Brown Paper Tickets

Simple platform for event needs

Comments: It has been great! Very simple and straight-forward, which is good for my clients who may not be so tech-savvy.

Pros:

I really like the "fair-trade" model that Brown Paper Tickets embodies. Being in community development work, I like to source equitable tools and software for my engagements.

Cons:

The interface of the BPT website could be improved. It has an old-style look to it that may not be appealing to all users.

Brown Paper Tickets is Great for Free Events

Comments: Brown Paper Tickets is simple to use and fast to set up.

Pros:

Great free-to-create platform for all my free event needs!

Cons:

When I do paid events I wish the final payout happened immediately.

Our organization is being ripped off.

Comments: Was OK until this summer. We have not been paid the $1000 in revenue for our June 2023 concert. We have contacted BPT and also events.com, which acquired BPT earlier this year. We are VERY unhappy because we are a small organization and can't afford to lose that much money.

Pros:

It was relatively easy to use and not too expensive.

Cons:

Difficult to set up season ticket event. Phone support is non-existent.

Excellent choice for free online events

Comments: Overall, Brown Paper Tickets is easy to use but not customize.

Pros:

I appreciate that brown paper tickets doesn’t charge if you are not selling tickets.

Cons:

It was sometimes difficult to find specific event data or make customer reports.

Perfect for small-budget nonprofits

Pros:

It's safe to say that BPT has stayed true to its mission from the beginning: providing low-cost ticketing and event management that's suitable for student groups and low-budget nonprofit organizations. It's simple, effective, and we've never had a complaint about the UX.

Cons:

It would be interesting to see their branding / user-flow updated to something similar to Eventbrite, but I'm almost hesitant to say that because it's almost nostalgic at this point.

Beware the gross negligence, you won't get your funds :(

Comments: We became customers of Brown Paper Tickets in 2008, using their services to sell tickets to our public tours. In 2020, we continued to use them and were lucky to safely remain open and hold our tours. Brown Paper Tickets has withheld over $30,000 of our ticket sales for tours from July through September, none of which were cancelled. We have gotten no response from them despite countless attempts to reach them, begging for an answer as to when we will get our funds. We are a small non-profit historic site, and our staff worked hard to bring in that income that we so heavily rely on. Brown Paper Tickets has been grossly negligent, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone anywhere. We have since ceased all ticket sales through them and are shopping for an alternative.

Pros:

I loved their customer service team until they laid them all off. They used to be so wonderfully helpful and kind, always available. Now they shut down the phone lines and refuse to provide answers.

Cons:

It was complicated to set up for our needs at times, and was too time consuming / not very customizable.

Like everything but the payout

Comments: People in Minneapolis/St. Paul know BPT because so many small theatres are using them. I can see why. Overall, I would recommend it, but make sure your organization has no cash flow worries.

Pros:

The fees are low, it's easy to use, you get good information about ticket buyers that helps create an e-mail list

Cons:

Slow payout. I have to pay artists and venue, and BPT just takes forever to get the money to me.

Cheaper than many alternatives, and easy to use

Pros:

Very easy to use and implement. We used to sell event tickets right off our website using a more manual process, and when exploring options Brown Paper Tickets was recommended to us. After looking into it we decided to try it out on a free event. That went so well we started using it for paid events as well. We recently held an event with different t time options and their customer service was extremely helpful in walking us through getting our event set up correctly.

Cons:

Interface/look of the site is a little dated. I wish you could customize it a little bit more.

Love BPT, especially in the virtual world

Comments: I started using BPT after a bad experience with a larger event management/ticketing system. BPT answered my emails, provided great support for us as event managers and for clients.

Pros:

I really appreciate that the BPT app/software allows me to collect information about attendees, easily duplicate events, and provides a unique URL for each event.

Cons:

Found it a little clunky when we had to refund after an event cancellation.

Great, pared down product

Comments: It was mostly positive. We are changing to a product that has more features.

Pros:

This product is affordable and fairly easy to use. I like how you can share your event with their larger community for more potential ticket sales.

Cons:

There are no bells and whistles with this product which isn't necessarily a terrible thing. I would like to see integrations with different CRMs.

BPT review

Comments: Our initial (and majority) experience with BPT was good. They were responsive to our needs. I’m 2020, that all changed. They took back a payment that was owed us for a show and then took over 2 years to repay. We ceased using them in that time.

Pros:

The software was easy to use and intuitive. The layout was not showy but gave us all we needed.

Cons:

The overall look of the site was nothing to write home about.

Brown Paper Tickets has not paid me for our ticket sales.

Comments: Brown Paper Tickets, to be honest, was fine. Until the pandemic hit. They had promptly mailed me checks totaling $2640. Then emailed me, (due to the pandemic onslaught of cancellations) that these checks could not be cashed. I still have the checks, and have kicked myself for not cashing them sooner. It was a difficult time for most of us, and I understood. But now, more than 2 1/2 years later, they have not acknowledged any of my emails, other than by form emails.
Over the last several years, I have seen them begin to operate again. I am going to see a friend's show next week that is ticketed through BPT.
All I can say is, WHAT IS GOING ON? They seem to have decided that in the post-pandemic USA, debts are no longer owed.
WA state actually filed a lawsuit against them and a settlement was reached. ALL creditors were supposed to be paid, across the country. But I have not been paid or acknowledged. They apparently think they can get away with this. I'm just a small voice here, but I say: let's NOT let them get away with this.

Pros:

Given the situation, this is not really relevant. However, I'd say, AT THE TIME I was using them (before the payment that never happened), their customer service was very friendly and helpful.

Cons:

Now it seems impossible to get anyone on the phone—so what I liked before has changed dramatically.

Brown Paper Tickets is easy to use!

Comments: I got an easy to use software that can set me up in minutes!

Pros:

I'm a tour operator and I use Brown Paper Tickets to schedule tours. They make it so easy to schedule multiple events and it's also easy to go in and block out certain days. They've also kept me on my game by making sure everything is correct. Great help desk.

Cons:

Brown Paper Tickets is a little messy visually. I realize it's a back-end made for utility, but it can be a bit confusing the first time you try to enter information.

I love BPT!

Comments: Great! No complaints at all, and to be honest I think they are one of the best options there is.

Pros:

BPT has truly democratized ticket sales – I've been using them for close to ten years, if not slightly longer, and they've never let me down.

Cons:

Having used BPT for near a decade, I can honestly say I've never been disappointed by their offering.

Socially/environmentally responsible and great customer service, even if it is a small company.

Pros:

The customer service was excellent and personal. They are socially and environmentally responsible and are as up-to-date as any big competitor.

Cons:

They require too many pieces of information to complete an event. I honestly don't have much to complain about with BPT. Seriously.

Your Ticket, Please!

Comments: We have used Brown Paper Tickets for concerts, theatrical productions, and fundraisers. Everything has been smooth sailing. When I have a question, they cheerfully answer and guide me.

Pros:

I LOVE everything about Brown Paper Tickets. Posting an event! Setting up Payments! Publicity! Customer Service! The ease of getting the payments! I like working WITH them so much that when a competitor solicits our business, I gladly say, "We work with Brown Paper Tickets, and have to reason to change." I like them that much.

Cons:

Since the stupid pandemic, we have not had any events. Planning for the future, someone told me that Brown Paper Tickets has fallen on rough times. I sure hope that isn't true.

They handle all the ticketing and tracking for my fundraising events.

Comments: I go to the site, build my fundraising event, and it goes live after it is reviewed and approved by Brown Paper Tickets. They handle everything. And, they provide periodic email notification of the progress of your ticket donations.

Pros:

The program is easy to build your promotional material for your event. Once it is loaded, you can access multiple links for access to your event from different venues, such as website, Facebook, Twitter, electronic newsletter, etc. It's great!

Cons:

I struggled a bit with the proper language to use as a nonprofit organization. For instance, we should avoid using "ticket sales" and present "suggested donation" instead. Brown Paper Tickets had a limited selection. After discussing this with them, they helped me work out the best solution, which was "admission donation"

Do Not Use

Comments: I used Brown Paper Tickets services for my one act play festival, Women At Play(s), which promotes women in the arts as well as diversity in MARCH 2020. They still have not given me all the ticket money that my audience members paid to see my show. I made numerous phone calls and sent emails with only an automated reply. I filed a complaint with the state of Washington which mandated them to pay. And I am still waiting for my money. Please be warned.

Pros:

Nothing, I would not use this product. There are no pros.

Cons:

They owe me the money from their service they claim to do.

The best for Physical Tickets!

Comments: Ease of Use got 4 stars only because they have some really great functions/features that take a little bit of dedication to get down. But their customer service is AMAZING. The price is a little high, especially compared to other non-profit ticket sellers, but it's because they mail out within 48 hours customizable tickets to each purchaser. So far the only reasonably priced non-profit focused ticketing solution I've found who does that and it's an absolute must for our event.

A Simple and Effective Ticket Manager

Comments: We only use BPT for certain events, but have had good success with it. It is easy to check sales, set a cut off time to stop selling tickets, and print out a list of attendees.

Pros:

They put a very reasonable fee on tickets sales, which is good for the artist and the consumer. It is also easy to set up your event.

Cons:

The UI is a little messy and confusing, at least on the consumer end. However, BPT has been good with fixing issues when a customer makes a mistake.

First time user of the product

Comments: Generally, it's a great low-cost alternative, especially for non-profit arts organizations like ourselves.

Pros:

Ramping up for the first time with BPT wasn't terribly difficult. The event creation software was pretty intuitive, and robust.

Cons:

The reporting section and tracking transactions, in particular, weren't as easy as I'd hoped. And not very intuitive.

BPT holds on to money collected

Comments: NOT HAPPY! I know now that they do not respond well during a crisis.

Pros:

it's WAS user friendly. too bad they are not.

Cons:

After having to cancel our Event for March 19th, 2020 because of COVID-19 communication with BPT has been bad. Also, They have been sitting on our event funds that were collected. I have sent several e-mails and called to be redirected to email the BPTsupport team and the support team does not respond. Our Event was canceled, however, our scholarship commitments to students were not. We have been waiting for the funds collected for over 4 months.

Brown Paper Tickets refuses to pay customers for events.

Comments: ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED

Pros:

Easy to set up an event. Widget I could incorporate on website. Used for events for 7 years with no problems until 2020.

Cons:

Our event was set to occur in March 2020. It was held with no problem (online), but Brown Paper Tickets has refused to pay the tickets it collected.

Sell your show!

Comments: Totally perfect for selling tickets to a show! Very easy to set up.

Pros:

Brown Paper Tickets is a great low-cost way of selling tickets to your show. They only add a tiny fee, and you can choose to let the audience pay it.

Cons:

I don't think there was anything I disliked about using this site. It was really a great experience.

They Hold Your Money & Do Not Offer Solutions/Communication

Comments: Horrifying. After being issued an email on 3/6 stating that the check was being processed for ticket revenue for a tour on 2/29, I still had not received as of 3/16. So I called and was told that the check was probably mailed on 3/9 and to be patient. I said "probably" is not good enough, so the agent agreed to call me back after she checked with accounting. Today I heard nothing, so called again. I was met with "Oh didn't you get our email, we stopped payment on checks." After 45 minutes I finally spoke to a "manager" and she told me that I needed to have empathy for BPT - they were doing the best they can right now with COVID-19. I guess withholding other peoples money is doing the best you can, huh BPT? The best they can offer is maybe starting to process checks in 14-21 days. Don't trust these people with your ticket revenue! They have no respect for the non-profits and other event producers they work with. Shameful.

Pros:

Nothing about Brown paper Tickets. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Cons:

They are not honest, and do not communicate.