Ticket delivery explained: mobile transfer, PDF, paper and in-hand dates
96% of Vivid Seats listings here deliver by mobile transfer. How each delivery method works, which marketplaces take it, and what an in-hand date means.
Every resale listing promises a way to get the tickets to the buyer. Marketplaces label it on the listing, and the label decides which buyers can use it and how late you can deliver.
The four methods
- Mobile transfer. You send the ticket from the issuer’s app to the buyer’s email. The buyer claims it in the same app. This is the default for most events today.
- Mobile ticket. A ticket shown on a phone that the listing doesn’t label as a transfer.
- PDF or print at home. A file you upload or email. Common for theater.
- Paper. A hard ticket shipped by mail. Vivid Seats names UPS shipping in its terms.
What sellers actually use
Across this site’s events, 95.8% of 51,918 Vivid Seats listings deliver by mobile transfer. Broadway breaks the pattern.
Vivid Seats listings by delivery method
| Event type | Mobile transfer | Mobile ticket | Paper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerts | 96.9% | 2.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| NFL | 99.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| College football | 99.1% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| NBA | 97.2% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| NHL | 94.5% | 5.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| College basketball | 96.5% | 3.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| Broadway | 41.9% | 14.0% | 42.8% | 1.3% |
StubHub labels its listings the same way:
| Delivery on the listing | Listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile transfer | 25,427 | 97.1% |
| Mobile ticket | 641 | 2.4% |
| PDF or print at home | 125 | 0.5% |
| Paper | 2 | 0.0% |
In-hand dates
The in-hand date is the day you promise the buyer will have the tickets. It matters when transfer opens late. Vivid Seats sets a floor: for orders placed more than two weeks before the event, the delivery date must be at least two weeks before the event. Plan the date you can keep, not the one that looks best.
On Ticketmaster resale there is no in-hand date to manage. Ticketmaster sends the tickets to the buyer when they sell.
Miss the date and the marketplace treats it as a failed sale. See what happens if you can’t deliver.