-called “FanProtect Guarantee.” Turns out that guarantee means nothing. They waited until the day before the event to tell me the tickets I paid for were “no longer available.” Their only options: a refund or “comparable” tickets — which turned out to be much worse seats for the same price.
When I complained, StubHub tried to shift the blame to the seller, saying they’re just a marketplace. But if StubHub runs the platform, handles the money, and promises protection, then they’re responsible for ensuring the transaction is legitimate. Otherwise, what’s the point of using them?
This experience was a complete disaster and ruined the event for me. StubHub needs to stop hiding behind sellers and start taking accountability. I’ll never use them again — and I’d warn anyone else to stay far away.”
“Please DO NOT order tickets from StubHub. Went to venue for concert, security had difficulty scanning tickets. Was told to contact StubHub for barcode, while trying to rectify issue missed almost hour of show. Once issue corrected, once there was seating change. While trying to enjoy what's left of show, security from venue asked to see tickets, now I am being told my family and I must stand for the rest of the show because my tickets have letter S for Standing Only. StubHub do not compensate innocent customers for their bad practices”
“Just spoke with a customer service rep who was brutally rude. This is not an exaggeration... You know the drunk guy loitering out on the streets who's acting belligerent and rude to everyone passing him by? That's exactly how this customer service rep was talking and acting. I feel like I dodged a bullet by not purchasing from them.”
“Can I give them 0 stars!! They had a system glitch and still charged me 500 dollars. Will NOT refund me and kept repeating the same thing over and over again. They told me they would not charge me then they decided TWO years later to go ahead w a charge.. CROOKS!! I will never sell or buy from them ever again”
“Had a horrible experience. Downloaded five tickets for Nikki Glaser in Atlanta for October 3. Downloaded five tickets and they only paid me for two and I did everything I was told and I keep contacting customer service and none of them understand English and they keep telling me they’re gonna take care of it and nothing happens. Please beware -do not use them. Ticketmaster is a much better option.”
“Was on holiday in New York, purchased tickets at least a month before for Knicks v Chicago Bulls game at MSG, spent over £100 on them, then the day of the game couldn't receive the tickets, contacted stubhub and they still couldn't help, found it very difficult to get any human contact, once I did they still couldn't help me, so ended up with no ticket. Eventually gave up. Next day enquire about a refund and was told that there was a telephone number I could have phoned the day before, but i couldn't see it anywhere on the site at the time and still can't. Very poor service this time around , and will definitely think twice about using them in the future. Like I say very difficult to get human contact in the event of a problem. Ruined a big part of my holiday!”
“The parking garage that we got from Stub Hub was a long distance to walk. There were 2 parking garages next to the event. For my next venue I ordered directly through the event center. Never again will you receive my business.”
