Matchday Ticket prices 26/27

TD_Addick said:

Prices are a lot but I don't mind if it helps the club compete more. But a family of four wanting to attend a game is near £100 plus food drinks close to £130, going to put off most people. 

Not at all clear that the prices will maximise revenue. I should think it will be marginal at best.

i assume announcing them is intended to push season tickets.

guinnessaddick said:

se9addick said:

fenaddick said:

Cafc451 said:

What will be the gold price match?.

Wrexham
West Ham
Burnley
Wolves
Portsmouth

Maybe a couple more

Millwall presumably 

That’ll be more of a rusty colour.

Tin, like a pot colour ?

ElfsborgAddick said:

I have just had a look at the prices for the Derby game.

The family bundle prices are very reasonable but I think it is a shame and unnecessary to limit the tickets to being in the family section.  Perhaps people would rather sit elsewhere and put them off buying.

No reason why they can’t have another family block at the bottom end of the West Stand by the away supporters. They have done it before and as we all know they are plenty of empty seats at every home game.

A bit of forward thinking from the club would not go a miss

valleynick66 said:

shirty5 said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

I have just had a look at the prices for the Derby game.

The family bundle prices are very reasonable but I think it is a shame and unnecessary to limit the tickets to being in the family section.  Perhaps people would rather sit elsewhere and put them off buying.

No reason why they can’t have another family block at the bottom end of the West Stand by the away supporters. They have done it before and as we all know they are plenty of empty seats at every home game.

A bit of forward thinking from the club would not go a miss

You don’t need a further  area really. 

The bundle price is the thing that gets people to go albeit the age restriction on who can go might need more thought. 

The designated area is (to my mind) simply where you may prefer to sit amongst comparable fans and avoid the more ‘lively’ language etc elsewhere. 

I cannot see why you need to be restricted on where you sit, it does not make sense.

Airman Brown said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

valleynick66 said:

shirty5 said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

I have just had a look at the prices for the Derby game.

The family bundle prices are very reasonable but I think it is a shame and unnecessary to limit the tickets to being in the family section.  Perhaps people would rather sit elsewhere and put them off buying.

No reason why they can’t have another family block at the bottom end of the West Stand by the away supporters. They have done it before and as we all know they are plenty of empty seats at every home game.

A bit of forward thinking from the club would not go a miss

You don’t need a further  area really. 

The bundle price is the thing that gets people to go albeit the age restriction on who can go might need more thought. 

The designated area is (to my mind) simply where you may prefer to sit amongst comparable fans and avoid the more ‘lively’ language etc elsewhere. 

I cannot see why you need to be restricted on where you sit, it does not make sense.

Because they want to limit the appeal of the offer. The whole approach to ticketing is highly risk averse and ultimately will be damaging. 

Kids should be the market to cling on to.

shine166 said:

valleynick66 said:

shirty5 said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

I have just had a look at the prices for the Derby game.

The family bundle prices are very reasonable but I think it is a shame and unnecessary to limit the tickets to being in the family section.  Perhaps people would rather sit elsewhere and put them off buying.

No reason why they can’t have another family block at the bottom end of the West Stand by the away supporters. They have done it before and as we all know they are plenty of empty seats at every home game.

A bit of forward thinking from the club would not go a miss

You don’t need a further  area really. 

The bundle price is the thing that gets people to go albeit the age restriction on who can go might need more thought. 

The designated area is (to my mind) simply where you may prefer to sit amongst comparable fans and avoid the more ‘lively’ language etc elsewhere. 

Considering the family area is tiny and barely ever has availability for groups, id argue against that point. There's no reason why that offer can't be in the curbs stand too.

It would be easy to adjust the price slightly for each stand but they choose not to and offer it for the family stand only.
That way they can still advertise the headline price, even if it is hardly available.

Out of the three stands available, the quadrants makes most sense as does the Curbishley stand and the West stand,
leave out the Covered End unless parents with kids can put up with swearing etc.

shine166 said:

valleynick66 said:

shirty5 said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

I have just had a look at the prices for the Derby game.

The family bundle prices are very reasonable but I think it is a shame and unnecessary to limit the tickets to being in the family section.  Perhaps people would rather sit elsewhere and put them off buying.

No reason why they can’t have another family block at the bottom end of the West Stand by the away supporters. They have done it before and as we all know they are plenty of empty seats at every home game.

A bit of forward thinking from the club would not go a miss

You don’t need a further  area really. 

The bundle price is the thing that gets people to go albeit the age restriction on who can go might need more thought. 

The designated area is (to my mind) simply where you may prefer to sit amongst comparable fans and avoid the more ‘lively’ language etc elsewhere. 

Considering the family area is tiny and barely ever has availability for groups, id argue against that point. There's no reason why that offer can't be in the curbs stand too.

I don’t think we’re disagreeing. The point is you don’t need to limit to the current area. 

valleynick66 said:

shine166 said:

valleynick66 said:

shirty5 said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

I have just had a look at the prices for the Derby game.

The family bundle prices are very reasonable but I think it is a shame and unnecessary to limit the tickets to being in the family section.  Perhaps people would rather sit elsewhere and put them off buying.

No reason why they can’t have another family block at the bottom end of the West Stand by the away supporters. They have done it before and as we all know they are plenty of empty seats at every home game.

A bit of forward thinking from the club would not go a miss

You don’t need a further  area really. 

The bundle price is the thing that gets people to go albeit the age restriction on who can go might need more thought. 

The designated area is (to my mind) simply where you may prefer to sit amongst comparable fans and avoid the more ‘lively’ language etc elsewhere. 

Considering the family area is tiny and barely ever has availability for groups, id argue against that point. There's no reason why that offer can't be in the curbs stand too.

I don’t think we’re disagreeing. The point is you don’t need to limit to the current area. 

A better (side on) view is more likely to get kids to want to come again. 

Weve sat there once and its incredibly hot too on a sunny day with the sun beaming through the plastic roof section. Youre right that its not the most engaging spot for a young child to sit too.

Airman Brown said:

valleynick66 said:

bobmunro said:

Ticket pricing is an inexact science - priced too low and you might have sold out twice over, price too high and overall revenue falls. Ultimately it is about profitable revenue generation which, as a loss making entity, is reasonable for that to be the driver for the owners. We all want success on the pitch - that of course comes with a price tag.

I have no idea whatsoever whether the current ST and match day pricing will achieve optimum revenue - people can speculate as to whether they are too high or too low, but nobody really knows.

Surely a key measure is the extent to which any match day purchasers repeat on other occasions or ultimately convert to a season ticket. 

I’d suggest the pricing is not going to reel many in on a semi permanent basis. 

They want ‘tourists’ who are less price sensitive. I don’t see much  incentive   to attract new families / groups. 

Sadly we aren’t unique as it’s the direction of travel but our previous boasts on affordable football are now historic it feels.  

Given the number of empty seats we have, they can have tourists and attract additional regular support. Tourists won’t be deterred by tickets being £5 cheaper. 

My observation is that they struggled with some of the gold games last season because they were overpriced in the context of the opposition and the season. Portsmouth (abandoned) was an obvious example. On that basis I don’t think making that the minimum price for most games is likely to work.

It's SUCH a shame there's no-one around these days who could advise as to best  practises & what has/hasn't worked in the past.

Airman Brown said:

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Airman Brown said:

valleynick66 said:

bobmunro said:

Ticket pricing is an inexact science - priced too low and you might have sold out twice over, price too high and overall revenue falls. Ultimately it is about profitable revenue generation which, as a loss making entity, is reasonable for that to be the driver for the owners. We all want success on the pitch - that of course comes with a price tag.

I have no idea whatsoever whether the current ST and match day pricing will achieve optimum revenue - people can speculate as to whether they are too high or too low, but nobody really knows.

Surely a key measure is the extent to which any match day purchasers repeat on other occasions or ultimately convert to a season ticket. 

I’d suggest the pricing is not going to reel many in on a semi permanent basis. 

They want ‘tourists’ who are less price sensitive. I don’t see much  incentive   to attract new families / groups. 

Sadly we aren’t unique as it’s the direction of travel but our previous boasts on affordable football are now historic it feels.  

Given the number of empty seats we have, they can have tourists and attract additional regular support. Tourists won’t be deterred by tickets being £5 cheaper. 

My observation is that they struggled with some of the gold games last season because they were overpriced in the context of the opposition and the season. Portsmouth (abandoned) was an obvious example. On that basis I don’t think making that the minimum price for most games is likely to work.

It's SUCH a shame there's no-one around these days who could advise as to best  practises & what has/hasn't worked in the past.

Full transparency: at the club's request I recently did a piece of work (unpaid) on how to adjust Valley Express to provide more opportunity to develop support (based, as ever, on the data). Unfortunately, they aren't going to take it forward. That's up to them, obviously, but it is why I say that I think they are excessively risk averse.

I thank you for your input AB and I know those on the Bexhill route are very disappointed that the route/timings haven't changed. If they had increased capacity and amended the routes I'm sure there would have been increased take up. Leaving Hailsham 4.5 hours before kick off is ridiculous. You could get to Sheffield at least in that time. The number of stops is excessive too. All this was pointed out by many in numerous emails. They are either risk adverse or really don't care about fan concerns.

Airman Brown said:

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Airman Brown said:

valleynick66 said:

bobmunro said:

Ticket pricing is an inexact science - priced too low and you might have sold out twice over, price too high and overall revenue falls. Ultimately it is about profitable revenue generation which, as a loss making entity, is reasonable for that to be the driver for the owners. We all want success on the pitch - that of course comes with a price tag.

I have no idea whatsoever whether the current ST and match day pricing will achieve optimum revenue - people can speculate as to whether they are too high or too low, but nobody really knows.

Surely a key measure is the extent to which any match day purchasers repeat on other occasions or ultimately convert to a season ticket. 

I’d suggest the pricing is not going to reel many in on a semi permanent basis. 

They want ‘tourists’ who are less price sensitive. I don’t see much  incentive   to attract new families / groups. 

Sadly we aren’t unique as it’s the direction of travel but our previous boasts on affordable football are now historic it feels.  

Given the number of empty seats we have, they can have tourists and attract additional regular support. Tourists won’t be deterred by tickets being £5 cheaper. 

My observation is that they struggled with some of the gold games last season because they were overpriced in the context of the opposition and the season. Portsmouth (abandoned) was an obvious example. On that basis I don’t think making that the minimum price for most games is likely to work.

It's SUCH a shame there's no-one around these days who could advise as to best  practises & what has/hasn't worked in the past.

Full transparency: at the club's request I recently did a piece of work (unpaid) on how to adjust Valley Express to provide more opportunity to develop support (based, as ever, on the data). Unfortunately, they aren't going to take it forward. That's up to them, obviously, but it is why I say that I think they are excessively risk averse.

It begs the question why did they ask you in the first place?  They must be aware of your past experience and success with the Valley Express.

valleynick66 said:

Airman Brown said:

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Airman Brown said:

valleynick66 said:

bobmunro said:

Ticket pricing is an inexact science - priced too low and you might have sold out twice over, price too high and overall revenue falls. Ultimately it is about profitable revenue generation which, as a loss making entity, is reasonable for that to be the driver for the owners. We all want success on the pitch - that of course comes with a price tag.

I have no idea whatsoever whether the current ST and match day pricing will achieve optimum revenue - people can speculate as to whether they are too high or too low, but nobody really knows.

Surely a key measure is the extent to which any match day purchasers repeat on other occasions or ultimately convert to a season ticket. 

I’d suggest the pricing is not going to reel many in on a semi permanent basis. 

They want ‘tourists’ who are less price sensitive. I don’t see much  incentive   to attract new families / groups. 

Sadly we aren’t unique as it’s the direction of travel but our previous boasts on affordable football are now historic it feels.  

Given the number of empty seats we have, they can have tourists and attract additional regular support. Tourists won’t be deterred by tickets being £5 cheaper. 

My observation is that they struggled with some of the gold games last season because they were overpriced in the context of the opposition and the season. Portsmouth (abandoned) was an obvious example. On that basis I don’t think making that the minimum price for most games is likely to work.

It's SUCH a shame there's no-one around these days who could advise as to best  practises & what has/hasn't worked in the past.

Full transparency: at the club's request I recently did a piece of work (unpaid) on how to adjust Valley Express to provide more opportunity to develop support (based, as ever, on the data). Unfortunately, they aren't going to take it forward. That's up to them, obviously, but it is why I say that I think they are excessively risk averse.

When you say ‘risk averse’ do you simply mean they won’t spend any more / increase their costs before they see a rise in income / ticket sales? 

There isn’t a lot of scope for increasing ticket sales as it is currently set up because they are more or less at capacity across most routes (with some fall-off in midweek) as they operate them. This doesn’t necessarily mean the coaches are full - you will have season pass holders who don’t travel, as with no show ST holders, but the seats are paid for. However, Valley Express was deliberately set up with interconnecting routes, so you can add one coach which creates capacity on two routes if required. And not if it isn’t. 

When will West Ham ticket sales details come out?

Weegie Addick said:

Airman Brown said:

valleynick66 said:

Airman Brown said:

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Airman Brown said:

valleynick66 said:

bobmunro said:

Ticket pricing is an inexact science - priced too low and you might have sold out twice over, price too high and overall revenue falls. Ultimately it is about profitable revenue generation which, as a loss making entity, is reasonable for that to be the driver for the owners. We all want success on the pitch - that of course comes with a price tag.

I have no idea whatsoever whether the current ST and match day pricing will achieve optimum revenue - people can speculate as to whether they are too high or too low, but nobody really knows.

Surely a key measure is the extent to which any match day purchasers repeat on other occasions or ultimately convert to a season ticket. 

I’d suggest the pricing is not going to reel many in on a semi permanent basis. 

They want ‘tourists’ who are less price sensitive. I don’t see much  incentive   to attract new families / groups. 

Sadly we aren’t unique as it’s the direction of travel but our previous boasts on affordable football are now historic it feels.  

Given the number of empty seats we have, they can have tourists and attract additional regular support. Tourists won’t be deterred by tickets being £5 cheaper. 

My observation is that they struggled with some of the gold games last season because they were overpriced in the context of the opposition and the season. Portsmouth (abandoned) was an obvious example. On that basis I don’t think making that the minimum price for most games is likely to work.

It's SUCH a shame there's no-one around these days who could advise as to best  practises & what has/hasn't worked in the past.

Full transparency: at the club's request I recently did a piece of work (unpaid) on how to adjust Valley Express to provide more opportunity to develop support (based, as ever, on the data). Unfortunately, they aren't going to take it forward. That's up to them, obviously, but it is why I say that I think they are excessively risk averse.

When you say ‘risk averse’ do you simply mean they won’t spend any more / increase their costs before they see a rise in income / ticket sales? 

There isn’t a lot of scope for increasing ticket sales as it is currently set up because they are more or less at capacity across most routes (with some fall-off in midweek) as they operate them. This doesn’t necessarily mean the coaches are full - you will have season pass holders who don’t travel, as with no show ST holders, but the seats are paid for. However, Valley Express was deliberately set up with interconnecting routes, so you can add one coach which creates capacity on two routes if required. And not if it isn’t. 

I don’t think the existing fare structure will fill the extra coaches, but for example it’s very family unfriendly. So yes you need to take a few short term risks to find out where the market is, but you can react to that and the only change for the existing passengers (Hailsham apart) is fewer stops, which is a major consideration in my experience. 

The costs at risk here are piddling for a Championship club, but of course it’s easier to run it at the lowest possible level or not at all. It just won’t help you develop support.

Ultimately it comes down to whether you are focused on the cost of the coaches or the total revenue the passengers generate, in the short and long term. And the club’s choice is to have the empty seats in the stadium, because the evidence is that they can’t sell it out. Different story if they could.

I’ve previously put the suggestion to them that they could have a simple method for VEX season ticket holders to notify them in advance if they are not travelling to a specific match. Then the club could re-sell that seat. But that was a couple of years ago and nothing has come of it. 

They'd not be interested in reselling a seat when there are many thousands unsold.