Sales will be down even if we stay up And even if they spend big I can't see with the decreases in some prices income from season ticket sales being up We're a club drifting around and the Prem fans have all found other hobbies to do(go and watch palace) and people are bored of what's on offer at The Valley Our hardcore is disintegrating
I renewed early and I don't feel shafted. It is like a Company saying Sales are on to the 9th April, when the 9th April arrives they extend the deadline. Would I feel shafted if I bought my Sofa before the deadline,no. The thing I am happy with is the price I will be paying £215.00 for a Championship/ first division season ticket is great value.
Fook me. Have I got this wrong ? Are all these complaints, because the club have extended their generous offer by a further 19 days ?
If so, 19 days isn't really a big deal is it ?
Are people really up shit street, because they could have kept their money for a further 19 days ?
I think I must have misunderstood.
PS KHA if you think loyalty is being penalised (which it it slightly) you want to be a 5 yr VIP. I'm well out of pocket.
Always easy to see it from your own point of view, I renewed and it isn't a problem for me but if things are a bit tight an extra 19 days would probably mean an extra pay day which could make all the difference.
They could have put the prices up by £10/20 on the 9th and that way the tickets would still have been competitively priced and thousands of supporters who signed up early wouldn't have felt lied to.
I applaud this extension of the early bird discount and do not feel ripped off in any way.
As a supporter I don't want to stand alone in an empty stadium and there fore support any attempt to maximise ticket sales of any description.
Having said this I am not blind, or oblivious to the teams failings and off the field nonsense over the past 12 months and can fully understand the reluctance of some of my fellow supporters.
Come on people, you know you want to, if you can renew, its better than shopping with the wife, DIY etc
Agree that the handling has not been great but at the end of the day I have paid £250 for a ST for next year whereas I was paying double that last year. I can't find it in me to complain. I do however now regard this as a year on year purchase as I have no faith whatsoever that the season after next will bear any resemblance price wise to next year or that I won't find my seat and my enjoyment of it compromised in some way by an RD social experiment
Always thought they would do this. Cannot see the problem. Unfortunate quirk of human nature that people accept a deal that they're happy with then later become unhappy, not because the deal gets any worse, but they perceive that someone else is getting a benefit denied to them.
Fook me. Have I got this wrong ? Are all these complaints, because the club have extended their generous offer by a further 19 days ?
If so, 19 days isn't really a big deal is it ?
Are people really up shit street, because they could have kept their money for a further 19 days ?
I think I must have misunderstood.
PS KHA if you think loyalty is being penalised (which it it slightly) you want to be a 5 yr VIP. I'm well out of pocket.
The five year season ticket holders have been completely shafted, however, had the club been promoted to the Premier League they would have been in pocket so it was a different type of gamble.
I agree that 19 days is not a significant period of time, but to text me three times warning me that I would lose the early purchase discount on the 9th only to extend it is, without question, dishonest. It's not what I expect from any business that has any kind of integrity, and does irreparable damage to the current owners reputation. We will, never, be able to trust anything they say again and it was so easily avoidable.
I believed what RD said when he told us we are not a feeder club. Now I can't believe him and that puts them under more pressure if/when they come out in the summer to answer for themselves.
If it's only 19 days why didn't the club extend it to all fans?
It's just muddled thinking and indecision rather than an attempt to cheat people. Kensell seems very keen to portray everything as his decision - something you would never have seen under previous regimes, where all such decisions were always attributed to the board and actually were made at that level. I guess that's ego, but it's inconceivable he wouldn't have to get agreement from KM and the personalisation may backfire on him. Either way, I doubt RD concerns himself with season-ticket deadlines.
Extending the deadline means more cheap season tickets. What's wrong with that? I paid £135 for my season ticket. Couldn't care less what happens after that I purchased my ticket and that's the end of it for me. If the prices went up I couldn't care. If they went down then I am gonna have the raving hump GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!!
No one is saying the prices are bad for fans buying ST. They are very good value regardless of the division we are in IMO although the 20% U18 increase was steep in some people's view.
The issues that some people have is that the process has been badly handled and implemented.
The aborted attempt to move the family stand was the first.
The planned forced removal of people from the front of the north upper or a forced purchased of a crossbars ticket (rapidly withdrawn) was the second.
The fixing and then breaking of the "deadline" is the third. Some don't care, fine but clearly many do. "Sharp practice" some have called it. Not illegal but certainly misleading and undermining of confidence.
The 4th is an unknown but indications are that people are migrating to cheaper seats meaning that ST income could well drop if total numbers stay the same. There are new/returning ST buyers but at least some of those are those (Buckshee, Tangoflash) who bought occasional tickets so we have lost match days sales as well.
I think the zoning has a lot of merits and will mean that the club can offer a lot of price points if we return to the premiership. Remember this was the club's stated reason for the new zones.
But we won't be in the premiership next season and even with backing from RD we may not be for sometime. So meanwhile there is a huge temptation to downgrade your ticket to save over £100 per person in some cases for a seat yards away. Or to do some unofficial upgrading of you own from Block A to some other part of the East.
And having cried "wolf" this time over the deadline some people will be very sceptical about the next great offer or deadline.
IMO the club needs have much more robust internal systems that vet such changes, that scrutenise costings on different levels of sales now, consider all the implications, such as stewarding stands with widely differing prices to stop seat hopping, facilities and lounge use, what if we not in an FA cup semi or final running up the the ST deadline but still in a relegation fight?
Before anyone asks I have a five year ST so I renewed a long time ago.
I think extending the early bird period just proves to me that ticket sales are below what the club expected, in previous seasons the number of ST sold at the end of the deadline has all ways been announced, this year they have put a statement out, that 10% of the ST sold were to new holders (10% of what?). What is the harm in letting the fans know what the uptake has been in real figures?
Bit annoyed about this. If I'd known, I would've held onto my money until May. Won't be renewing early next season if this is the way they do business.
Bit of a non argument, if everyone was so broke but got 'conned' into buying early.. Why didnt you just wait 2 months and pay a £50 premium ? I don't imagine prices will rise more than that.
Also the 5 year ticket holders that feel they are being let down... It's the previous owners you should have issues with and not RD
“With the current uncertainty over which division the club will be playing in next season, I thought it would be unfair on supporters to increase prices for next year’s season tickets at this time,” said Chief Commercial Officer Ben Kensell.
“Our fans have shown fantastic loyalty over the course of what has been, at times, a difficult season and it is only right that they are certain what division the club will be in before the deadline is imposed.
What is the massive issue here?
They gave a deadline for the current prices, and looked to review the price at this point with our leage status in mind. As we may still get relegated they have kept the prices the same. If we had our Championship status confirmed for next season then they probably would have bumped the prices up a tad.
Some people are making a mountain out of a mole hill again.
The issue is that he is contradicting himself. "It is only right that they are certain what division the club will be in before the deadline is imposed" - he wasn't saying that this time last week when we were all getting text messages telling us to renew before the 9th, with (IMO) deliberately vague information about whether our seats would be held.
I defended the original early bird deadline when others were complaining, on the basis that it was rewarding fans who were willing to take a gamble on renewing early, without the certainty of what division we're in. This drives a coach and horses through that argument, and is just a generally shoddy way to treat your most loyal supporters.
The real problem, as others have said, is that next time there is a 'deadline' people won't believe it. The club have done untold damage to supporter confidence for the sake of putting in place even a token increase of, say, £10.
“With the current uncertainty over which division the club will be playing in next season, I thought it would be unfair on supporters to increase prices for next year’s season tickets at this time,” said Chief Commercial Officer Ben Kensell.
“Our fans have shown fantastic loyalty over the course of what has been, at times, a difficult season and it is only right that they are certain what division the club will be in before the deadline is imposed.
What is the massive issue here?
They gave a deadline for the current prices, and looked to review the price at this point with our leage status in mind. As we may still get relegated they have kept the prices the same. If we had our Championship status confirmed for next season then they probably would have bumped the prices up a tad.
Some people are making a mountain out of a mole hill again.
The issue here is that they should have extended that option before the deadline. It was unlikely from about February onward, and almost a certainty from the middle of March that we would not know which division we would be in next season by the 9th of April. Why wait until the 14th to make the announcement? It can only be because they wanted fans to renew early. Thus, they must have kept the plans to keep the prices down quiet on purpose. If they'd said that they weren't going to change the prices until the division is known but that they really need the month in now then I'd probably have bought the ticket now anyway. I just don't like being deceived.
Would there have been much incentive to raise as much funds as pos before the end of the last tax year ? That kinda makes sense with the April deadline
Would there have been much incentive to raise as much funds as pos before the end of the last tax year ? That kinda makes sense with the April deadline
The Club's tax year is July to June so unlikely. Getting money in early is usually better as you know what you have and so have a clearer idea on budgets for the season.
The reason for 9th April was it was after the FA Cup semi-finals. IMO it was a good idea to set the deadline with this in mind as had we won the quarter final it would have been a good time to be selling season tickets. It didn't work out but the thinking was right. The early bird deadline had to be set somewhere (assuming you are going to have one at all, you don't have to) so April 9th makes sense. After a possible semi-final and after pay day for many.
Wasn't it obvious when they released the cut off date that we were uncertain what league we would be in? We have been uncertain all season. To use that as an excuse to extend it to try get some more people signed up before doing the same again is laughable. Ben Kensell is making a mess of this all of late.
Also, if we do go down are the prices still going to go up? I highly doubt it, you've just tricked people into paying for a product they may not fancy in L1 (fairweather supporters) by offering them an incentive to sign up. It is cheeky, not criminal but it's cheeky, to your own fans.
I just find it crazy that the club have kept the prices the same, and instead of applauding the club for doing this some fans are moaning because the prices haven't gone up so they haven't saved any money.
I just find it crazy that the club have kept the prices the same, and instead of applauding the club for doing this some fans are moaning because the prices haven't gone up so they haven't saved any money.
That's not what people are moaning about (from what I can see).
People are a bit peed off if they have felt like they had to renew at a price by a date to get the best deal, possibly putting them in a bit of a shitty financial position for three weeks of the month and then it turns out there was no need to worry because the prices didn't change post-deadline.
I just find it crazy that the club have kept the prices the same, and instead of applauding the club for doing this some fans are moaning because the prices haven't gone up so they haven't saved any money.
The issue is more the misleading way it was done with the text message campaign etc.
I can see why they have done what they have done and it was my choice to renew early.
That does not remove the charge of sharp practice and general spivvyness though in my opinion.
Private Walker in Dad's Army would be proud of our thrusting young Asset Sweater.
Comments
And even if they spend big I can't see with the decreases in some prices income from season ticket sales being up
We're a club drifting around and the Prem fans have all found other hobbies to do(go and watch palace) and people are bored of what's on offer at The Valley
Our hardcore is disintegrating
They could have put the prices up by £10/20 on the 9th and that way the tickets would still have been competitively priced and thousands of supporters who signed up early wouldn't have felt lied to.
And if it puts me in financial strife by renewing in 19 days time then I won't renew then.
I applaud this extension of the early bird discount and do not feel ripped off in any way.
As a supporter I don't want to stand alone in an empty stadium and there fore support any attempt to maximise ticket sales of any description.
Having said this I am not blind, or oblivious to the teams failings and off the field nonsense over the past 12 months and can fully understand the reluctance of some of my fellow supporters.
Come on people, you know you want to, if you can renew, its better than shopping with the wife, DIY etc
Extending the deadline means more cheap season tickets. What's wrong with that? I paid £135 for my season ticket. Couldn't care less what happens after that I purchased my ticket and that's the end of it for me. If the prices went up I couldn't care. If they went down then I am gonna have the raving hump GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!!
Only joking!
See you all in A & B block.
The issues that some people have is that the process has been badly handled and implemented.
The aborted attempt to move the family stand was the first.
The planned forced removal of people from the front of the north upper or a forced purchased of a crossbars ticket (rapidly withdrawn) was the second.
The fixing and then breaking of the "deadline" is the third. Some don't care, fine but clearly many do. "Sharp practice" some have called it. Not illegal but certainly misleading and undermining of confidence.
The 4th is an unknown but indications are that people are migrating to cheaper seats meaning that ST income could well drop if total numbers stay the same. There are new/returning ST buyers but at least some of those are those (Buckshee, Tangoflash) who bought occasional tickets so we have lost match days sales as well.
I think the zoning has a lot of merits and will mean that the club can offer a lot of price points if we return to the premiership. Remember this was the club's stated reason for the new zones.
But we won't be in the premiership next season and even with backing from RD we may not be for sometime. So meanwhile there is a huge temptation to downgrade your ticket to save over £100 per person in some cases for a seat yards away. Or to do some unofficial upgrading of you own from Block A to some other part of the East.
And having cried "wolf" this time over the deadline some people will be very sceptical about the next great offer or deadline.
IMO the club needs have much more robust internal systems that vet such changes, that scrutenise costings on different levels of sales now, consider all the implications, such as stewarding stands with widely differing prices to stop seat hopping, facilities and lounge use, what if we not in an FA cup semi or final running up the the ST deadline but still in a relegation fight?
Before anyone asks I have a five year ST so I renewed a long time ago.
Alright ya flash git!!!!
Also the 5 year ticket holders that feel they are being let down... It's the previous owners you should have issues with and not RD
They gave a deadline for the current prices, and looked to review the price at this point with our leage status in mind. As we may still get relegated they have kept the prices the same. If we had our Championship status confirmed for next season then they probably would have bumped the prices up a tad.
Some people are making a mountain out of a mole hill again.
I defended the original early bird deadline when others were complaining, on the basis that it was rewarding fans who were willing to take a gamble on renewing early, without the certainty of what division we're in. This drives a coach and horses through that argument, and is just a generally shoddy way to treat your most loyal supporters.
The real problem, as others have said, is that next time there is a 'deadline' people won't believe it. The club have done untold damage to supporter confidence for the sake of putting in place even a token increase of, say, £10.
They gave a deadline for the current prices, and looked to review the price at this point with our leage status in mind. As we may still get relegated they have kept the prices the same. If we had our Championship status confirmed for next season then they probably would have bumped the prices up a tad.
Some people are making a mountain out of a mole hill again.
The issue here is that they should have extended that option before the deadline. It was unlikely from about February onward, and almost a certainty from the middle of March that we would not know which division we would be in next season by the 9th of April. Why wait until the 14th to make the announcement? It can only be because they wanted fans to renew early. Thus, they must have kept the plans to keep the prices down quiet on purpose. If they'd said that they weren't going to change the prices until the division is known but that they really need the month in now then I'd probably have bought the ticket now anyway. I just don't like being deceived.
Welcome to morality in 21st Century Britain.
The Club's tax year is July to June so unlikely. Getting money in early is usually better as you know what you have and so have a clearer idea on budgets for the season.
The reason for 9th April was it was after the FA Cup semi-finals. IMO it was a good idea to set the deadline with this in mind as had we won the quarter final it would have been a good time to be selling season tickets. It didn't work out but the thinking was right. The early bird deadline had to be set somewhere (assuming you are going to have one at all, you don't have to) so April 9th makes sense. After a possible semi-final and after pay day for many.
Also, if we do go down are the prices still going to go up? I highly doubt it, you've just tricked people into paying for a product they may not fancy in L1 (fairweather supporters) by offering them an incentive to sign up. It is cheeky, not criminal but it's cheeky, to your own fans.
Read more at http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20140409-final-day-for-best-season-ticket-prices-1478185.aspx#H73XP2jo9D8Jv1zh.99
Not the final day any more.. lol
People are a bit peed off if they have felt like they had to renew at a price by a date to get the best deal, possibly putting them in a bit of a shitty financial position for three weeks of the month and then it turns out there was no need to worry because the prices didn't change post-deadline.
I can see why they have done what they have done and it was my choice to renew early.
That does not remove the charge of sharp practice and general spivvyness though in my opinion.
Private Walker in Dad's Army would be proud of our thrusting young Asset Sweater.