Availability & Quantity
Beyond a name and price, each ticket can have rules for when it's on sale and how many you'll sell. These are optional, leave them off and the ticket is simply available with no limit.
Availability windows
An availability window sets a start and end date and time for when a ticket can be selected. Outside that window the ticket isn't available to attendees.
Windows are useful for:
- Early Bird pricing, a discounted ticket that closes on a certain date, followed by a regular ticket that opens after.
- Timed releases, holding a ticket back until an announcement.
- Cutoffs, stopping sales a day or two before the event so you can finalize numbers.
(Screenshot: setting a ticket's start and end dates)
To swap one price for another automatically, set the first ticket's window to end exactly when the second ticket's window begins.
Quantity limits
You can cap how many of a ticket you'll sell. Once the limit is reached, the ticket shows as sold out and attendees can no longer choose it.
Leave the limit blank for unlimited sales. This is common for free events or general admission where capacity isn't a concern.
How held spots (reservations) work
When a ticket has a quantity limit, Sunfish protects your inventory while someone is checking out. The moment an attendee adds a limited ticket to their order, that spot is held for them so two people can't buy the last one at the same time.
A ticket that looks sold out can free up on its own. If someone starts checking out but doesn't finish, their held spot is automatically released back to the pool after a short time. So if a limited ticket appears unavailable, it's worth checking again a few minutes later, a spot may reopen once an unfinished checkout expires.
This happens automatically. You don't need to manage held spots or manually release anything, completed purchases keep their spots, and abandoned ones give theirs back.
Combining the two
Availability windows and quantity limits work together. For example, an Early Bird ticket might be limited to 50 spots and close at the end of the month, whichever comes first.