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Post by markglasgow on Jul 8, 2014 18:48:28 GMT 1
Oh Dear... It was all going so well....
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Post by davycrockett on Jul 8, 2014 18:50:01 GMT 1
its almost as cheap to get the membership and attend 20 games (I would imagine most ST holders miss 3 a season) than buying a ST now. Not if you had the good sense to buy earl bird
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Post by ThrobsBlackHat on Jul 8, 2014 18:50:32 GMT 1
Can't we improve our off field commercial income?
That is why we moved stadiums isn't it?
But instead we have seen our ticket price rise from £13 to £23 in 8 years.
We went from paying standing to all paying sitting.
We went to early bird but more expensive on the day.
Prices went up for league one.
Now they have gone up to the old on the day rate, but with a membership scheme, for the division below.
Each time the cost increase has been consolidated, mission creep, with a good reason every time.
I have several friends who support premiership games who might go to 1-2 games with me a season. The membership card won't work for them.
If they have done this for non season ticket holders this summer be rest assured those with STs are going to get hammered next summer, and all the worse if we get promoted because then you'll be paying for a "higher" level, again!
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Post by davycrockett on Jul 8, 2014 18:53:00 GMT 1
I was a regular for many years then a season ticket holder for about 7-8 years but gave it up a few years a go due to having ankle biters that take most of my time and money!! I always planned to change to just going to the odd game but with an hours drive, trying to find somewhere to park and the the cost of individual games i have quickly got out of the habit of going since i gave up the season ticket. Personally i really miss going and was only saying a few days ago thati might make the effort to pop back for a couple of games but cant justify the cost against other expenditure. It may be market rates and thats fine but as a once diehard but now casual fan i feel its just not value for money. Will be continue to watch from a distance... thats life i suppose! Season ticket holders dont just come out of nowhere, i started going casually, then regularly until i was hooked and became a season ticket holder, if theres no incentive to go to the odd game people are unlikely to leap straight to season ticket holders. I have been through this circle once and maybe about to start again. The lad I had an ST with for the last 3 seasons has not renewed so I didn't, partly because I work several Saturdays and partly because I have a knee injury that means I am not sure I'll miss some of the early games. If I now want to go to a game it's very difficult to sit with my ST holding mates. £23 a pop feels like a luxury with a young family etc. I have already been offered STs for when people are missing two games and that might be a key way of getting to games - if you're an ST holder and are missing a game please bear me in mind. we were told membership cards were dead, how they managed to come back to haunt us is a mystery. I don't think ST are transferable my friend
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Post by ThrobsBlackHat on Jul 8, 2014 18:53:21 GMT 1
And now we've got a legends card and a membership cards with different aims and different benefits.
Why not just make this new compulsory (effectively) card the new driver of the legends scheme?
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Post by thesensationaljt on Jul 8, 2014 19:06:13 GMT 1
I say again, I know the club read the forum. You have made a catastrophic blunder with prices. You've read the feeling on here. It's not too late to have a change of heart, and you will be applauded for listening. But dig your heels in, and make no mistake, we'll all pay or it in the long run.
Supporters who are exiles, but make the trip to watch Town, will be tempted to go to away games instead of the Greenhous, and who can blame them.
accringtonstanley.co.uk/tickets/admission-prices/
Pay on the gate, no silly "membership" cards.
I thought we'd got away from the daftness. Clearly not.
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Post by wibbin on Jul 8, 2014 19:12:42 GMT 1
I am with Downie and Richard Owen, I chose not to renew after having a season ticket for the majority of the last 15 seasons, and been a regular STFC attendee for over 30 years. I was dismayed by the lack of investment and the manner in which we had gone about our 2 seasons in league 1.
The investment seems to have come to fruition but as many have said, a ball has yet to be kicked. The pricing announcement has been a kick in the proverbials - £23 to watch 4th tier football is too way prohibitive and I for one will not be attending as many games as I had planned, and possibly venture to more away games.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 19:14:04 GMT 1
As an exile, I am now more likely to go to more away games than home.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 19:18:11 GMT 1
Regardless of league position and style sub 5000 gates will become the norm this season.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 19:35:15 GMT 1
Not sure about the transfer of STs. There is nothing in the booklet to suggest that you cannot. It has always been an accepted thing around where I am. Many clubs offer an exchange system if a season ticket holder cannot attend.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 19:44:15 GMT 1
I am disappointed at the pricing policy, particularly the need for a membership card.
However there is some feverish language being used particularly in reference to historical prices.
If it was £13 to have to stand in the final season at Gay Meadow, with an obstructed view and swell of urine wafting past, then the £15 to watch football at the New Meadow in comfort with great facilties, the following season was a no brainer.
Since we arrived at the new ground prices have crept up but there have been several seasons in which EB season ticket prices have been frozen. Last year the club launched dynamic pricing which meant that for the first time we could plan ahead and save money. The effect being that for £16 a ticket price had risen merely £1 since the first season at Prostar. At that price we were nearly back to season one prices at the new ground.
Maybe the dynamic pricing was a disaster and too few fans took up the opportunity ......we don't know. At the time I didn't think such a scheme could be sustainable and maybe our new CEO had come to the same conclusion.
The 5 ticket flexible deal at £18+ per game still represents good value if you get organised , whilst the early bird is brilliant value.
The flaw in the new pricing structure is in relation to casual or once in a blue moon supporter..... You are not wanted as the club appears to want repeat business via season tickets or flexi five match bookings.
In the summer months I spend my time at the cricket. I will take my lad to the T20 at Old Trafford this week and it will cost me £10 for an adult as I booked on line seven days previous. I will watch Freddie and a variety of international cricketers whilst downing a pleasant pint in the stands.
I do not have to have a membership card or season ticket to get this price and I can go to as many or few games as I choose.
Mr Willuams please pull the plug on the membership card pronto lad.....
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Post by mattmw on Jul 8, 2014 20:09:46 GMT 1
Would be interesting to hear from the club if there are valid reasons why "pay on the day" needs to be significantly more expensive than some of the pre paid deals
Can fully under stand the club wants cash in advance from season tickets and five games tickets, but difficult to see that buying a ticket on the day really has that big a cost to the club. More staff to man the ticket office maybe but can't see any other reason quite why it needs to be a few more pounds more expensive. It's not like bread is more expensive at tescos if you buy it on a Saturday compared to a Tuesday
From a business point of view it's surely key to cater for the on spec customer and the current deals don't really seem to do that. Very odd business decision
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 20:15:10 GMT 1
I am disappointed at the pricing policy, particularly the need for a membership card. However there is some feverish language being used particularly in reference to historical prices. If it was £13 to have to stand in the final season at Gay Meadow, with an obstructed view and swell of urine wafting past, then the £15 to watch football at the New Meadow in comfort with great facilties, the following season was a no brainer. Since we arrived at the new ground prices have crept up but there have been several seasons in which EB season ticket prices have been frozen. Last year the club launched dynamic pricing which meant that for the first time we could plan ahead and save money. The effect being that for £16 a ticket price had risen merely £1 since the first season at Prostar. At that price we were nearly back to season one prices at the new ground. Maybe the dynamic pricing was a disaster and too few fans took up the opportunity ......we don't know. At the time I didn't think such a scheme could be sustainable and maybe our new CEO had come to the same conclusion. The 5 ticket flexible deal at £18+ per game still represents good value if you get organised , whilst the early bird is brilliant value. The flaw in the new pricing structure is in relation to casual or once in a blue moon supporter..... You are not wanted as the club appears to want repeat business via season tickets or flexi five match bookings. In the summer months I spend my time at the cricket. I will take my lad to the T20 at Old Trafford this week and it will cost me £10 for an adult as I booked on line seven days previous. I will watch Freddie and a variety of international cricketers whilst downing a pleasant pint in the stands. I do not have to have a membership card or season ticket to get this price and I can go to as many or few games as I choose. Mr Willuams please pull the plug on the membership card pronto lad..... Good post
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Post by bertymax on Jul 8, 2014 20:31:15 GMT 1
£23 for div 4 football, Jesus, I remember going to Derby around 1988 (old div 2) and town fans gawping in disbelief at the prices for away fans, they had to organise a whip round to get people in, how much was it...£4.00
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 21:03:41 GMT 1
One thing for sure from the responses on here and facebook, our CEO needs to re visit his ticketing strategy before it is too late to do so this season as I am sure the price structure is submitted to the Football league.
It is clear from the responses this initiative will destroy the regular support of past seasons.
keep the supporters on side then you have a fanbase to support fundraising initiatives and maintain the goodwill of businesses and the Community.
Personally I would like to see the CEO scrap the membership card, reduce the £23 cat B per game to £20 and keep the 3 game and 5 game initiatives.
I don't want to be watching with 3000 gates but that is where we are heading!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 21:15:15 GMT 1
Would be interesting to hear from the club if there are valid reasons why "pay on the day" needs to be significantly more expensive than some of the pre paid deals Can fully under stand the club wants cash in advance from season tickets and five games tickets, but difficult to see that buying a ticket on the day really has that big a cost to the club. More staff to man the ticket office maybe but can't see any other reason quite why it needs to be a few more pounds more expensive. It's not like bread is more expensive at tescos if you buy it on a Saturday compared to a Tuesday From a business point of view it's surely key to cater for the on spec customer and the current deals don't really seem to do that. Very odd business decision The attitude towards the casual fan has been poor ever since the ground move. General attitude is we have gained more fans than we have lost and as Ive said thats a terrible attitude considering the ground is only half full. The other thing people have said is it is the 21st century, peoples attitudes have changed, they book/plan earlier etc. Again as Ive said we are not Man Utd, people shouldnt have to plan weeks in advance to attend a football match in division 4 When you have a good uptake of season tickets I can sort of understand the increased matchday pricing but when your down by 700 season tickets (25%?) it seems commercial suicide to make it more difficult and expensive to turn up on matchdays. And when you throw in the relegation factor on top, well really does defy belief.
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Post by BelleVueShrew on Jul 8, 2014 21:36:19 GMT 1
Some very well thought out and written posts from some very respected people and posters.
The strength of feeling is clear.
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Post by blazey on Jul 8, 2014 21:49:25 GMT 1
Some very well thought out and written posts from some very respected people and posters. The strength of feeling is clear. I agree, it has been totally picked apart in the matter of 24 hours - there are some good initiatives in there such as the flexi ticket but the execution particularly regarding the membership scheme is not good at all.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 21:56:19 GMT 1
It's taken the wind out the optimism of the new signings a bit.Is this New Ticket man experienced?Has he done this before?Was it the deal clincher to get his job?
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Post by scooter on Jul 8, 2014 21:59:07 GMT 1
The membership card aspect is particularly weird. It's not as if anyone at the club could be in any doubt how bloody irritating that whole concept is, yet they still go ahead and introduce it. The only possible advantage I can see for them is that it will give the club an early season boost of income. Cashflow issues? I don't think they will raise a huge amount of cash from it, I would think the admin work involved would hardly make it pay, but it means all away fans pay the extra £3 - extra cash throughout the season and it stinks
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 23:00:02 GMT 1
They had a cracking opportunity to boost interest with a 3 home game taster package in a week during the holiday's,Say £30 for the three. Also which game would I pick if I was an Away fan of these?
1.Blackpool:Possibly reserves and youngsters with Town sandwiched between Forest(A)and Blackburn(H)will they bother with us?
2. Tranmere: Played end of last year,first Sat game would of seen a good home crowd.For them we are in between (H) N Forest £12 and £8 for OAP and Adults up to 22. Wycombe(A)charging £18 and £12 for young adults up to 25.
3. Stanley:Tuesday night £23??Would you if it was the other way round?And if any game need's to attract as many as it can it's this.
Personally I wont bother with 2 and 3 but may have gone to Blackpool & Tranmere at old prices or at New member prices so spending £35+ for two. I'm not spending £50+ in a week on L2 Football.So they'll get just the £12 for the Blackpool game.
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Post by DiglisShrew on Jul 8, 2014 23:05:37 GMT 1
Do the 5 games in the Flexi ticket have to be used on 5 consecutive games or can they be used for any 5 games during the season? If the former I wont be buying any as I plan to pick and choose my games this year.
Expecting causal fans to pitch up on the day and pay £23 is just going to put off a lot of people.
Shocking that none of this was discussed with the SP before it went public. someone on facebook said they rang the club and it is 5 vouchers which can be used for any game - not sure how you know which seat The only way it will work Scooter is for the re-introduction of unreserved seating. Another thing the Club has said was unworkable in the past !
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Post by owdlad on Jul 8, 2014 23:21:32 GMT 1
Would you believe that Hartlepool will be charging away supporters £25 at the gate? Stevenage categorise matches so the cheapest tickets there can be £22 or £24 on the day.
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Post by ThrobsBlackHat on Jul 9, 2014 0:18:44 GMT 1
The only way it will work Scooter is for the re-introduction of unreserved seating. Another thing the Club has said was unworkable in the past ! You could either buy five vouchers to be redeemed for tickets as you go along or name your five games when you buy but be allowed to pick any games.
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Post by BelleVueShrew on Jul 9, 2014 1:12:04 GMT 1
Would you believe that Hartlepool will be charging away supporters £25 at the gate? Stevenage categorise matches so the cheapest tickets there can be £22 or £24 on the day. For Hartlepool I can only see 2013/14 admission prices on their website at present. £25 on the day with £13 for concessions. You could buy in advance however, which was £20 and £10. Now whilst I would pay £20 for myself, the prices they are asking parents to fork out to take youngsters is ridiculous. They would obviously rather have all those shiny empty seats.
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Post by neilsalop on Jul 9, 2014 8:47:51 GMT 1
As an occasional visitor these days I am hardly encouraged to pop down on spec. It has always been a pain since the move, but by the time I add in petrol from Telford, a pre/ post-match pint and maybe something to eat at half-time it adds up to over £40. Not in my budget unfortunately, so no doubt I'll be listening to Sloppy radio all season (assuming that I can forgive them for going over to the Tinpot game last season). The club need to be encouraging the casual fan and those that tag along with their mates, but instead seem to be unconcerned about whether they turn up or not. Strange.
If we don't have a good start to the season I can see the attendances getting down to pre-move levels for Tuesday night games. I can see Tinpot getting better gates than us at some points this season if the club don't realise and rectify this error.
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Post by El Huracán!!!! on Jul 9, 2014 9:09:16 GMT 1
I wanted to update a few on here that we are NOT 700 down on last season. More like we are 400 down on the final number of ST’s sold last season (direct from the club that figure). Better than a few weeks ago for sure, and as such I can only conclude that people are still buying season tickets (promoted by the positive team rebuild?)
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Post by shrewforever on Jul 9, 2014 9:37:44 GMT 1
Yep definitely a poor move this.......
Don't need any long explanation but will the Fans Parliament raise this on behalf of supporters or do we need to send in appropriate e-mails, letters of complaint to CEO individually.........
Not really kept up to date with the FP stuff, apologies, and unsure of how it actually operates or what clout it may have........
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2014 9:41:39 GMT 1
I have sent Matt Williams an email regarding ticketing, it's certainly disappointing that the SP was not consulted prior to any release of information. We are waiting for confirmation from the club on some proposed dates for the next meeting so will release as soon as it's finalised. Roger Fred did not think initially that ticket prices should be run past SP or needed to be, however with the benefit of hindsight from responses of this current issue I think it does have a purpose so it's good to see a quick reaction from Roger. I am sure that will give Welshrew & Herefordshrew a wry old smile but having looked into this deeper there are more questions than answers, and clarification to be sought. I would hope the CEO will respond promptly and a meeting can be arranged with some haste!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2014 9:43:24 GMT 1
I wanted to update a few on here that we are NOT 700 down on last season. More like we are 400 down on the final number of ST’s sold last season (direct from the club that figure). Better than a few weeks ago for sure, and as such I can only conclude that people are still buying season tickets (promoted by the positive team rebuild?) s this the same direct from the club that lied when it stated that the sale of season tickets was on par or just slightly down on last year. You can tell when the club is not telling the truth as the person who is giving the information has moving lips!!
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