Seeking Merch Advice for Fenway

OceansJennyOceansJenny Manhattan, NY Posts: 3,171
Trying to plan my weekend in Boston. I’m in town Sat 1pm - Wed 2pm. Based on how merch went for the other shows, how much time should I plan on sinking for merch (days/times)? I really just want a poster and a shirt, maybe some other bonus items.

Would like to shoot for the tents to get that out of the way before the shows so we don’t have to guard a poster all show. Setlist shirts would be a bonus, but don’t want to burn entire mornings/days.

Also if merch ruined anyone’s trip let me know and I’ll avoid it.
DC '03 - Reading '04 - Philly '05 - Camden 1 '06 - DC '06 - E. Rutherford '06 - The Vic '07 - Lollapalooza '07 - DC '08 - EV DC 1 & 2 '08 (Met Ed!!) - EV Baltimore 1 & 2 '09 - EV NYC 1 '11 (Met Ed!) - Hartford '13 - GCF '15 - MSG 2 '16 - TOTD MSG '16 - Boston 1 & 2 '18 - SHN '21 - EV NYC 1 & 2 '22 - MSG '22

Comments

  • If it’s like Wrigley, I’d get in line between 830-900 and you will be out in 15-20 minutes once it opens.  I did this, it cost me 1 morning that I had nothing planned and everything was available.  Just a suggestion
  • OceansJennyOceansJenny Manhattan, NY Posts: 3,171
    If it’s like Wrigley, I’d get in line between 830-900 and you will be out in 15-20 minutes once it opens.  I did this, it cost me 1 morning that I had nothing planned and everything was available.  Just a suggestion
    Thank you! Does it mater which day (do they run out of items in prior days)? Or they restock each morning?
    DC '03 - Reading '04 - Philly '05 - Camden 1 '06 - DC '06 - E. Rutherford '06 - The Vic '07 - Lollapalooza '07 - DC '08 - EV DC 1 & 2 '08 (Met Ed!!) - EV Baltimore 1 & 2 '09 - EV NYC 1 '11 (Met Ed!) - Hartford '13 - GCF '15 - MSG 2 '16 - TOTD MSG '16 - Boston 1 & 2 '18 - SHN '21 - EV NYC 1 & 2 '22 - MSG '22
  • symptomsfadesymptomsfade Posts: 237
    edited August 2018
    I waited on Friday, the second day merch was available.  From reading the forums the day did not matter.  The popular posters and low stocked posters went really fast (1.5 hours or less).  There was about 50 people in front of me and I had no issues.  Of those 50 people there were a couple big spenders that have been identified on this forum.  They seemed to be on top of the limits at that point.
    Post edited by symptomsfade on
  • RobZRobZ Park City, Utah Posts: 181
    Advice?....spend the extra three hours "pre-gaming" in a bar with friends. Fun times and good memories are much more valuable.
    2006: Las Vegas, Nevada
    2009: Salt Lake City, Utah
    2012: Missoula, Montana
    2014: Denver, Colorado
    2018: Missoula, Montana

  • YourDirtisMyfoodYourDirtisMyfood Boston Posts: 4,377
    I wish the ticket stubs were still around and were miniature versions of the popular tour posters.  You can just frame them and there ya go.
  • MB93672MB93672 Posts: 255
    my experience with fenway merch was very favorable in 2016. they had multiple merch booths, i believe 4 total, around the perimeter of the park. i walked up to one booth at 11am the day after the first show with no wait and was able to get what i wanted without a problem. 
  • JH6056JH6056 Posts: 2,427
    MB93672 said:
    my experience with fenway merch was very favorable in 2016. they had multiple merch booths, i believe 4 total, around the perimeter of the park. i walked up to one booth at 11am the day after the first show with no wait and was able to get what i wanted without a problem. 
    Curious, was one of the things you wanted a Thomas poster?  Wasn't that THE poster in demand in '16 at Fenway or am I getting my posters very confused? 

    I feel like it's one thing if each day starts fresh with a re-stock.  Very different if some stuff sells out Day 1 and that's all the chance anyone will get.

    Anyone know for sure how it will be at Fenway?
  • At Fenway 1 '16 I just went to the first merchandise stall inside the gate.  I waited maybe 25-35 minutes and bought a T-shirt and hat.  I recall that the only thing that they didn't have was "The Catch" poster.
    Boston (4/10/94), Hartford (10/2/96), Barre (8/22/98), Hartford (9/13/98), Mansfield (9/15/98 + 9/16/98), Mansfield (8/29/00 + 8/30/00), Mansfield (7/2/03 + 7/11/03), Boston (9/28/04), Hartford (5/13/06), Boston (5/24/06 + 5/25/06), Hartford (6/27/08), Mansfield (6/28/08 + 6/30/08), Philadelphia (10/31/09), Hartford (5/15/10), Worcester (10/15/13 + 10/16/13), Hartford (10/25/13), New York (5/1/16), Boston (8/5/16 + 8/7/16), Boston (9/2/18 + 9/4/18)
  • wobbler_kittywobbler_kitty Millbury, MA Posts: 161
    They restock daily, sometimes multiple times a day depending on the size of the merch tent. At least the first few days anyway. Yeah, at some point the most popular poster and like a couple other things will run out, but not so fast that you need to be one of the crazies that line up at the ass crack of dawn for 8 hours on the first day.

    Guessing they’ll start on Friday with 1-2 outside tents, then 3 on Sat, plus numerous inside spots on show days. If they don’t have what you want at one spot just go to another. I never saw any ridiculous waiting at any spot on either show day. Just normal post-show lines at the most.

    When we left N1 ‘16 there was a small stand just outside the exit that had the setlist shirts, the line was a pretty average post-show line, nothing atrocious. I didn’t care for a white shirt so I skipped it and just bought a regular tour shirt the afternoon of N2 with maybe a 5-10 minute wait. And N2 setlist shirts were easily available the next day at one of the Fenway shops.
  • JH6056JH6056 Posts: 2,427
    ^^ Thank you!
  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,164
    I went to both Seattle and Chicago 1. I didn't spend any time in the merch line and I have zero regrets. Getting merch has been really stressing me out the last few years and I decided it wasn't fun anymore so I stopped buying merch (more or less). I did walk by merch by the porta johns in GA at Seattle 2 and there was no line (this was maybe 30 mins or so after early entry) so I jumped in and got a onesie and a kids T for my nephews.

    Not saying you shouldn't get any merch, just sharing my personal experience :)
  • GibsonGibson Toronto Posts: 2,507
    The only point I would make to all of this, is whatever plan you make, stick to it and don't regret it. I've waited 5 hours for merch with no regrets, and I've skipped it all and been just as happy.
    1998: Barrie  2000: Toronto  2005: Kitchener, London, Hamilton, Toronto  2006: Toronto 1&2, Paris, Milan, Torino, Pistoia  2009: Calgary, Vancouver  2011: Canada  2013: London, Wrigley, Philly 1&2  2014: St. Louis, ACL 1, Detroit  2016: Lexington, Quebec, Ottawa, Toronto 1&2, Fenway 1&2, Wrigley 1&2  2017: EV - Louisville  2018: London 1&2, Milan, Padova, Rome, Prague, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 1&2, Fenway 1&2  2020: Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton  2021: London 1&2  2022: Hamilton, Toronto  2023: Chicago 1&2, Noblesville  2024:

  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,164
    Gibson said:
    The only point I would make to all of this, is whatever plan you make, stick to it and don't regret it. I've waited 5 hours for merch with no regrets, and I've skipped it all and been just as happy.
    Yes agreed! The worst thing to do is to do something you think you should be doing when you’d rather be doing something else and then you start questioning your judgement and hating yourself. And no, I have no personal experience with this :whistle::rofl:
  • JDime20JDime20 Posts: 192
    I got in line at 8:30 on Sunday with about 45 people in front of me and the Thomas was sold out by the the time I got to the table, 12 minutes after opening. It depends on what you want. If you want “THE” poster, get there as early as you can. Otherwise you’ll have to get lucky and they restock when you happen to be there. Good luck!
  • Merch tent is low on goods the last day. Get there quickly and get it over with.
    2006 PJ/Petty Milwaukee Night 1
    2007 Lollapalooza Chicago
    2013 Wrigley Chicago
    2013 Dallas
    2013 Oklahoma City
  • Massara133Massara133 Stettler AB Canada Posts: 430
    I don’t know if Missoula is a good comparison but....I went at 4:30 day before the show and got most of what I wanted. Show day I went 2.5 hours before the booth opened, drank coffee and visited with fans, got the rest of my stuff in 20 minutes once the booth opened at 9 and then had all day to enjoy Missoula before the show.
    10
  • iwasatpj20iwasatpj20 Rockford, IL Posts: 3,291
    Write down what you want items wise; quantities, size, etc to make it a simpler experience.  Get there early to get it done.
    2000 - Chicago, IL
    2003 - Champaign, IL
    2006 - Chicago, IL 1 & 2
    2007 - Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
    2009 - Chicago, IL 1 & 2
    2010 - St. Louis, MO
    2011 - East Troy, WI 1 & 2 (PJ20 Destination Weekend)
    2012 - Atlanta, GA, Missoula, MT
    2013 - Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field), Dallas, TX, Oklahoma City, OK
    2014 - St. Louis, MO, Tulsa, OK, Moline, IL (No Code, IL), Saint Paul, MN, Milwaukee, WI (Yield, WI)
    2016 - Greenville, SC (Vs, SC), Raleigh, NC, Columbia, SC, Boston, MA (Fenway Park 1), Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field 1 & 2)
    2018 - Seattle, WA (Safeco Field 2), Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field 1 & 2), Boston, MA (Fenway Park 2)
    2020 - Nashville, TN, St. Louis, MO, Oklahoma City, OK, Phoenix, AZ, ??
    2022 - Nashville, TN, St. Louis, MO, Oklahoma City, OK, Phoenix, AZ, Las Vegas, NV
    2023 - St. Paul, MN 2, Fort Worth, TX 2, Austin, TX 1, and Austin, TX 2
    2024 - Portland, OR and Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field 1 & 2)


    2012 - Temple of the Dog East Troy, WI (PJ20 Destination Weekend)
    2014 - Soundgarden Tinley Park, IL (with Nine Inch Nails)
    2014 - Alice in Chains Davenport, IA
    2016 - Chris Cornell Solo Madison, WI and Peoria, IL (official hometown show)
    2016 - Temple of the Dog San Francisco, CA (both shows)
    2017 - Soundgarden Dallas (cancelled) RIP Chris Cornell
    2018 - Smashing Pumpkins Chicago, IL (first show)
    2019 - Alice in Chains Milwaukee, WI
    2022 - Jerry Cantrell Chicago, IL
    2023 - Jerry Cantrell Milwaukee, WI

    RIP Andrew Wood, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Chris Cornell

    RIP Mom (may your star shine the brightest in the sky, our family loves and misses you very much, we'll meet again)

  • YourDirtisMyfoodYourDirtisMyfood Boston Posts: 4,377
    not sure how I feel about the Boston shirts


  • DeadmanDeadman Posts: 782
    Write down what you want items wise; quantities, size, etc to make it a simpler experience.  Get there early to get it done.

    YES, write down your list prior.  I don't understand how minds aren't made up when it's your turn.  Also ignore any and all requests from other people who are asking other people to buy them things.  Makes it a much better experience for folks that are actually there and in line behind you.
  • MR242791MR242791 Brooklyn NY Posts: 669
    not sure how I feel about the Boston shirts


    this made me excited =)
    38 concerts and counting
    "I know I was born and I know that I'll die, the in between is mine"
  • KS80184KS80184 Posts: 385
    Trying to plan my weekend in Boston. I’m in town Sat 1pm - Wed 2pm. Based on how merch went for the other shows, how much time should I plan on sinking for merch (days/times)? I really just want a poster and a shirt, maybe some other bonus items.

    Would like to shoot for the tents to get that out of the way before the shows so we don’t have to guard a poster all show. Setlist shirts would be a bonus, but don’t want to burn entire mornings/days.

    Also if merch ruined anyone’s trip let me know and I’ll avoid it.
    At Wrigley, everything was stocked in the main merch tent on the first day at much higher levels than all of the other days.  I was able to go at 5pm on the first day (Thursday) and get everything, including all the posters.  However, after that point, the most coveted posters were selling out in as little 20 minutes.  Re-stocking supposedly happened at sporadic random times, but nothing dependable.  After day 1, you had to be in line by 6am for a 9am tent opening to guarantee getting everything you wanted.  A better strategy might be trying to be one of the first people in the stadium and buying inside, but if you weren't early into the stadium, lines were huge and moved slowly inside the show.  I didn't wait in those inside lines to know how well stands were stocked inside the show.
  • PJ5a1PJ5a1 Oceanside, NY Posts: 400
    Trying to plan my weekend in Boston. I’m in town Sat 1pm - Wed 2pm. Based on how merch went for the other shows, how much time should I plan on sinking for merch (days/times)? I really just want a poster and a shirt, maybe some other bonus items.

    Would like to shoot for the tents to get that out of the way before the shows so we don’t have to guard a poster all show. Setlist shirts would be a bonus, but don’t want to burn entire mornings/days.

    Also if merch ruined anyone’s trip let me know and I’ll avoid it.
    Get in line around two hours before it opens so you get what you want.  It’s a complete waste of time and a complete inconvenience especially if you’re traveling and want to spend time in the city. Nothing better than spending that time in a 3-5 hour line. 

    Sorry for the rant rant but it’s true. 
    If I were Eddie Vedder, would you like me any better? - Local H
  • wobbler_kittywobbler_kitty Millbury, MA Posts: 161
    not sure how I feel about the Boston shirts



    Mehhhhh, really not impressed. At all. Hopefully at least one of the setlist shirts is decent.
  • RobZ said:
    Advice?....spend the extra three hours "pre-gaming" in a bar with friends. Fun times and good memories are much more valuable.
    This +1000
  • Gern BlanstenGern Blansten Your Mom's Posts: 17,937
    not sure how I feel about the Boston shirts



    Mehhhhh, really not impressed. At all. Hopefully at least one of the setlist shirts is decent.
    The blue baseball flame shirt is a nice soft blend 
    Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)

    1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
    2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
    2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
    2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
    2020: Oakland, Oakland:  2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
    2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
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