Frequently Asked Questions
Account & Onboarding
How do I get a partner account?
Contact the Ticket Buyback team at support@ticketbuyback.com. Partner accounts are provisioned manually. Once approved, you will receive your client_id and client_secret to begin integrating.
What is Routable and why do I need it?
Routable is the payment platform Ticket Buyback uses to charge and pay partner accounts. You must configure a Routable payout method and a credit card on your TBB account before you can create quotes or orders. Without it, all quote and order requests will return 403 PAYMENT_NOT_CONFIGURED.
→ See the Routable Setup Guide to get configured.
Can I have multiple partner accounts?
Each integration is backed by a single TBB partner account. If you need separate accounts for different platforms or environments, contact support@ticketbuyback.com.
Is there a sandbox environment?
A sandbox environment is on the roadmap. Contact support@ticketbuyback.com for the current status and early access.
Authentication
How long does an access token last?
Access tokens are valid for 1 hour. After expiry you will receive a 401 TOKEN_EXPIRED error. Simply re-authenticate by calling POST /v1/auth/token again with your credentials.
What should I do if my client_secret is compromised?
Contact Ticket Buyback support immediately at support@ticketbuyback.com. TBB can rotate your credentials on request or automatically upon suspected compromise.
Can I use the same token across multiple servers?
Yes. The Bearer token is stateless and can be shared across your infrastructure for the duration of its 1-hour TTL. Treat it like a password — do not expose it in client-side code or logs.
Quotes
How long is a quote valid for?
Quote TTL is defined by Ticket Buyback and is returned in the expires_at field of the Create Quote response. Always check expires_at before submitting an order. If a quote expires, you must request a new one.
Can I reuse a quote for multiple orders?
No. Each quote can only be used once. Once a quote is converted into an order it is marked as consumed. Attempting to reuse it will return 422 QUOTE_ALREADY_CONSUMED.
What happens if I don't specify a row_name in the quote request?
Ticket Buyback will automatically assign the best available row for your requested section and quantity. This is the recommended approach when you want to offer customers the best seats without requiring row selection.
Can I cancel a quote?
Quotes expire automatically after their TTL. There is no explicit cancel endpoint — simply let the quote expire if you no longer need it.
Orders
What delivery type should I use?
Use mobile_transfer for the majority of events — it is the most common delivery method and is supported by Ticketmaster and AXS. Use mobile_qr or pdf only if the event platform does not support mobile transfers.
What is the transfer_email in the order response?
It is the email address Ticket Buyback uses to send the ticket transfer to your customer. You must instruct your customer to accept the transfer from this email address before the delivery_deadline. Check the spam folder if the email is not received within a few minutes.
What happens if my customer misses the delivery_deadline?
The order status moves to transfer_expired. Contact support@ticketbuyback.com with the order_id as soon as possible if this happens.
Can I cancel an order after it is created?
Order cancellation is not currently available via the API. Contact support@ticketbuyback.com with your order_id for manual assistance.
Billing & Payouts
Who charges my customer?
You do. Ticket Buyback does not interact with your end customer at any point. You collect payment from your customer using whatever method your platform supports.
How does TBB charge me for an order?
Ticket Buyback charges your partner account via your pre-configured Routable payment method when an order is confirmed.
Does TBB store any of my customer's personal information?
No. Ticket Buyback does not collect, store, or process end-customer emails, phone numbers, or payment details. Your customer's information never touches TBB systems.
Errors & Troubleshooting
I'm getting 403 PAYMENT_NOT_CONFIGURED. What do I do?
Your TBB partner account does not have Routable configured. Complete the Routable Setup Guide before creating quotes or orders.
I'm getting 401 UNAUTHORIZED on every request. What do I do?
Make sure you are including the Authorization: Bearer <token> header on every authenticated request. If the header is present, your token may have expired — re-authenticate to get a new one.
I'm getting 422 NO_INVENTORY_AVAILABLE. What do I do?
There are no tickets available for the requested section, row, and quantity combination. Try a different section or row using the Sections & Rows API, or reduce the quantity.
How do I report a bug or get support?
Email support@ticketbuyback.com and include the meta.request_id from the failing response. This allows the TBB team to locate and debug the issue quickly.
What does INTERNAL_ERROR mean?
It means an unexpected error occurred on the Ticket Buyback server. Retry the request once. If it persists, contact support with the meta.request_id.
Limits & Performance
Is there a rate limit on API requests?
Yes. If you exceed the rate limit you will receive 429 RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED. Check the Retry-After response header for how long to wait before retrying.
→ See Error Reference for the retry pattern.
What is the maximum number of results per page?
The maximum limit for paginated endpoints is 100 results per page. The default is 20.
Reach out to the Ticket Buyback partner team at support@ticketbuyback.com. Include your partner_id and any relevant request_id values to help us assist you faster.