Talk:StubHub

This article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Companies Mid‑importance Companies portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Companies, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of companies on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale. WikiProject Companies To-do: Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Wikipedia:Requested articles/Business and economics/Companies Assess : Category:Unassessed company articles Copyedit : Category:Company articles needing attention Infobox : Category:Company articles needing infoboxes Maintain : Portal:Companies Stubs : Help expand stub articles located at Category:Company stubs Other : Tag company articles with the {{portal|Companies}} template Tag company talk pages with the {{WikiProject Companies}} project banner Answer requests for comments Event Venues (inactive) This article is within the scope of WikiProject Event Venues, a project which is currently considered to be inactive. Internet Low‑importance Internet portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Internet, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the Internet on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Archives (Index)

1

This page is archived by ClueBot III.

The Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use require that editors disclose their "employer, client, and affiliation" with respect to any paid contribution; see WP:PAID. For advice about reviewing paid contributions, see WP:COIRESPONSE. Stephanie BINK (talk · contribs) has been paid by Beutler Ink on behalf of Brunswick Group on behalf of StubHub Holdings.

History update

Part of an edit requested by an editor with a conflict of interest has been implemented.

Hi editors, I'm Stephanie and I work for Beutler Ink. I have several ideas to overhaul the article (I made a diff here if anyone is curious!) that will expand context, make sure the content reflects the sourcing, and improve citations and organization.

My first request is in two parts. First, I propose changing the subhead 2000–2007 to Founding and early years as this is more descriptive.

Second, I propose changing the first paragraph of the section to add additional context about the founding of StubHub, as supported by reliable sources. That would look like this:

Extended content

− StubHub was founded in March 2000 as a class project by [[Eric Baker (businessman)|Eric Baker]] and [[Jeff Fluhr]], both former [[Stanford Business School]] students and [[investment banker]]s. One of its first major sports deals was with the [[Seattle Mariners]] in 2001. In 2002, eBay was in talks to acquire StubHub for US$20 million, although the agreement had later "fallen apart over price." While StubHub initially intended to "build a ticket transaction system that [Fluhr] could sell to other online portals and providers", in 2003, the company began placing [[Google]] ads for the actual StubHub website instead, directly facilitating ticket sales from sellers to buyers. After having a falling out with Fluhr in 2005, Baker left the company, retaining 10% ownership. + [[Eric Baker (businessman)|Eric Baker]] had the idea for an online secondhand event ticket marketplace after he struggled to purchase secondhand tickets for a showing of ''[[The Lion King (musical)|The Lion King]]'' on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. He began developing the concept with [[Jeff Fluhr]] as part of a competition while both were students at [[Stanford Graduate School of Business]]. In March 2000, the pair [[Incorporation (business)|incorporated]] StubHub in [[San Francisco]] to act as that marketplace. The company raised <span style="white-space: nowrap">US$</span>600,000 in [[seed funding]] by August 2000. Fluhr left school to be [[chief executive officer]] of StubHub; Baker graduated in 2001 and became company president. That year, StubHub signed its first deal with a professional sports team, partnering with the [[Seattle Mariners]]. By its third year of operation, StubHub had 60 employees. After having a falling out with Fluhr in 2005, Baker left the company, retaining 10% ownership. References Cite error: The named reference Wong2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Dollinger, Marc J. (July 2008). Entrepreneurship: Strategies and Resources. Marsh Publications. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-9713130-6-4. Retrieved April 30, 2013. "MLB renews deal with StubHub". ESPN. December 10, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Auchard, Eric (January 21, 2007). "eBay to pay around $300 million to buy StubHub, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved June 22, 2023. Anthony, Scott D. (2008). The Innovator's Guide to Growth. Harvard Business Press. p. 193. ISBN 9781591398462. Charny, Ben (August 23, 2006). "Online ticket scalping comes to Europe". MarketWatch. Cite error: The named reference NYT1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Cite error: The named reference CBS1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Eng, Dinah (July 23, 2012). "StubHub: Anatomy of a game-changing idea". CNN. Fortune. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Cite error: The named reference ESPN1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Charny, Ben (August 23, 2006). "Online ticket scalping comes to Europe". MarketWatch. Altogether, the resulting text would look like this: Eric Baker had the idea for an online secondhand event ticket marketplace after he struggled to purchase secondhand tickets for a showing of The Lion King on Broadway.[1] He began developing the concept with Jeff Fluhr as part of a competition while both were students at Stanford Graduate School of Business.[2] In March 2000, the pair incorporated StubHub in San Francisco to act as that marketplace. The company raised US$600,000 in seed funding by August 2000. Fluhr left school to be chief executive officer of StubHub; Baker graduated in 2001 and became company president.[3] That year, StubHub signed its first deal with a professional sports team, partnering with the Seattle Mariners.[4] By its third year of operation, StubHub had 60 employees.[3] After having a falling out with Fluhr in 2005, Baker left the company, retaining 10% ownership.[5] References Sisario, Ben (November 25, 2019). "StubHub Sold to Smaller Rival Viagogo for Over $4 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Liedtke, Michael (January 11, 2007). "eBay Buys StubHub Ticket Broker For $310M". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Eng, Dinah (July 23, 2012). "StubHub: Anatomy of a game-changing idea". CNN. Fortune. Retrieved June 5, 2025. "MLB renews deal with StubHub". ESPN. December 10, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Charny, Ben (August 23, 2006). "Online ticket reselling wars begin in Europe". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 5, 2025.

This does several things:

• Adds additional context and detail to the founding of StubHub, making the article more thorough
• Updates several citations to be more complete
• Clarifies details on the nature of founding, founding location
• Improves accuracy/clarity of statement on what Fluhr and Baker were doing when they founded the company (active students rather than mere alumni at the time)
• Removes extraneous details about routine business details that aren't relevant anymore because they didn't happen or are not especially significant (e.g. In 2002, eBay was in talks to acquire StubHub for US$20 million, although the agreement had later "fallen apart over price." and While StubHub initially intended to "build a ticket transaction system that [Fluhr] could sell to other online portals and providers", in 2003, the company began placing Google ads for the actual StubHub website instead, directly facilitating ticket sales from sellers to buyers.)
  • I think WP:NOTEVERYTHING would apply here

Please let me know what you think! Happy to discuss further. Stephanie BINK (talk) 20:42, 21 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Partly done: Retained one mention of eBay. Encoded  Talk 💬 16:51, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Encoded: thanks for reviewing! Stephanie BINK (talk) 21:11, 2 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

History update 2

The user below has a request that an edit be made to StubHub. That user has an actual or apparent conflict of interest. The requested edits backlog is very high. Please be extremely patient. There are currently 207 requests waiting for review. Please read the instructions for the parameters used by this template for accepting and declining them, and review the request below and make the edit if it is well sourced, neutral, and follows other Wikipedia guidelines and policies.

Hi editors, my next request is in two parts.

First, I propose changing the heading 2000–2007 to Founding and early years as this is more descriptive.

For the second, I propose changing up the remainder of the 2000–2007 subsection in the following way:

Extended content

− After having a falling out with Fluhr in 2005, Baker left the company, retaining 10% ownership. In 2005, the company raised between $10 million and $25 million from [[Pequot Ventures]] (now [[FirstMark Capital]]). That year, the company generated $50 million in revenue, was cash flow positive. and generated over $200 million in sales. In 2006, ''[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]]'' ranked StubHub as the eighth fastest growing private company in America on its annual "Inc. 500" list. [[File:EBayTorontoOffice2.JPG|thumb|eBay, PayPal, Kijiji, and StubHub in Toronto]] StubHub's acquisition by eBay was announced in January 2007 for a reported $310 million; the company went public under eBay. According to [[CNN Money]], 2007 was a very successful year for the company, handling five million individual transactions, more than in the previous six years combined of its history. Staffing at StubHub had increased to 350 workers by the time of the sale. Following the acquisition, Fluhr left the company, and [[Chris Tsakalakis]] became the CEO. + Fluhr described a 2004 falling out between himself and Baker over the company direction. Baker wanted to develop partnerships with sports leagues while Fluhr preferred to focus on building the StubHub brand. The difference in direction led to Baker leaving the company while retaining a 10 percent ownership stake. Baker founded competing agency [[Viagogo]] to operate in European markets in 2006. StubHub had a positive [[cash flow]] in 2005 with sales of approximately <span style="white-space: nowrap">US$</span>200 million and revenues of approximately <span style="white-space: nowrap">US$</span>50 million. The company successfully lobbied for law changes in New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania regarding ticket sales and the amount above face value for which tickets could be sold. StubHub made approximately <span style="white-space: nowrap">US$</span>6,500 in campaign donations to Florida legislators while lobbying for the law change in that state. In 2006, the value of tickets sold on the platform was approximately <span style="white-space: nowrap">US$</span>400 million and it generated approximately <span style="white-space: nowrap">US$</span>100 million in revenue. The company employed approximately 350 people at 12 locations. References Charny, Ben (August 23, 2006). "Online ticket reselling wars begin in Europe". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Louise, Nickie (November 25, 2019). "EBay is selling StubHub to Swiss ticket vendor Viagogo for about $4 billion in cash". Tech Startups. Eng, Dinah (July 23, 2012). "StubHub: Anatomy of a game-changing idea". CNN. Anthony, Scott D.; Johnson, Mark W.; Altman, Elizabeth J.; Sinfield, Joseph V. (June 1, 2008). The Innovator's Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work. Harvard Business Publishing. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-59139-846-2. Budnick, Dean; Baron, Josh (June 1, 2011). Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped. ECW Press. p. 392. ISBN 978-1-55490-941-4. "eBay To Acquire Online Tickets Marketplace StubHub" (Press release). eBay. January 10, 2007. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2007. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 3, 2007. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Shelly, Gary B.; Vermaat, Misty E. (2008). Discovering Computers 2009: Introductory. Cengage Learning. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-4239-1197-5. Retrieved April 30, 2013. "EBay Buying StubHub for $310M in Cash". Associated Press. January 11, 2011. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2013. McCormick, Bret (February 28, 2022). "Dealmaking, the full return of live events, and league and team business up for grabs are positioning sports ticketing for years of growth". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2023. Cite error: The named reference Fekete2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Cite error: The named reference StubHub CEO Resigned 2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Sisario, Ben (November 25, 2019). "StubHub Sold to Smaller Rival Viagogo for Over $4 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Liedtke, Michael (January 11, 2007). "eBay Buys StubHub Ticket Broker For $310M". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Cite error: The named reference CNN12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Charny, Ben (August 23, 2006). "Online ticket reselling wars begin in Europe". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Kirsch, Noah (May 28, 2020). "Worst. Deal. Ever". Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Anthony, Scott D.; Johnson, Mark; Sinfield, Joseph; Altman, Elizabeth J. (2008). The Innovator's Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 9781591398462. Retrieved June 5, 2025. "The Scalpers In Tallahassee". The Ledger. June 6, 2006. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Talalay, Sarah; Piccoli, Sean (May 2, 2006). "Bill lifts restrictions on ticket resale prices". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved June 5, 2025 – via LexisNexis. Rendered out, it looks like this: Fluhr described a 2004 falling out between himself and Baker over the company direction. Baker wanted to develop partnerships with sports leagues while Fluhr preferred to focus on building the StubHub brand. The difference in direction led to Baker leaving the company while retaining a 10 percent ownership stake.[1][2][3][4] Baker founded competing agency Viagogo to operate in European markets in 2006.[5] StubHub had a positive cash flow in 2005 with sales of approximately US$200 million and revenues of approximately US$50 million.[6][3] The company successfully lobbied for law changes in New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania regarding ticket sales and the amount above face value for which tickets could be sold.[3] StubHub made approximately US$6,500 in campaign donations to Florida legislators while lobbying for the law change in that state.[7][8] In 2006, the value of tickets sold on the platform was approximately US$400 million and it generated approximately US$100 million in revenue. The company employed approximately 350 people at 12 locations.[2][3] References Sisario, Ben (November 25, 2019). "StubHub Sold to Smaller Rival Viagogo for Over $4 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Liedtke, Michael (January 11, 2007). "eBay Buys StubHub Ticket Broker For $310M". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Cite error: The named reference CNN12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Charny, Ben (August 23, 2006). "Online ticket reselling wars begin in Europe". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Kirsch, Noah (May 28, 2020). "Worst. Deal. Ever". Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Anthony, Scott D.; Johnson, Mark; Sinfield, Joseph; Altman, Elizabeth J. (2008). The Innovator's Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 9781591398462. Retrieved June 5, 2025. "The Scalpers In Tallahassee". The Ledger. June 6, 2006. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2025. Talalay, Sarah; Piccoli, Sean (May 2, 2006). "Bill lifts restrictions on ticket resale prices". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved June 5, 2025 – via LexisNexis. Source 3 is already cited in the article. It is "CNN12", this story

This does several things:

• Condenses content and removes potentially biased language (e.g. 2007 was a very successful year for the company)
• Removes sentences about investment from Pequot (poor sourcing) and Inc. 500 listing (comes off a bit promotional, though I understand if editors prefer to keep this because the source is solid)
• Explains the context of the falling out between Fluhr and Baker more
• Removes mention of the eBay acquisition (preserves chronology of the section, acquisition to be added back in the next edit request, my draft/diff shows where I intend to suggest it goes)
• Removes Fluhr/Tsakalakis transition to preserve chronology (will be added to the next subsection in the next edit request)
• Adds content related to lobbying efforts to fit better into chronology
• Updates sources and makes Manual of Style fixes where needed

Please let me know what you think! Stephanie BINK (talk) 21:11, 2 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]