Fenway Merchandise.....they messed this up

MorpheusII

Long time fan, not an active member on the board here. Went to Fenway II last night, it was great. But......

Selling merchandise all weekend meant the best shirts and posters were entirely sold out before the event. If the band wants to make these items "limited edition", great. But, selling them to anyone walking through the Fenway area all weekend means we will have boatloads of shirts and posters on eBay within days while fans who went to the show never had a chance to get the event souvenirs.

I suspect I am just shouting into the wind but I would love it if the band would make more souvenirs from the event available in the store here. Those of us who went and got shut out would appreciate it.

Morph

Alexana

They normally will do poster releases after a show here on the website,

JimmyV

Found it much easier to get merchandise at Fenway than I did at Wrigley three years ago.

MorpheusII

Alexana said:

They normally will do poster releases after a show here on the website,

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that. Hoping for shirts too....the skyline shirt was cool and entirely sold out hours before the show.

gregoryield

Buying merchandise yesterday was, without question, the easiest and smoothest I've ever seen it. Incredible.

RE4790

Yeah, this is how all shows should be if they aren't going to do online pre-sales. They did it right this time. *high fives 10c*

mpedone

I was a little surprised by the week long merch sales, but this was a special event. We were lucky to be heading down Saturday for the viewing party, so we eschewed the booths on Friday, and hit them on Saturday, when it was MUCH calmer. Everything but the Thomas print was in stock (though, not all sizes). It does suck when you can't get down there, or don't even know about it. I do feel like the 10 Club at least alerted members to the merch sales, so that you could try to plan on getting down to the area before the shows. Not great, but it's something. I gotta say, being able to get stuff and stash it in the car on Saturday was great (because there wasn't really anything going on, we parked for $10 in the lot right at the intersection of Yawkey and Brookline). We bought the Tampa poster and a couple of shirts, and had to carry them wherever we went.

I'm more bummed there was no Bruins-related gear (I know it was at Fenway, so everything's going to be geared towards that, but after seeing the hockey jerseys from the Canada shows (particularly Toronto), I am a little jealous).

-Buru-

I thought except trading cards and the Thomas poster they had pretty much everything. Granted I don't buy too many tshirts. It was also much smoother than at Wrigley in 2013.

stateofloveandpj

gregoryield said:

Buying merchandise yesterday was, without question, the easiest and smoothest I've ever seen it. Incredible.

Agree. Was way easier

MG79478

The solution is simple, let's just take the socialist approach like with tickets. Make all merchandise via a lottery, and remove the ability for people to put forth more effort to obtain what they want.

MorpheusII

-Buru- said:

I thought except trading cards and the Thomas poster they had pretty much everything. Granted I don't buy too many tshirts. It was also much smoother than at Wrigley in 2013.

A couple of posters were gone yesterday including the Thomas poster (the one I wanted). A couple of shirts were down to small / medium when I got there as well. The blue skyline shirt was out all day according to the folks I spoke with.

Don't mean to come across as sour grapes but the merchandise that I liked was totally unavailable. I just don't get selling it all weekend. Those of us who live in the area weren't going to take a drive into the city on Saturday just to buy merchandise that, in theory, we should be able to get at the show.

MorpheusII

MG79478 said:

The solution is simple, let's just take the socialist approach like with tickets. Make all merchandise via a lottery, and remove the ability for people to put forth more effort to obtain what they want.

"Put forth more effort"....does that mean drive into the city on Saturday just to buy swag? Sure, that's possible but why put the fans through that? Why not make more swag?

MayDay10

there are pros and cons to outdoor merch availability.

the con as you pointed out is the fact that anyone can walk up and grab stuff, possibly have friends and family members max out, etc...

Pros... well, they are available for a much larger window of time, which is nice so you dont need to cut into your show. Also, you can get what you want and bring it back to your house, hotel, what have you and not worry about lugging items around at a show.

mickcasey

I still have no idea why they can't put this merch on-line? Donate a % to charities. It's a win-win. Some people are out of town or can't attend for whatever reason. Most groups put their merch on their websites. Who feels like paying 110.00 for a Celtics PJ shirt on Ebay? Not to mention posters.

Redrumh2o

I thought everything went very well. You just have to be willing to put in some time/effort. Just go in early one of the first days and you will be all set.

I do agree that stuff like the set-list shirts should be in the online store for those people that leave the next day, but other than that I thought everything was very fare and a TON of stuff was made and sold!

pjalive21

JimmyV said:

Found it much easier to get merchandise at Fenway than I did at Wrigley three years ago.

If anyone experienced Wrigley 13 then you can survive anything...It was the one and only time I ever stood in a line for anything and because of that it became the last ...seemed like the Fenway set up throughout the week was good minus running out of a few things

PJ_Soul

MorpheusII said:

Alexana said:

They normally will do poster releases after a show here on the website,

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that. Hoping for shirts too....the skyline shirt was cool and entirely sold out hours before the show.

Don't count on that though. The popular ones sell out really fast when 10C drops them online, and most people get shut out when it's a highly desired poster. Although if you're looking to buy an ugly poster that nobody likes this is definitely a good way to get one.

TJ25487

PJ_Soul said:

MorpheusII said:

Alexana said:

They normally will do poster releases after a show here on the website,

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that. Hoping for shirts too....the skyline shirt was cool and entirely sold out hours before the show.

Don't count on that though. The popular ones sell out really fast when 10C drops them online, and most people get shut out when it's a highly desired poster. Although if you're looking to buy an ugly poster that nobody likes this is definitely a good way to get one.

Word!

jazzbo26

My friend got the skyline shirt at a booth just inside the park at around 6pm. They had all sizes. The outside booth was sold out.

Merkin Baller

I was pretty annoyed they didn't hold some Thomas posters for inside the venue on Sunday, but other than that, I think they did a great job w/ the Fenway merch.

mpedone

Merkin Baller said:

I was pretty annoyed they didn't hold some Thomas posters for inside the venue on Sunday, but other than that, I think they did a great job w/ the Fenway merch.

I know they were supposed to have a set allotment per day, but my suspicion is that the poster sold so quickly, and so many people were demanding it earlier in the week, that they said, "Screw it," and went over the allotment. Tough call - piss off the fans that came out early for it (and risk selling more to a-hole flippers), or piss off people on Saturday/Sunday (couldn't even get that one on Saturday).

Merkin Baller

MP59559 said:

Merkin Baller said:

I was pretty annoyed they didn't hold some Thomas posters for inside the venue on Sunday, but other than that, I think they did a great job w/ the Fenway merch.

I know they were supposed to have a set allotment per day, but my suspicion is that the poster sold so quickly, and so many people were demanding it earlier in the week, that they said, "Screw it," and went over the allotment. Tough call - piss off the fans that came out early for it (and risk selling more to a-hole flippers), or piss off people on Saturday/Sunday (couldn't even get that one on Saturday).

It definitely sucks, but I like the fact they did so many posters. I don't love all of them, but if you were determined to get 'a' poster from the show, there was something there for you.

It beats having no posters at all IMO.

If you look hard enough, you can find fault in anything, and the flippers are an unfortunate byproduct of having several days worth of sales which in the end accommodates the maximum amount of people. I think they did this right.

wbutler29

This kind of thread keeps them from doing a pre-sale option. 5days 8 hours a day and we are still mad at them. Guys we have it so good.

PJ_Soul

wbutler29 said:

This kind of thread keeps them from doing a pre-sale option. 5days 8 hours a day and we are still mad at them. Guys we have it so good.

Interesting theory... basically 10C won't do merch pre-sales out of spite!

chitownp76

You could offer everyone that got a ticket (TM or 10C) the option to buy a merch pack (Poster, Sticker, T-shirt) for another 80 bucks and you would still have people complain about how ugly the poster is or that they dont like the shirts or that they dont fit right. If you dont want to wait in line, wait for them to drop in the store.

mpedone

Merkin Baller said:

It definitely sucks, but I like the fact they did so many posters. I don't love all of them, but if you were determined to get 'a' poster from the show, there was something there for you.

It beats having no posters at all IMO.

If you look hard enough, you can find fault in anything, and the flippers are an unfortunate byproduct of having several days worth of sales which in the end accommodates the maximum amount of people. I think they did this right.

I agree. I don't like the flippers, but they are a fact of life. I'm also not "all about the merch". We were going to be in town for the HOB show and to meet up with a couple of buddies who we hadn't seen in a while, and decided to hit up the stands. If they'd been out of the stuff we were interested in, we'd have moved on and still enjoyed the weekend every bit as much as we did. We ended up with the Mark 5 playing card poster, which was our top choice. I like the Thomas poster, but it really wasn't my top choice.

In the end, we were there to enjoy the music, and a t-shirt or a poster doesn't change that. I like having them as reminders, but I'm not going to freak out about it.

2-feign-reluctance

PJ_Soul said:

wbutler29 said:

This kind of thread keeps them from doing a pre-sale option. 5days 8 hours a day and we are still mad at them. Guys we have it so good.

Interesting theory... basically 10C won't do merch pre-sales out of spite!

Yeah, 10c is such an angry organization. Hahaha!!

tschav

The fact that so much stuff was available after the shows amazed me a bit. It seemed like 6-8 of the 30+ items they created for the Fenway weekend weren't sold out by the end of Sunday's show.

I think they did well with poster availability despite the options/preference of the artwork. That always seemed to be the biggest issue at shows.

Looking forward to seeing what they bring to Wrigley, and I wouldn't doubt anything less than what they did for Fenway.

WEAPONX24

Was definitely easier then Wrigley 2013. Lines moved quickly for the most part.

MayDay10

they do a great job of evolving and listening IMO....

For whatever reason, pre-orders seem to be rejected. They did try pre-orders and it apparently isn't a good solution for them. Fans have shown a clear desire but they have not gone back.
Also, limited editions/runs are something that they want in their business model. It increases/drives up demand and instead of 2 warehouses full of unsold items, they only need 1.

MorpheusII

MP59559 said:

In the end, we were there to enjoy the music, and a t-shirt or a poster doesn't change that. I like having them as reminders, but I'm not going to freak out about it.

I agree with that.....great show and whether or not I have a shirt, I have the memory. I don't get the strategy, though. If you want to create a "limited edition" shirt, I guess that makes sense but then sell it at the show not all weekend. If you're selling to anyone on the street for three days, then make it unlimited.

Just my 2cents.....and none of it changes how great the show was. Unlike many people on this board, I haven't been to a slew of shows but in the short list, I've managed to catch both Mansfield 3 and last night so I think I've gotten pretty lucky.