Eventbrite gets into payments with credit-card reader

Move over Square and PayPal, now event organizers can collect sales at the door

Eventbrite, a website that allows users to set up events and sell tickets online, has now released its first piece of hardware, which will allow users to sell tickets at the event itself.

Eventbrite released Tuesday its "At the Door card" reader, a portable device that users can attach to their iPad so that they can accept payment at the door instead of having to have people pay online in advance. They are also selling a separate device that will allow users to print receipts.

The card reader works in conjunction with the company's "At the Door" app, which allows users to pull up the tickets they had previously ordered and share the event with friends on Facebook and Twitter. The new card reader now allows people who did not previously purchase their tickets to still have a chance to get in to the event.

“At The Door transforms an off-the-shelf iPad into a paradigm-shifting tool for managing sales for events. We’re essentially taking the devices that are proliferating among consumers and transforming them into perfectly-tailored tools for event organizers, at no cost, and with greater impact than anything previously available," said Kevin Hartz, founder and CEO, in a release. 

The company also has an app called Easy Entry, which allows organizers to see how many people are attending, and to let people in by scanning a barcode on their ticket. 

The card reader costs $10, but the price of the reader will be reimbursed into the user's account. The site is also waiving service fees in celebration of the release of the device, only charging credit card processing fees until further notice.

Eventbrite faces competition from both Square and PayPal, a company Hartz used to work for, and one that just began selling its own credit card reader. But Hartz isn't worried about PayPal because his site only deals with ticket sales, while PayPal deals with online payments more broadly, he told the Wall Street Journal.

Eventbrite is going to be  the exclusive ticketing platform for the Governors Ball in New York City in June, a company spokeman told VatorNews. All tickets sold at the door will use the At the Door card reader.

The San Francisco based site, launched in 2006 by Hartz, President Julia Hartz and CTO Renaud Visage, recently sold its 50 millionth ticket. It issued over 20 million tickets last year alone, catering to nearly half-a-million events. 

The company raised $20 million in October of 2010 from  Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures and Tenaya Capital. The company also raised $50 million in May of last year in a financing round led by Tiger Global.

(Image source: Eventbrite.com)