Why Are Single Tickets More Expensive?

Supply, Demand, and Buyer Behavior

Limited Single-Seat Supply

In basketball games, most fans attend in pairs or groups, so tickets are usually bought and sold in sets. This leaves only a few single seats available on the resale market. Economics predicts that when there are only one or two seats on sale, their price will be higher than if dozens are available (International Journal of Music Business Research). In other words, a lone ticket can command a scarcity premium due to limited supply.

Scattered Single Seats

Because buyers prefer adjacent seats, single seats often remain as scattered leftovers in a venue (Single game tickets | CycloneFanatic: The Internet's most popular site for fans of the Iowa State Cyclones). Teams even acknowledge that "single" reserved seats are scattered and not next to each other after group sales (Single game tickets | CycloneFanatic: The Internet's most popular site for fans of the Iowa State Cyclones). A fan who wants just one seat might have only a handful of these straggler options to choose from. With such low supply, a solo buyer may be willing to pay extra for a decent lone seat (especially to avoid buying an unwanted second ticket).

Niche Demand, Willingness to Pay

While fewer people attend alone, those who do may be highly motivated -- for example, a die-hard fan without a partner for the game. These buyers are competing over a small number of single tickets, which can drive up prices. Essentially, a single-seat listing caters to a niche market where some buyers accept a higher per-ticket price to get in the door without paying for an extra seat they don't need.

Seller Strategies and Bundling Preferences

Pairs Preferred Over Singles

Sellers (from professional brokers to season ticket holders) generally prefer to list tickets in pairs or larger groups. They often avoid creating single-ticket listings because they know singles are harder to move. One ticket broker guide even advises that "single reserved seats should only be bought for extremely rare events" (What Seats to Buy as a Ticket Broker - Box Office Fox), underscoring that resellers typically steer clear of singles. By focusing on pairs, sellers increase the pool of potential buyers (most of whom want at least two seats together).

Reluctance to Split Pairs

On many platforms, the default setting is "no splits" for a pair -- meaning a buyer must purchase both tickets (How would you like to sell your tickets? : StubHub UK). For example, StubHub's default for two-ticket listings is that all tickets be sold together (no single ticket sales) (How would you like to sell your tickets? : StubHub UK). Sellers do this because if they sell just one, they'd be left with a lone ticket that might not sell easily.

High Premium If Split

Even when sellers do allow splitting a pair, they often price a single ticket higher per seat to offset the risk. Essentially, they demand a premium to break up the set. The buyer of that single pays more, compensating the seller for the potential hassle of now having one ticket left. In practice, this means a pair of seats might be, say, $100 each if bought together, but one of those seats alone could be listed at $120. The seller is signaling: "I'd rather you buy both, but if you insist on one, it'll cost you." This strategy acts like a volume discount in reverse -- bulk purchase (two tickets) gets a better rate per ticket, whereas a single costs extra.

Algorithmic Pricing on Resale Platforms

Dynamic Market Pricing

Modern resale platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub use sophisticated algorithmic pricing and recommendation tools. SeatGeek's own "Smart Pricing" for sellers uses a multi-factor algorithm (considering historical sales, event data, real-time supply and demand, etc.) to automatically adjust ticket prices (What is Smart Pricing? - SeatGeek). If their data shows solo seats are scarce and there are buyers searching for one ticket, the algorithm may set a higher price for those tickets. In essence, when supply is tight (only a few seats left) the predicted market value jumps up (International Journal of Music Business Research) -- the platform's pricing tools will reflect that by nudging prices higher.

Deal Scores and Visibility

On the buyer side, SeatGeek's Deal Score algorithm ranks tickets by value, not just price. It compares the listing price to a predicted fair market price for that seat (The Math Behind Ticket Bargains - ChairNerd). A single seat listed well above the predicted value will get a poor score (e.g. "awful deal"), whereas a pair priced near or below market gets a high score ("great deal"). This means overpriced singles might be deprioritized in search results, but it also informs sellers: if their single-seat listing isn't selling, the algorithm's feedback (and lack of buyer interest) may pressure them to lower the price. However, if a seller uses an automated pricing tool, it might keep the single ticket priced high until data (like time to event or comparable sales) force a reduction. In any case, algorithmic pricing mechanisms tend to amplify supply/demand effects -- with scarce inventory driving prices up, and abundant inventory pushing prices down.

Airline-Style Adjustments

Some buyers speculate that ticket platforms use tactics similar to airlines -- for instance, noticing increased interest in a particular event or seat and dynamically raising prices (Seatgeek Pricing Algorithm? Wtf... : r/AustinFC - Reddit). While the specifics of SeatGeek's algorithms are proprietary, the goal is clear: price tickets at what the market will bear. If only one seat in section 110 is left for the Lakers game, the system knows that's a hot commodity. The platform might even suggest a higher list price to the seller (or automatically raise it via Smart Pricing) because a lone buyer has few alternatives. This can make single tickets consistently pricier per seat than pairs from the outset, purely due to algorithmic market assessments.

Platform Fees and Transaction Size

Fee Structure Impact

Another reason the per-ticket cost is higher for singles is the way resale platforms charge fees. Typically, there's a service fee (often a percentage of the ticket price) and sometimes an order processing or delivery fee. These fees are often applied per order, not strictly per ticket (Ticket Pricing : Vivid Seats Customer Support). So whether you buy one ticket or two in that order, you might pay a similar base fee on top of the ticket cost. Buying two tickets effectively lets you spread that fixed fee across both seats, reducing the fee per ticket. Buying just one means that ticket alone carries the full fee.

Higher Percentage on Cheaper Orders

Data analyses have found that resale platforms take a larger percentage on lower-priced orders (which singles often are). For example, one study showed SeatGeek's fees averaged almost 43% of the ticket price for tickets under $300 -- much higher than their fees on more expensive tickets (Ticket Services Charging the Most in Fees | OvidLife). In practice, that means if you snag a single cheap seat for $50, you could pay ~$20+ in fees (40%+ markup). But if you bought two $50 seats ($100 total), the fees might not double; you could end up with, say, $30 in fees on the $100 order (only 30% per ticket). The relative fee burden on single tickets is heavier, making the all-in cost per seat notably higher for one ticket versus a multi-ticket purchase.

Examples of Fee Differences

For instance, StubHub's fee structure (around 27% on average) would add about $26-$28 on a $100 ticket (Ticket Services Charging the Most in Fees | OvidLife). If you bought two $100 tickets together, you'd pay roughly $52 in fees. Either way the percentage might stay the same, but if there's any flat handling charge or minimum fee, it gets diluted when you have multiple tickets. Some platforms also cap certain fees for big orders, meaning the tenth ticket in your cart might come with negligible extra fee. None of this helps the single-ticket buyer, who pays the full freight on just one seat. Bottom line: the way fees are structured often makes the cost of one ticket disproportionately expensive on a per-ticket basis compared to buying two or more at once.

Case Studies and Pricing Anomalies

Overpriced Single vs. Pair Examples

Real-world cases illustrate this phenomenon clearly. For the 2024 Big Ten Championship football game, one reporter noted "the most expensive single ticket posted on StubHub on Friday is listed at $1,632... However, there are better seats for a better price." In fact, a pair of premium seats (Section 118, Row 1) was going for $1,800 total on a primary marketplace (Big Ten Championship ticket prices: What are cheapest and most expensive tickets to attend). That works out to $900 per seat for field-level tickets, versus $1,632 for a single seat in a worse location! This stark example shows a single ticket priced 80% higher per seat than a comparable pair. It's likely that the $1,632 listing was a speculative high ask by a seller hoping an individual super-fan would bite. Meanwhile, pairs of equal or better quality were available at a lower unit price -- a classic pricing anomaly.

Bundling Discounts in Practice

It's common to see pairs priced more attractively. Buyers often share anecdotes like, "Two seats together were $150 each, but a single seat in the same section was $175." This isn't a fluke; it reflects sellers' bundling strategy and the lower competition among single-ticket listings. If a family of four is selling their two extra tickets, they might list the pair at a competitive price (to ensure they sell). But an individual who can't attend might list their one ticket at a higher price, figuring someone alone will have fewer choices. The result: the pair looks like a "bulk discount," and the single looks pricey.

Research on Resale Market Behavior

Academic studies of ticket resale also back up these patterns. Researchers have found that as an event approaches, prices generally drop (tickets to sports and concerts often hit their lowest resale prices the day of the event Study Reveals When Concert Tickets Are Cheapest to Purchase). However, that last-minute discounting can depend on ticket type. A lone remaining ticket might see a steep drop very late (since the pool of solo buyers is small), but in the days leading up, it could stay elevated if it's the only one of its kind. On the other hand, plenty of unsold pairs create more competitive pressure to cut prices earlier. In summary, the pricing dynamics for single tickets can differ from pairs, sometimes leading to counter-intuitive situations where one seat costs more than two seats together.

Buyer Awareness

For savvy consumers, these anomalies are a reminder to compare options. If you're flying solo to a basketball game, it's worth checking the price of two together -- in rare cases, buying two and leaving one empty might be only a bit more than buying a single (though you'd pay fees on both). More commonly, being aware of the pattern can help in timing your purchase. Solo buyers might wait until closer to tip-off when single seats (if any remain) could drop in price as sellers panic. Meanwhile, if prices for pairs seem much better, a single buyer might team up with another single buyer to purchase a pair and split the cost. These workarounds aside, the core issue remains: market factors often make single tickets comparatively expensive on resale platforms.

Key Takeaways

Scarce Singles, Higher Prices

Single tickets are relatively rare in resale inventory, and basic supply-demand effects push their prices higher when they're the only ones available (International Journal of Music Business Research). Most fans want to sit together, so single seats become an odd commodity with their own pricing quirks.

Sellers Favor Bundles

Sellers strongly prefer not to split up pairs, which means many good deals are only for multi-ticket purchases. If they do sell a single, it's often at a premium to make it worth their while (How would you like to sell your tickets? : StubHub UK) (What Seats to Buy as a Ticket Broker - Box Office Fox). This results in per-ticket "bulk discounts" for buyers who purchase two or more.

Algorithms and Pricing Tools

Resale platforms' algorithms reinforce these trends by repricing listings based on real-time demand and by highlighting better-value multi-ticket deals. Scarcity signals (like only one seat left in a section) can trigger higher algorithmic price estimates, keeping single-ticket prices elevated (What is Smart Pricing? - SeatGeek) (International Journal of Music Business Research).

Fee Per Ticket Imbalance

The structure of service fees means a single ticket purchase bears more overhead per ticket than a bundle does. Platform fees can add ~30-40% to a lone ticket's cost (Ticket Services Charging the Most in Fees | OvidLife), making one ticket disproportionately more expensive on a per-seat basis than splitting fees across two tickets.

Real-World Evidence

Instances from the secondary market confirm that single-seat listings can be outliers -- sometimes absurdly priced compared to pairs (Big Ten Championship ticket prices: What are cheapest and most expensive tickets to attend). Whether due to seller strategy or algorithmic quirk, buyers and analysts have observed plenty of cases where one ticket costs more per person than two tickets together, especially in high-demand basketball games and other sporting events.

Overall, the higher price per ticket for singles is a result of market dynamics and strategic behavior: sellers bundle tickets to cater to typical buyer preferences, leaving singles scarce; resale algorithms and fee structures then magnify the cost for that lone seat. For fans, this means it can literally pay to bring a friend -- or at least to be aware that flying solo might come at a premium.

Sources: The analysis above draws on ticket market research and industry data, including SeatGeek's own studies of pricing behavior (International Journal of Music Business Research), resale platform policies on ticket splitting (How would you like to sell your tickets? : StubHub UK), fee comparisons across major marketplaces (Ticket Services Charging the Most in Fees | OvidLife), and documented examples of pricing anomalies in sports ticket resale (Big Ten Championship ticket prices: What are cheapest and most expensive tickets to attend). These sources illustrate the empirical trends and theoretical drivers behind the single-ticket pricing phenomenon.