Running resale at festivals, multi-day events, and passes
Large-scale events break a few of the habits that work fine for a single show. Here's what changes when demand is high, the event runs across days, and people are holding passes.
What makes a festival different#
A single show is fairly predictable. A festival is a different animal: high demand, likely sold-outs, a mixed crowd, and often a structure that spans several days or bundles them into a pass.
All of that shifts the decisions you'd make for a simple event — when to close, which rules to run, how hard to lean on trust & safety. The sections below walk through where festivals diverge.
When to close#
- Don't default to a fixed 24-hour close when the event starts at night — you'd cut off the window where most activity happens.
- Try a 12, 15, or 19-hour close instead so you keep the market live through the night before and into the peak hours.
- Line the closing up with when people actually arrive. In some ticketing systems the closing also coincides with when entry access codes are released — if yours works that way, make sure the two agree. See when to close the resale market.
Multi-day events and passes#
When an event spans more than one day, "the event" isn't a single thing anymore — and your rules shouldn't treat it as one.
- Set rules and closing per day. In multi-day events, review the rules and the closing time for each session, not just globally.
- Passes bundle several days. A pass groups multiple sessions, so check the rules and closing day by day for each one. See when to close the resale market.
- Reuse a ruleset per venue. Keep a reusable set for each venue so every edition is born already configured. See rule set assignment.
High demand and trust & safety#
High demand is exactly when you want the market working hardest — and exactly when over-cautious settings quietly cost you transactions.
- Let rules transact. In high demand, avoid limits that block legitimate supply from appearing. See General Rules.
- Turn demand into supply. With NotifyMe Sellers, the demand that has nowhere to go becomes new listings.
- Keep trust & safety sharp. Block list current, patterns monitored. See trust & safety practices.
- Let automations handle the timing. Use Automations to extend activity or release prices on the last day, without watching the clock yourself.