Look Out for These Red Flags in A Ticketing Provider
Imagine this: You’ve spent months planning your event. The venue is set; the vendors are booked. The marketing campaigns are in full swing, and attendees are getting excited. But then, unexpectedly, your ticketing platform starts throwing curveballs in the form of hidden fees, forced branding, confusing technology, and delayed payouts. You can’t do anything about it, though, because apparently, it was all right there (i.e., buried) in the fine print.
If this sounds painfully familiar, you’re not alone.
You should never have to dig through pages of fine print to get answers to important questions. That’s why we put together a cheat sheet of what to ask before choosing a ticketing provider. These are the red flags and sneaky policies that could cost you thousands in revenue and attendee satisfaction.
Our goal is to ensure you have all the information you need to make a decision, so let’s break it down.
1. Can I Control The Branding?
🚩Many popular ticketing providers will slap their logo all over your event page, But this is your event. Why should their brand or anyone else's overshadow your unique brand voice and thoughtful design?
✅ With TicketSpice, you get to call the shots on your branding. You can choose a template if you want to keep the design easy, but you’ll never see our logo. Your event stays front and center.
2. How Soon Will I Get Paid?
🚩Some platforms hold onto your funds for days (or weeks) after your event wraps up. While they sit on your money, you fall behind in payments.
✅ With TicketSpice, you get instant payouts—daily or weekly. It’s your choice.
3. Can I Keep My Convenience Fees?
🚩Most ticketing providers set, require, and keep the convenience fee. Talk about limitations!
✅ With TicketSpice, you decide the fees, and you keep 100% of them. Or, you can decide not to charge any fees at all. It’s completely up to you.
4. Are My Attendees Forced to Create Accounts?
🚩Some ticketing providers will require attendees to create an account prior to buying tickets for your event. This has a negative impact on ticketing and binds them to policies and terms unrelated to your event.
✅With TicketSpice, attendees don’t have to go through the hassle of making an account. If attendees want to claim an account later, however, you can offer that as an option.
5. Will My Attendees Be Shown Other Events?
🚩Imagine an attendee all set to buy tickets for your event, and a banner ad pops up, enticing them to buy tickets for a similar event on the same night instead. Unfortunately, this happens all the time when ticketing platforms insist on using precious space on your ticketing page to promote other events.
✅ At TicketSpice, we never promote other events to your attendees. We never have and never will.
6. Do I Have to Sign a Contract?
🚩Signing a contract might sound like a best practice, but be wary when companies require it. Technology changes quickly, and you may want to switch providers to better meet your needs in the future. Some platforms use a contract to lock you in, making it impossible to switch providers.
✅ With TicketSpice, you don’t need a contract to do business. If your organization wishes to establish a contractual relationship, we’re happy to provide one, but it’s never a requirement.
7. Are There Hidden Setup Fees?
🚩Many ticketing platforms charge a setup fee just to get started. Or maybe there’s no setup fee, per se, but there’s an activation fee, an onboarding fee, and a fee to learn about their software.
✅ With TicketSpice, there are no setup fees and no billing information required to try the software. Onboarding is rolled into the regular fees once you start selling tickets.
8. Can I Export My Attendee Data Anytime?
🚩With any ticketing platform, it’s a good idea to know your exit strategy. What happens if you want to switch providers? Some platforms make you jump through hoops to get permission to access your data. Others hold you hostage by charging you for access to your own data. Huge red flag.
✅ With TicketSpice, your data is always 100% yours. Export it to a CSV or Excel file, or view it in the TicketSpice event CRM any time for free.
9. Are There Extra Fees for Refunds or Cancellations?
🚩Many ticketing providers charge you for refunds, cancellations, and comped tickets—even when you’re already losing money on the canceled ticket.
✅ With TicketSpice, there are no fees for refunds, cancellations, or comps. Why would we charge you for tickets you haven’t made money on?
10. Do You Offer Purchase Protection for Attendees?
🚩From illness and emergencies to unexpected conflicts and last-minute shiftwork calls—life happens. In unforeseen events, many ticketing providers will either leave your attendees stranded or force you to cover the refund. The result is a bad experience for everyone.
✅ With TicketSpice, we offer an optional Purchase Protection program, so attendees can get a refund (at no cost to you) when life throws them a curveball.
Don’t Get Stuck With the Wrong Ticketing Provider
These are just 10 of the 21 essential questions every event organizer should ask. If your ticketing provider can’t answer them the way TicketSpice does, it’s time for an upgrade.
Want to see all 21 questions? Download the full guide here.
If you’re ready to experience the TicketSpice difference, sign up today or reach out to our support team with questions. No setup fees. No contracts. Just powerful ticketing on your terms.
Here to help you have the best event ever!
— The TicketSpice Team
