Ticket transfer feature

 

In early 2023, TicketSwap faced a major disruption. Primary ticketing companies were abandoning .pdf tickets in favor of mobile-only formats. Our platform, built exclusively around pdf uploads, couldn’t process these tickets—effectively locking us out of 8–25% of all events and threatening millions in revenue.

 
Workshop done with the team to understand component identification and classification.

[Visual: Graphic showing % inventory at risk vs. pdf-only flow]

The Challenge

If we couldn’t adapt, we’d lose major festivals like Lowlands and key international markets. Competitors—primarily the ticketing companies themselves—already had resale channels. We had only three months to design a solution before Lowlands’ on-sale, our biggest revenue event of the year.

Constraints:

  • Fraud risk: without pdfs, how could we verify authenticity?

  • Legal: ensure we could leverage primary apps’ transfer features.

  • Technical: MVP had to work within our existing “upload a file” architecture.

 
 

Process & My Role

I led competitor and app research, designed the end-to-end UX/UI, ran testing sessions, and iterated based on user feedback. I collaborated daily with the PM, engineers (apps & web), user researcher, and copywriter.

Research & testing:

  • Competitor audit and mobile-only app mapping

  • Prototypes and 1:1 interviews with sellers

  • MVP pilots at two small events before scaling

 

[Visual: early flow sketches + competitor research grid]

 

The solution

We used the primary apps’ built-in ticket transfer feature and designed a guided, multi-step flow:

  1. Seller starts the listing in TicketSwap

  2. Uploads a screenshot of the QR code from the mobile-only app

  3. Transfers the ticket to a unique TicketSwap email address

  4. We verify the screenshot with OCR, hold the ticket, and transfer it to the buyer after sale

Unlike pdf flows, sellers now had to navigate between two apps. Clear instructions, contextual tips, and microcopy were critical to reducing friction.

Rollout

  • MVP: 2 small events → fixed bugs, validated user behavior

  • V1: scaled to 2 large events

  • Full rollout: 3 more major events, including Lowlands

 

Results

  • $3M in revenue generated in 18 months (revenue that would have been lost)

  • 233,000 tickets sold across 2,295 events

  • Seller conversion: 45% (healthy vs. 62% pdf flow)

  • Refund rate held at 2.8% (fraud remained low)

  • Unlocked UK and Spanish markets where mobile-only tickets dominate

  • Secured relationships with major Dutch festivals

Impact

This feature preserved a critical part of TicketSwap’s business and positioned us for growth. More importantly, it proved we could adapt complex flows under time pressure while maintaining user trust.