Last Minute Sales are defined as sales within 1 hour or less of an event start time. The sales often cause issues for both Ticket Attendant and clients, frequently resulting in cancellations. This is illustrated when looking at cancellation rates among last minute sales:
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Sales within 2 hours of the event are 2x as likely to be canceled as a same day sale earlier in the day.
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Sales within 30 minutes of the event are 4x as likely and sales after the event starts are 8x as likely to be canceled.
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When we are within 2 hours of an event we have anywhere from a 15 to 30 minute (max) window to complete the order. Under 1 hour, that window shrinks to a max of 10 minutes with most exchanges.
Same Day Sales are defined as sales that take place on the same day as the event but more than 1 hour ahead of the event start time or sales that take place after business hours the day before the event.
Ticket Attendant is beholden to the fulfillment requirements of the exchange where the tickets were sold. This means that the in-hand date no longer has an impact on the delivery window for Same Day Sales.
Exchanges’ guidelines and terms of service are subject to change without warning. We have seen exchanges develop stricter guidelines for their delivery windows. For example, Tick Pick’s same day policy was updated in March 2023 and requires that same day sales must be filled within 33% of the time between when the tickets sell and when the event starts. For example:
|
Sale Time |
Event Time |
Delivery Deadline |
|
3am |
12pm |
12pm – 3am = 9 hours * 33% = 3 hours, delivery due by 6am |
|
3am |
9pm |
9pm – 3am = 18 hours * 33% = 6 hours, delivery due by 9am |
|
12pm |
6pm |
6pm – 12pm = 6 hours * 33% = 2 hours, delivery due by 2pm |
|
1pm |
2pm |
2pm – 1pm = 1 hour * 33% = 20 min, delivery due by 1:20pm |
|
7pm |
7:30pm |
7:30pm - 7pm = 30 min * 33% = 10 min, delivery due by 7:10pm |
As you can see, this leaves little room for error and there is no obligation for exchanges to reach out to us in these cases.
We see a variety of issues in this short time frame such as: tickets being locked, TM forcing password changes, slow/unresponsive sites, and tickets not being eligible for the sold delivery method. Unfortunately with only 10 minutes or less to deliver an order, any of these can result in cancellation and penalties.
Ticket Attendant will continue to do our best to automatically or manually fill any and all sales. However, Last Minute and Same Day Sales, we will take the following procedures:
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Automatically attempt to deliver any sale within 15 minutes of confirming the order (typically less).
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If delivery fails for any reason, we will notify you at your designated email.
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After being notified, assuming the order is still valid, you will be able to fulfill it through the Terminal Undelivered page or work with our operations team member to complete the order.
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If for any reason we are unable to complete the order and it is canceled, Ticket Attendant will do its best to notify you again and give you the chance to resell the tickets.
We do understand that Last Minute and Same Day Sales are unavoidable, but we do strongly encourage clients to push for earlier sales or accept the additional liability we continue to encounter.
Ticket Attendant will do our best to fulfill the order and communicate, but there is a greater likelihood that we will ultimately hold the client accountable for any issues that may arise. Liability may be passed on to clients at our discretion.