Brown Paper Tickets 🇺🇸

📍 Seattle, Washington, USA

🏢 Founded 2000

🌍 Fair-Trade & Independent Ticketing

Overview Innovations Products Applications FAQs Resources

Company Overview

Brown Paper Tickets is widely recognized as the ‘Fair-Trade’ ticketing company. Founded in Seattle during the early dot-com boom, the company was built as a direct rebellion against the massive, monopolistic ticketing giants that charged exorbitant, hidden convenience fees to both the event organizer and the ticket buyer. They established a completely transparent, low-cost model designed to empower independent creators, local theaters, and community festivals.

Their core philosophy is that the event organizer should never pay to sell tickets. Brown Paper Tickets charges a flat, highly transparent, and incredibly low fee (often just $0.99 + a small percentage) directly to the ticket buyer, covering all credit card processing. Furthermore, they are famous for offering 24/7 live telephone support for ticket buyers, a massive rarity in the modern digital ticketing space.

While they don’t offer the complex, multi-track corporate registration software of a Cvent, Brown Paper Tickets remains a beloved, highly ethical ticketing solution for thousands of independent performing arts centers, charity galas, and local community events globally.

Core Technologies

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The Fair-Trade Model

Pioneering the concept of transparent, ultra-low ticketing fees. The platform is completely free for event organizers to use, with no setup fees, no monthly subscriptions, and no hidden costs deducted from their ticket sales revenue.

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24/7 Live Buyer Support

Unlike massive tech platforms that hide behind automated chatbots, Brown Paper Tickets employs a massive, in-house, multi-lingual call center. If a ticket buyer has an issue at 3 AM, they can call and speak to a real human to process their order.

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Physical Ticket Printing

Despite being a digital platform, they still offer the printing and mailing of traditional, physical, custom-designed paper tickets directly to attendees, which is highly requested for formal galas and historic theaters.

Featured Solutions

Event Ticketing Platform

The core web application. Organizers can build an event page in minutes, set up custom seating charts, manage tiered pricing (VIP, General Admission), and track real-time sales analytics.

Custom Seating Charts

A robust, free tool within the platform that allows theater and arena managers to easily map out complex, numbered seating grids, allowing buyers to select their exact chair during checkout.

Mobile Box Office App

A streamlined mobile application that allows event staff to securely scan digital barcodes at the door using the camera on their smartphone, ensuring rapid, fraud-free attendee check-in.

Ideal Industry Deployments

🎭 Independent & Regional Theater

🎪 Community & Street Festivals

🤝 Non-Profit Charity Galas

🏫 University Performing Arts

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Brown Paper Tickets make money if it’s free for organizers?

The platform adds a very small, highly transparent convenience fee to the final checkout price paid by the attendee. The organizer receives 100% of the face value of the ticket they set, ensuring no money is lost to software fees.

Can I use Brown Paper Tickets for a free event?

Yes, absolutely. If you are hosting a free community event or workshop and just need to track RSVPs and manage capacity, the platform is completely free to use for both you and your attendees.

Do they provide equipment for scanning tickets at the door?

Organizers can simply use the free mobile app on any standard iOS or Android smartphone to scan ticket barcodes. For massive events, they also offer the ability to rent or purchase heavy-duty, professional barcode scanners.