Hundreds of fans don’t get their Super Bowl tickets because of short selling

The incredible demand for tickets to Super Bowl XLIX has left many fans out in the cold and unable to attend the game despite purchasing tickets for the event.

ESPN reports that hundreds of fans who purchased tickets to the game via brokers and resale sites will not be receiving tickets after those vendors reneged on deals.

The issue is that most of these brokers were short selling the tickets. The idea was to sell tickets they hadn’t yet purchased at a high price and then purchase those tickets as the game approaches for a lower price in order to make money.

One major problem: demand increased for tickets to watch the two best teams in the NFL, meaning the brokers either had to spend big money to fulfill previous sales orders and take a huge loss, or they backed out on the tickets they promised and offered refunds.

The big issue is how these companies that essentially screwed over buyers are attempting to resolve matters. Some offered refunds for more money, while others actually delivered on the tickets they promised. StubHub, which is backed by eBay, reportedly is one of the companies that delivered on the tickets regardless of how much the price may have gone up. Vivid Seats offered 200 percent refunds to customers.

Hundreds of Seahawks, Patriots or football fans bought tickets to the game and made the trip to Arizona only to have their tickets not come through. Perhaps this is a lesson to go with the most reputable company when making a purchase of this nature. Regardless, we feel badly for the fans who made the trip only to have this happen.