Gizmodo58%

StubHub Founder Has Ties to Major Scalpers on the Platform 9%

By Bruce Gil31%

7/10/2026, 7:55:07 PM

Keywords: Stubhub, Tickets

BS Summary: This article contains 25 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Appeal to Authority, and Post Hoc (False Cause), with Ambiguity (Equivocation) as the most egregious example at 29.9% saturation with 185 hits. Analysis detected 1,334 faulty-reasoning hits from 618 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 25.6% and a BS Rank of 9% (19,387 of 21,196 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 91.50% of the article peer group.

StubHub Founder Has Ties to Major Scalpers on the Platform 
Security filings reveal that the secondary ticket sale marketplace has close ties to scalpers that use its platform. 
Published July 10, 2026, 3:55 pm ET 
Reading time 2 minutes 
© agustin.photo / Shutterstock.com 
The next time you try to buy tickets from StubHub, there is a chance they may not be coming from a fan who had to cancel their plans at the last minute. 
They could instead be coming from a professional scalper with close ties to StubHub itself. 
CBC News reported this week that U.S. 
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show that StubHub’s founder and CEO, Eric Baker, also runs a large-scale ticket reseller that uses the platform. 
Additionally, the company also helps finance other professional resellers on the site. 
“This information has been fully disclosed in StubHub’s public SEC filings, and we don’t have anything to add beyond what is in those filings,” a StubHub spokesperson told Gizmodo in an emailed statement. 
The revelation comes right as StubHub’s operations have faced scrutiny this summer over problems with World Cup ticket sales. 
Many fans have reported canceled tickets and failed transfers. 
The problems have escalated into a proposed class-action lawsuit and even an investigation by the Texas attorney general. 
“StubHub misrepresents its authority to sell World Cup Tickets, then, when Plaintiffs and Class members travel thousands of miles to attend World Cup matches, there are no tickets to be found despite having paid for them,” the lawsuit reads. 
StubHub says it operates the world’s largest ticket resale marketplace. 
In 2025, the company facilitated $9.2 billion worth of ticket sales. 
But its close connections to professional scalpers are now getting some attention. 
In a filing from last year, the company disclosed that Baker is the managing partner of Andro Capital, a professional ticket reseller that has sold tickets through StubHub since 2008. 
StubHub has helped Andro manage its ticket inventory, list tickets, and fulfill orders on its behalf. 
StubHub earned about $100,000 in fees from Andro’s ticket sales in both 2022 and 2023, but reported no such fees in 2024 or the first half of 2025. 
StubHub also owed Andro $4 million in ticket proceeds and related costs at the end of 2022 and $100,000 at the end of 2024. 
Under another agreement, StubHub helped sell and service tickets owned by a fund managed by Andro. 
StubHub paid Andro $1.6 million under that arrangement in 2023. 
The following year, StubHub agreed to cover certain costs incurred by Andro related to ticket-management services. 
Additionally, in 2024, StubHub reportedly agreed with Colloquy Capital, an affiliate of Andro, to refer certain sellers to the firm for short-term financing. 
Those loans can be based on the sellers’ current proceeds or the money they expect to generate from future ticket sales on StubHub. 
StubHub then sends part of those sellers’ proceeds directly to Colloquy to repay the financing. 
The program has grown quickly. 
By June 2025, Colloquy had claims on $4.8 million in the sellers’ proceeds, up from just $100,000 at the end of 2024. 
StubHub also has a separate agreement with Colloquy to help sell and service tickets owned by the firm. 
The disclosures raise questions about the role large-scale scalpers play on StubHub’s platform and how financing based on expected future ticket sales could ultimately affect customers. 
According to CBC, the industry estimates that mass scalpers are responsible for an estimated 70 to 80 percent of sales on global ticket resale sites. 
Explore more on these topics 
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Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 6.1%Bruce Gil: 2.3%Gizmodo: 4.1%Confirmation Bias6.1%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 1.8%Gizmodo: 1.4%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 6.6%Bruce Gil: 2.6%Gizmodo: 3.0%Availability Heuristic6.6%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.9%Gizmodo: 1.5%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.7%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 4.0%Bruce Gil: 1.3%Gizmodo: 2.2%Overconfidence Bias4.0%This article: 13.3%Bruce Gil: 6.0%Gizmodo: 5.6%Framing Effect13.3%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 1.2%Gizmodo: 0.5%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 1.8%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.4%Status Quo Bias1.8%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.2%Gizmodo: 0.3%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 3.3%Gizmodo: 3.9%Optimism Bias0.0%This article: 13.1%Bruce Gil: 0.3%Gizmodo: 2.2%Pessimism Bias13.1%This article: 23.3%Bruce Gil: 5.6%Gizmodo: 7.6%Negativity Bias23.3%This article: 7.0%Bruce Gil: 0.7%Gizmodo: 0.8%Self-Serving Bias7.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.1%Gizmodo: 1.1%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.4%Gizmodo: 0.9%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.4%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 2.0%Gizmodo: 2.8%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.2%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 5.8%Bruce Gil: 0.9%Gizmodo: 1.6%Recency Bias5.8%This article: 4.9%Bruce Gil: 0.3%Gizmodo: 0.4%Primacy Effect4.9%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.1%Gizmodo: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.7%Gizmodo: 1.1%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.2%Straw Man0.0%This article: 17.8%Bruce Gil: 4.4%Gizmodo: 4.1%Appeal to Authority17.8%This article: 2.4%Bruce Gil: 0.5%Gizmodo: 1.4%False Dilemma2.4%This article: 4.2%Bruce Gil: 0.9%Gizmodo: 0.6%Slippery Slope4.2%This article: 2.4%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.2%Circular Reasoning2.4%This article: 7.0%Bruce Gil: 5.2%Gizmodo: 5.4%Hasty Generalization7.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.5%Gizmodo: 0.3%Red Herring0.0%This article: 1.9%Bruce Gil: 0.5%Gizmodo: 0.9%Bandwagon1.9%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 3.4%Gizmodo: 4.9%Appeal to Emotion0.0%This article: 6.3%Bruce Gil: 0.7%Gizmodo: 1.0%Begging the Question6.3%This article: 14.1%Bruce Gil: 1.2%Gizmodo: 3.3%Post Hoc (False Cause)14.1%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.5%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.3%Gizmodo: 0.2%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 6.6%Bruce Gil: 0.2%Gizmodo: 2.0%Anecdotal6.6%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 29.9%Bruce Gil: 0.8%Gizmodo: 2.3%Ambiguity (Equivocation)29.9%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.2%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.0%Gizmodo: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.7%Gizmodo: 0.1%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 11.7%Bruce Gil: 2.1%Gizmodo: 4.7%Unattributed Quote11.7%This article: 6.3%Bruce Gil: 1.9%Gizmodo: 1.2%Quote-first Misdirection6.3%This article: 7.3%Bruce Gil: 2.1%Gizmodo: 13.6%Biased Writer Voice7.3%This article: 7.6%Bruce Gil: 0.5%Gizmodo: 1.6%Indoctrination7.6%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.2%Gizmodo: 1.4%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Bruce Gil: 0.5%Gizmodo: 0.2%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 4.4%Bruce Gil: 5.0%Gizmodo: 3.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…4.4%

618 words analyzed.

Speakers

4speakers16%attributed speech519writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 7 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 4 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 4 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 32 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 100.0% coverageCBC News • 7 words • 0.0% coverageSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC) • 24 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageStubHub • 33 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 39 words • 100.0% coverageStubHub • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 30 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 24 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 22 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 0.0% coverageCBC • 25 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 17 words • 100.0% coverage
Selected voice

StubHub

100%flagged-word coverage
43 attributed words43% of attributed speech95% writer coverage
0%40.0%80.0%Biased Writer Voice+74.4 ptsWriter: 2.3%StubHub: 76.7%76.7%Unattributed Quote+69.2 ptsWriter: 7.5%StubHub: 76.7%76.7%Indoctrination-9.1 ptsWriter: 9.1%StubHub: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-7.5 ptsWriter: 7.5%StubHub: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -5.2 ptsWriter: 5.2%StubHub: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.