Glossary
Will-call
Will-call is the long-standing arrangement where a buyer pays for a ticket in advance but does not receive a physical ticket. Instead the ticket is held under the buyer's name at the venue's box office and picked up on the night of the show, usually with photo ID. The term predates online ticketing and is largely replaced by mobile QR tickets, but it still shows up.
Why it existed in the first place
Before email and smartphones, the alternatives to will-call were mailing paper tickets (slow, lost in the mail) or selling only at the door (limited reach). Will-call solved the gap. A buyer could call the venue or fill out a phone order, pay, and walk in on the night with nothing but their ID. The venue printed the ticket on the spot or kept a list at the door.
Where you still see it
- Venue box offices. Many established venues still offer a will-call window for buyers who want to avoid the platform fees of buying online, or who do not have a smartphone.
- Comp tickets and guest lists. Industry comps and artist guests are commonly handled as a will-call list rather than issuing individual QR tickets.
- Group orders. One person buys for a party of six and they all show up at the door asking for "the Garcia party", which is functionally a will-call lookup.
The modern equivalent
On DIY Stubs, every buyer gets a QR ticket by email immediately after purchase. The door scanner reads it and the buyer walks in. No name lookup, no ID check required to enter (although venues can still ask for ID at the door for age verification or alcohol service). Most promoters do not need a will-call setup at all.
For artist guest lists and comps, the equivalent on DIY Stubs is a free-tier ticket marked as a comp. The guest gets a QR ticket like everyone else and the door scans them in normally. No paper list, no clipboard at the front door.