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Kijiji Canada ends ticket sales due to authenticity challenges

Online classified advertising operator Kijiji Canada has decided to close its event ticket sales option due to challenges with the shift to digital ticketing.

The eBay-owned platform said the move away from physical tickets has created authentication issues, among other problems, as they can be bought and sold without any validity checks.

Kijiji Canada said on Monday that it has removed the option to sell tickets, effective immediately. Ticket listings that are already on the site will remain there until they expire, with all postings due to end in 60 days.

General manager Matthew McKenzie said: “The shift from physical tickets to digital over the years has made it hard, it’s posed some challenges for Kijiji.

“There’s always risks related to purchasing tickets from private sellers. And there’s also just an emotional piece too. If you’re looking to go to a concert and maybe time is of the essence and you make that decision that you might not typically have made.”

The firm previously restricted the resale of Toronto Raptors tickets for the NBA Championship after prices skyrocketed to the tens of thousands of dollars.

Kijiji said it will use automated monitoring, customer support teams and users being able to flag posts to ensure event ticket listings are not posted elsewhere on the site.

However, people will be able to sell community event tickets via the Kijiji community category.