A modest proposal

MopHandlePapa

This is a rant, for all of us.

So, I am heading out from the Chicago merch day 1 experience, having stayed in line for more than two hours, to leave empty handed. Supplies ran out at about 4:30. I met lots of great fans spending hours of their lives in pursuit of memorabilia of their favorite band.

Meanwhile, merch scalpers have already flooded eBay with overpriced goods.

To the fans: why are we putting up with this?

To the fan club / representatives of Pearl Jam: it is simply unacceptable that this remains a problem in 2016.

You have a voraciously loyal fan base, one that has demonstrated a willingness to follow this group of people through whatever comes. Meanwhile, predators are taking advantage of that loyalty for their financial gain. This scenario is similar to the fight this band had with Ticketmaster in 1995. Except this time, you have the power to change the situations.

You have an online store. You have a group of people paying for exclusive rights and information.

We should have the ability to pre-order merchandise for shows, to some point before the actual show. Not unlimited amounts of merch - 1. Per fan club member. No discounts, full retail price, plus shipping.

There are literally no disadvantages to this solution. Your most dedicated fans are guaranteed to get their gear. You have a better count of actual sales, and can better manufacture to demand. (You are leaving tons of money on the table as it is). You generate more fan club memberships as people become aware of this benefit. And I won't even get into the tens of thousands of hours saved from hundreds or thousands of fans not standing in huge lines with overworked staff unable to respond to the challenge.

And most important : you help to drive a stake in the heart of the secondary market. They only succeed because of our passion, and the current strategy that plays into their hands.

Fans, thoughts? If I am the only one that believes that this is a problem...so be it. If I am not, please sound off (other than to say "get there earlier, n00b". If that is your response, you don't really understand the problem.

/Soapbox

ldent42

I'm sure there is a reason they do not do this. Or several reasons. I've never run nor worked for a fan club for a band with a large dedicated fanbase who are as eager to drop coin on swag as they are to attend shows, so who knows the real logistics of it. It's not as if they aren't aware of the interest in seeing online 10c only merch pre-orders, as it's a frequent topic here and on social media. I doubt they are choosing to continue doing things this way just for shits and giggles. I think it's fair to assume there are logistical reasons why this isn't an option. One day, I hope it will be.

sander_jam76

In 2013 I waited in smoldering heat to get my hands on the first poster. I couldn't get all I wanted because some posters where not in stock. Basically 4 hours waited for naught. Then, at the concert, there was so much merch that I wondered why I even bothered. Just get in line at the right time and it'll be fine.

mpedone

I look forward to this being implementing and then the inevitable bithcing when flippers figure out a way to game THAT system, and the merch still sells out and shows up on ebay at 3x cost.

BF89905

I generally agree with the OP's sentiments. Perhaps the early merchandise shops/tents outside the venue could be open to only 10C members. You show your ID and provide your membership # to gain entry. Perhaps there's someone at the door with a tablet. The tablets at each location are synced - therefore people going multiple times to hoard merchandise is eliminated.
While at the concert or after if you want to buy merchandise again then have it.

A disappointing fact of this merchandise reselling phenomenon is that a number of dedicated 10 Club members who love Pearl Jam's music, also really enjoy reselling merchandise to fellow 10 Club members at ridiculous mark-ups here on the Lost Dogs forum, EBay, Facebook, and whatever other avenue they can find. The only way to curb this unfriendly behaviour is to stop purchasing these items from these people.

Have a good week everyone. I'm looking forward to being able to relive the Fenway shows with the bootlegs. Hopefully everyone attending the Wrigley shows have a great and safe time. We all know the band is going to be incredible. Have a nice week.

CopperTom

Yeah!

EdsonNascimento

We do not want more incentive for people to join 10 Club. That is our access to tickets. Stop suggesting other club priveleges that will ultimately lead to a decreased chance in getting tickets!

MopHandlePapa

@EdsonNascimento - that's a fair point This is just a frustrating paradigm. I (and I suspect many others) pick a few shows to attend, and the Merch is a tangible part of the experience (and typically, the posters are awesome!). I think I speak for most fans when I say, I don't want 18 posters to resell. I'd like an opportunity to have *1*, that doesn't involve camping out 2 hours before a merch stand even opens.

There has to be a better way....

ldent42

I'd argue there's quite a few dedicated fans who are not 10c members too, particularly outside of the USA. It would be nice if there was a requirement to have a valid ticket before buying merch outside but I dont see a good way to make that work.

EdsonNascimento

MopHandlePapa said:

@EdsonNascimento - that's a fair point This is just a frustrating paradigm. I (and I suspect many others) pick a few shows to attend, and the Merch is a tangible part of the experience (and typically, the posters are awesome!). I think I speak for most fans when I say, I don't want 18 posters to resell. I'd like an opportunity to have *1*, that doesn't involve camping out 2 hours before a merch stand even opens.

There has to be a better way....

Oh, I completely understand. I'm certainly no innocent on Merch. But, I've also stopped worrying about it (not that I ever really did). I've found if you hang around these parts and are fairly patient you'll get what you need for the most part. I've also found the search and how I acquire stuff becomes part of the story. And honestly, the few most "valuable" things to me cost nothing.

I'm terms of a better way, they way upped the inventory for these shows. Other than cards and 1 poster, you could get anything up until Sunday night at Fenway. Sucks the Sunday only people never had a chance at those things, but the supply is so great for these shows, I think you'll be able to get pretty much anything other than maybe the cards for a reasonable price shortly after the shows. It's simple economic supply and demand. The extra supply is the solution and they did that. They can't enforce patience. We are the ones that create these lines. Fenway was fairly easy after the initial rush. I showed up Friday afternoon and only saw very long lines once. After the show stuff was available. Part of the solution is in our hands. They can only do so much.