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Sell tickets online using PayPal

Thinking about selling tickets online using PayPal? Seems like a good idea in principle – but there are quite a few downfalls.

a close up of a phone with PayPal app opened

Thinking about selling tickets online using PayPal? Seems like a good idea in principle – but there are quite a few downfalls. In short? You’re better off using a ticketing site with low fees – say, starting from 20p ($.026) per ticket (check out Ticket Tailor’s pricing here). Better yet, use one that integrates with PayPal.

Why PayPal doesn’t usually cut it for event planners

PayPal is a payment solution, not a ticketing solution. So, as an event planner, these are the kind of problems you can run into if you try to use it one its own to sell tickets:

  • Creating a doorlist can be a nightmare. You have to create a list of names from your payment activity and, if you’re selling for multiple events or using your PayPal for other things it becomes even more difficult. Don’t even think about having separate doorlists for different ticket types.
  • You most likely want to send people an e-ticket email or SMS. With PayPal alone this is difficult as you’ll need to manually arrange sending out emails to your customers. Collating this information is also difficult, just like creating a doorlist.
  • You can’t issue free tickets. Since all activity is based on receiving payments, you’ll have to use a separate system for recording any free tickets that have been issued. You could manage this by saying email us for tickets at... but this requires more work for the customer and more work for you.

Add Ticket Tailor to the mix...

Great news – Ticket Tailor is a low-cost ticketing solution packed with tons of great tech that also integrates with PayPal (as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Stripe…)

Here’s a quick glimpse at what you can expect to benefit from with our feature-rich online ticketing platform:

  • Event listing pages: Unlike if you’re using PayPal on its own, you get your own event listing pages. These pages can be customized to look exactly like your website, and are automatically optimised for search engines and smart phones. Plus, the Facebook app keeps your Facebook page up to date with ticket links automatically.
  • Sell tickets: Customers can select the tickets they want go through a checkout process and then pay direct to you via PayPal. You can brand and customize the e-ticket email your customers receive and even send them SMS e-tickets.
  • Export doorlists: You can easily export a doorlist for any event which is then used for checking customers in. You can drill down by ticket type and order by name or e-ticket number. Essential information such as ticket types and customer name and postcode are included on the lists. This can include paid and free tickets.
  • Export customer data: You may need to send out important information just before the event, or you might want to thank everyone for coming afterwards. With Ticket Tailor, you can simply export your customer data and email them using your favorite newsletter system.

PayPal Pay Later

Buy Now Pay Later schemes have become increasingly popular over recent years, thanks to the rise of platforms like Klarna and Clearpay. With Ticket Tailor, you can give your customers the chance to maximise on this popular payment initiative thanks to PayPal’s own version – PayPal Pay Later. Find out more >

Venmo

Sell tickets to customers in the US? You’ll be pleased to know you can also accept payments from Venmo through PayPal on Ticket Tailor. Find out more >

And that’s a wrap. To summarise – PayPal is a great tool for accepting payments, but it won’t deliver all the other event registration tools you need to run your events smoothly. For that, you’ll need a reliable ticketing platform with great value pricing.

On that note – head here to browse Ticket Tailor’s features in full >

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