Website Closers® presents a 35-year-old Ticket Brokering Business specializing in the secondary market for sought-after concerts, sporting events, and theatre seats. It has garnered a reputation of the highest caliber, built a devoted clientele, and distinguished itself from rivals through honesty, transparency, and exceptional customer support.
The Market
In recent years, the demand for sporting events, concerts, and theater tickets has surged to unprecedented levels, leading to frequent sellouts that leave enthusiasts scrambling to find seats right before the event starts. Major sports leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA, along with prestigious tournaments like the World Series, Super Bowl, and Masters Golf Tournament, witness an overwhelming demand for tickets, resulting in frequent sellouts, especially of the premium seats. The anticipation surrounding these events, fueled by the fervor of dedicated fans and the allure of witnessing iconic moments, contributes to the rapid depletion of ticket inventories. As a result, individuals often turn to honest and trusted ticket resellers, like this company, to fulfill their desire to attend these highly sought-after events. These resellers play a crucial role in the secondary ticket market, offering a solution for fans who missed out on initial ticket releases or seek specific seating arrangements. The popularity of these services underscores the evolving dynamics of ticket acquisition in the face of soaring demand for live entertainment experiences.
Standout Features
The company website displays between $2 and $3 billion worth of tickets at any given time. Consumers see the same tickets as other marketplaces; however, the platform differs in various ways, making it highly attractive.
For instance, unlike many competitors that mislead clients by hiding substantial fees, this business is transparent, listing tickets at their total all-inclusive prices. Additionally, the company has built a reputation for outstanding customer support whereas many others in the industry considerably lack in this department.
Many consumers have called the company for nearly 36 years to gather information or advice about whether it’s a good time to buy tickets or if they should possibly wait until it gets closer to the event. This is atypical in the industry and highly appreciated. In fact, it’s challenging to speak to a customer service representative at most rival sites. Since inception, the founder has emphasized the importance of this aspect of operations. The team is accessible daily via phone, text messages, email, and Live Chat until 10 pm. They even go the extra mile by sending out reminders to clients before attending events and leaving their mobile phone numbers for emergencies.
A key value proposition of the business is that they are the only one offering Travel Agents a dedicated opportunity to earn commission. The owners judiciously implemented an affiliate program for these professionals, whereby they each have a personalized website to send their clients and receive a percentage of the sale. This strategy has proven incredibly lucrative and contributed over $2 million in revenue in 2023. The business currently has more than 80,000 affiliates, growing by approximately 100 new agents per day.
Ticket Sourcing
Tickets are procured in various ways.
- Primarily, inventory is shared to the site through an API with a prominent open ticket distribution platform that has over 1,000 other resellers uploading to them.
- Additional stock is purchased from season ticket holders for major sports leagues like the MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA.
- The team works with particular associates who have access to larger groups of tickets for major events, including The World Series and Super Bowl.
- Others are bought from the general public from those with extra tickets for sale.
- Masters Golf Tournament badges are acquired from patrons.
Revenue Generation & Marketing
The business offers tickets to a range of events, as indicated, but enjoys excellent profitability on certain fixtures. The top-seller is The Masters Golf Tournament, which accounts for 25% of sales and achieves 35% net margins. The Super Bowl follows in popularity, contributing between 10% and 15% of annual revenue at 15% margins. $2 million is derived from sales for miscellaneous events, which presents tremendous growth potential.
The company allocates a minimal budget to marketing, exhibiting another potentially lucrative prospect for a buyer. The Travel Agent arm was developed through a grassroots effort to get the brand recognized in that industry and quickly morphed into a lucrative arrangement through several prominent host agents. Facebook is utilized and geared toward these agents on an exclusive affiliate page, and an agency performs additional marketing across social media platforms.
Customer Demographic & Staff
The website attracts customers worldwide, driven by the US, Canada, and Mexico. The demographic is extensive, considering tickets range from around $100 to many thousands of dollars.
One of the owners runs day-to-day operations, including ticket acquisitions and pricing, communication with customers, resolving issues, and all other projects.
Two full-time employees work in the capacities of Date Entry and Bookkeeper, and a part-time member works in Sales.
The team is motivated to remain post-acquisition, should a buyer wish, and the owner is willing to stay for an extended period. Subsequently, they can reap the benefits of a comfortable transition period and business relationships that have been cultivated over the course of 35 years.
