Dave Matthews Band sends an email the day of to everyone in the fan club who has tickets for that show to buy a poster, event shirt, or poster + shirt bundle that will be shipped a week later. They still have early outdoor merch and it’s still packed with people who want more than what’s offered online. It’s a great model, and one I wish PJ would consider.
The current model works for them. Fixed amount of inventory probably makes it easier to manage and sell with less financial risk. With pre-orders the business model changes from sales to order fulfillment.
unless it's a canceled show, then we can do bundles..
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
You either care that your fans are waiting in ridiculous lines, or you don't...
My guess is that they do not mind moving huge amounts of inventory before the doors even open. It has been going on for some time. But who really knows? Information is not something this band is accustomed to sharing.
Why would they need to share that information?
I know it is easy to blame the band but lets be honest the biggest problem is the fans. il people stop using Pearl Jam merch as some kind of currency the lines and sellouts aren't going to end. You want merch lines etc to be more fan friendly? Buy just one of the things you want, don't buy stuff to flip/trade, dont bring other people with you just to buy more stuff to flip/trade.
Not saying they need to, just saying transparency is not their hallmark. Yes the flippers are part of the problem, but there are also large numbers of legit fans that wait in these lines. I personally gave up on merch around 2008 and just recently liquidated my poster collection.
I think 96% of the people waiting in line are fans, the problem is the fans are also the flippers/people buying whatever they can to trade. This is what is causing merch to sell out and lines being a mile long. Pearl Jam is going to spend more money to sell the same amount of stuff, if people want to see things approve the fans are going to have to change how they view merch.
Easier fix would be to limit the show/city specific stuff like posters, t-shirts, etc to 1 per person instead of 2. Potentially doubles the number of people who have opportunity to buy at show. Cuts down on the flippers' profit margins. Way less motivating for flipper to wait in line multiple hours for early merch line if they're only going to net say ~$200 than ~$400 they would've gotten with double merch quantity purchase/eBay sale. Keeps secondary market prices down since better able to meet upfront demand of concert goers looking for merch for their show(s). Band/vendors still make their money.
TFC '97, TFC '98, Pittsburgh '98, Camden I,II '98, Camden I,II '00, Pittsburgh '00, Philly '03, Camden I,II '03, MSG I,II '03, Hershey '03, Reading '04, Philly '05, Camden I,II '06, Meadowlands I '06, Camden I,II '08, DC '08, Spectrum I,II,III,IV '09, Made in America '12, Philly I,II '13, GCF '15, Philly I,II '16, MSG I '16, Apollo ‘22, MSG ‘22, Camden ‘22, MSG I,II '24, Philly I,II '24
Flippers will put in for every show knowing they can sell the merch for a profit, even if they don’t even sell the tickets for profit. Fuck, FANS will put in for every show and flip the merch for profit. I can already see the bundle deals - “1 MSG ticket + show specific merch **RARE**”. No. Keep tickets with tickets and merch it’s own thing. Actually getting to go to the show is more important than securing merch.
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
Easier fix would be to limit the show/city specific stuff like posters, t-shirts, etc to 1 per person instead of 2. Potentially doubles the number of people who have opportunity to buy at show. Cuts down on the flippers' profit margins. Way less motivating for flipper to wait in line multiple hours for early merch line if they're only going to net say ~$200 than ~$400 they would've gotten with double merch quantity purchase/eBay sale. Keeps secondary market prices down since better able to meet upfront demand of concert goers looking for merch for their show(s). Band/vendors still make their money.
This would double the number of people at the front of the line as flippers bring a buddy to buy a second poster and buy them a beer for their trouble.
People buying 2 posters instead of 1 is not leading to a massive amount of flippers. It's when the vendors allow people to buy 10 of an item.
"I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands the [shows I've done]. Some folks just have one, others they got none..."
Alpine Valley Music Theatre East Troy, Wisconsin (September 03, 2011); Alpine Valley Music Theatre East Troy, Wisconsin (September 04, 2011); Deluna Fest Pensacola, FL (September 21, 2012); Wrigley Field (July 19, 2013); Milwaukee, WI (October 20, 2014); Wrigley Field I (August 20, 2016); Wrigley Field II (August 22, 2016); Home Shows Seattle Night 1 (August 08, 2018), Home Shows Seattle Night 2 (August 10, 2018), Apollo Theater (September 10, 2022), Madison Square Garden (September 11, 2022), Bourbon & Beyond Louisville (September 17th, 2022).
Wrong. 10 club and Pearl Jam would be “losers” as well. The people lining up to buy posters are also buying thousands of dollars of secondary merchandise. I get it, it sucks but the lines are wonderful from a business stand point. The desired merch sells out and all kinds of other stuff is sold as well. Things are not gonna change. It’s a cash cow and the herd is literally lining up for it.
Are you sure? There must be thousands of fans like me who take one look at the lines and say no freaking way. I’d never ever consider spending hours of time standing for merch, but I’d happily buy shirts and posters with the tickets.
There are so many common sense solutions to this poster/t shirt/sticker problem. #1 pre order it with your 10c tix and pick it up the day of the show at merch tent at your leisure. #2 pre order and mail out afterwards (yes very labor intensive, but charge a PREMIUM to reward the mom and pop warehouse workers to send the stuff out after the concert. #3 stop allowing people to buy 2 of everything at the show. It baffles me when i saw every single person buy 2 posters at the merch tent.
Although waiting 5 hrs in st.louis wasn't the greatest experience in the world, conversations with people in line definitely made it go by quicker. Something to be said for that. It's also nice the band posts show specific items of Twitter prior, I'd hate to show up way early and get stuck with a poster that's not my taste. That being said the fan base isn't getting any younger, ask my back or prostate 6-8 years - I may have a totally different opinion.
Posters should be sold as a presale option. They would know how many to produce. Production doesn't take very long. Then throw another hundred or so on the ten club site.
Posters should be sold as a presale option. They would know how many to produce. Production doesn't take very long. Then throw another hundred or so on the ten club site.
My thought exactly. There is no need to bundle with anything else.
Posters should be sold as a presale option. They would know how many to produce. Production doesn't take very long. Then throw another hundred or so on the ten club site.
Honestly, what would be the band's incentive to do this? Placating a portion of the Ten Club? Does that seem like something the business side of the band cares about?
"I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands the [shows I've done]. Some folks just have one, others they got none..."
Maybe they should do the opposite of a BOGO deal.. kick up the price to dissuade people buying multiples. Buy one poster at $45 or 2 for $75 each I'm half-kidding
I think the poster/ticket presale for 10C members is a solid idea. For a band that wants to keep tickets in the hands of fans and eliminate scalpers (for the most part); you'd think they would want to do the same for their merch. If they are even aware this frustration exists, that is. I can't imagine they are getting a cut of any sales on Ebay, but who knows.
I believe the whole thing is outsourced. They approve the designs and collect a big check. Current model works and is highly profitable. The 10C and the merch operator do not want to be filling and shipping thousands of orders and for each show.
Yah I don't recall this being an option in 2013, but the Vancouver lineup was reasonable for a poster (Seattle not so much). I think they sold some leftovers after the fact, but no preorders.
The only time I remember it being a thing was the 2009 tour. I was able to preorder calgary.
I think other issues, is while PJ has the worst merch lineups.. it's become increasingly harder at other shows too. I remember the merch lineup at a GNR show being so slow. The lineup outside was too long, and we had to bail on the inside ilneup because we wanted to see AIC's opening set.
When I was younger I think transactions were shorter. You said I want an XL shirt and a poster please, then immediately handed over the cash. Now people are like, I want to look at that, and try that on, and then pay with my credit card (which can take longer than cash to process).
Posters should be sold as a presale option. They would know how many to produce. Production doesn't take very long. Then throw another hundred or so on the ten club site.
Honestly, what would be the band's incentive to do this? Placating a portion of the Ten Club? Does that seem like something the business side of the band cares about?
Maximize their target market to everyone buying a ticket vs only those willing to stand in line five hours. Many of us say hell no tour after tour while looking at those lines
seems to me they’re leaving tons of money on the table and enriching merch scalpers at the same time by limiting supply
Posters should be sold as a presale option. They would know how many to produce. Production doesn't take very long. Then throw another hundred or so on the ten club site.
Honestly, what would be the band's incentive to do this? Placating a portion of the Ten Club? Does that seem like something the business side of the band cares about?
Maximize their target market to everyone buying a ticket vs only those willing to stand in line five hours. Many of us say hell no tour after tour while looking at those lines
seems to me they’re leaving tons of money on the table and enriching merch scalpers at the same time by limiting supply
The posters sell out at shows, so I'm going to argue that your "many" isn't as many as you think. How many 2022 tour posters are STILL available in the shop right now? A handful from NA leg 1, most of the European tour? Again, what's the incentive here? Increased overhead for a *potential* few extra sales?
Another thing: look back at this most recent tour, both the 2020 version and the 2022 reschedule. Look at how many people didn't read all the instructions and signed up for the wrong thing. Look at all of the people who completely MISSED the lottery and then scrambled to get tickets in the VF sale or F2F. Now add poster pre-orders to those headaches.
It's also not going to stop scalping. First off, would this just be for 10C members? So, if you don't get tickets in the lottery, you're stuck waiting in line for a poster. If you are a scalper, renew your 10C membership, get tickets to as many shows as you can, buy all the posters, sell your tickets on F2F and get that money back, and then it's off to eBay to sell to the people who couldn't get posters because you got tickets. Are they going to be special "10 Club" editions, so that mods can see when they're being flipped? Good luck with proving the seller is the 10 Club member. "Someone gave it to me" or "I bought it from the 10 Club member for face value".
I mean, I'm not going to complain if I can pre-order the poster, I just don't think it's the slam-dunk solution people here think it is, and I don't think the 10 Club sees any advantage to going that route.
Honestly, I don't know what they did this year in terms of print volume, but given the fact that there have been plenty in the shop, I think this is the best solution. Wait in line at the show if you want more of a guarantee (and plan ahead to give yourself the best chances: getting in line at 11am isn't terrible - 3 hour wait and good company), or pay attention to the shop after the shows.
"I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands the [shows I've done]. Some folks just have one, others they got none..."
Posters should be sold as a presale option. They would know how many to produce. Production doesn't take very long. Then throw another hundred or so on the ten club site.
Honestly, what would be the band's incentive to do this? Placating a portion of the Ten Club? Does that seem like something the business side of the band cares about?
Maximize their target market to everyone buying a ticket vs only those willing to stand in line five hours. Many of us say hell no tour after tour while looking at those lines
seems to me they’re leaving tons of money on the table and enriching merch scalpers at the same time by limiting supply
The posters sell out at shows, so I'm going to argue that your "many" isn't as many as you think. How many 2022 tour posters are STILL available in the shop right now? A handful from NA leg 1, most of the European tour? Again, what's the incentive here? Increased overhead for a *potential* few extra sales?
Another thing: look back at this most recent tour, both the 2020 version and the 2022 reschedule. Look at how many people didn't read all the instructions and signed up for the wrong thing. Look at all of the people who completely MISSED the lottery and then scrambled to get tickets in the VF sale or F2F. Now add poster pre-orders to those headaches.
It's also not going to stop scalping. First off, would this just be for 10C members? So, if you don't get tickets in the lottery, you're stuck waiting in line for a poster. If you are a scalper, renew your 10C membership, get tickets to as many shows as you can, buy all the posters, sell your tickets on F2F and get that money back, and then it's off to eBay to sell to the people who couldn't get posters because you got tickets. Are they going to be special "10 Club" editions, so that mods can see when they're being flipped? Good luck with proving the seller is the 10 Club member. "Someone gave it to me" or "I bought it from the 10 Club member for face value".
I mean, I'm not going to complain if I can pre-order the poster, I just don't think it's the slam-dunk solution people here think it is, and I don't think the 10 Club sees any advantage to going that route.
Honestly, I don't know what they did this year in terms of print volume, but given the fact that there have been plenty in the shop, I think this is the best solution. Wait in line at the show if you want more of a guarantee (and plan ahead to give yourself the best chances: getting in line at 11am isn't terrible - 3 hour wait and good company), or pay attention to the shop after the shows.
Why do people always have to bring logic into these discussions? For the record, if there is a way to pre order them that makes sense, I would be all for it.
Comments
That & have more staff working / dealing / handling Pearl Jam merch at the venue.
Melbourne #2 '03
Melbourne #3 '03
Melbourne #1 '06
Melbourne #3 '06
Melbourne '09
Melbourne '14
Not saying they need to, just saying transparency is not their hallmark. Yes the flippers are part of the problem, but there are also large numbers of legit fans that wait in these lines. I personally gave up on merch around 2008 and just recently liquidated my poster collection.
Potentially doubles the number of people who have opportunity to buy at show.
Cuts down on the flippers' profit margins. Way less motivating for flipper to wait in line multiple hours for early merch line if they're only going to net say ~$200 than ~$400 they would've gotten with double merch quantity purchase/eBay sale.
Keeps secondary market prices down since better able to meet upfront demand of concert goers looking for merch for their show(s).
Band/vendors still make their money.
Hartford 10.02.96 | Mansfield 2 09.16.98 | Mansfield 1 08.29.00 | Mansfield 1 07.02.03 | Mansfield 3 07.11.03 | Boston 2 05.25.06 | Tampa 04.11.16 | Fenway 1 08.05.16 | Fenway 2 08.07.16 | Fenway 1 09.02.18 | Fenway 2 09.04.18 | Baltimore 03.28.20 | Hamilton 09.06.22 | Toronto 09.08.22 | Nashville 09.16.22 | St Louis 09.18.22 | Baltimore 09.12.24 | Fenway 1 09.15.24 | Fenway 2 09.17.24
"He made the deal with the devil, we get to play with him.
He goes to hell, of course. We're going to heaven."
I would totally volunteer for free if they asked for help.
#2 pre order and mail out afterwards (yes very labor intensive, but charge a PREMIUM to reward the mom and pop warehouse workers to send the stuff out after the concert. #3 stop allowing people to buy 2 of everything at the show. It baffles me when i saw every single person buy 2 posters at the merch tent.
The easy answer would be "double prices" but something tells me that's wrong.
Hartford 10.02.96 | Mansfield 2 09.16.98 | Mansfield 1 08.29.00 | Mansfield 1 07.02.03 | Mansfield 3 07.11.03 | Boston 2 05.25.06 | Tampa 04.11.16 | Fenway 1 08.05.16 | Fenway 2 08.07.16 | Fenway 1 09.02.18 | Fenway 2 09.04.18 | Baltimore 03.28.20 | Hamilton 09.06.22 | Toronto 09.08.22 | Nashville 09.16.22 | St Louis 09.18.22 | Baltimore 09.12.24 | Fenway 1 09.15.24 | Fenway 2 09.17.24
"He made the deal with the devil, we get to play with him.
He goes to hell, of course. We're going to heaven."
I'm half-kidding
I think the poster/ticket presale for 10C members is a solid idea. For a band that wants to keep tickets in the hands of fans and eliminate scalpers (for the most part); you'd think they would want to do the same for their merch. If they are even aware this frustration exists, that is.
I can't imagine they are getting a cut of any sales on Ebay, but who knows.
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
I wish they did.
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
Weird. I was at the Portland 2013 show. Don't remember 10club offering a poster pre order on that EMEK poster.
The only time I remember it being a thing was the 2009 tour. I was able to preorder calgary.
I think other issues, is while PJ has the worst merch lineups.. it's become increasingly harder at other shows too. I remember the merch lineup at a GNR show being so slow. The lineup outside was too long, and we had to bail on the inside ilneup because we wanted to see AIC's opening set.
When I was younger I think transactions were shorter. You said I want an XL shirt and a poster please, then immediately handed over the cash. Now people are like, I want to look at that, and try that on, and then pay with my credit card (which can take longer than cash to process).
Not sure how you shorten per transaction times.
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
seems to me they’re leaving tons of money on the table and enriching merch scalpers at the same time by limiting supply
It's also not going to stop scalping. First off, would this just be for 10C members? So, if you don't get tickets in the lottery, you're stuck waiting in line for a poster. If you are a scalper, renew your 10C membership, get tickets to as many shows as you can, buy all the posters, sell your tickets on F2F and get that money back, and then it's off to eBay to sell to the people who couldn't get posters because you got tickets. Are they going to be special "10 Club" editions, so that mods can see when they're being flipped? Good luck with proving the seller is the 10 Club member. "Someone gave it to me" or "I bought it from the 10 Club member for face value".
Hartford 10.02.96 | Mansfield 2 09.16.98 | Mansfield 1 08.29.00 | Mansfield 1 07.02.03 | Mansfield 3 07.11.03 | Boston 2 05.25.06 | Tampa 04.11.16 | Fenway 1 08.05.16 | Fenway 2 08.07.16 | Fenway 1 09.02.18 | Fenway 2 09.04.18 | Baltimore 03.28.20 | Hamilton 09.06.22 | Toronto 09.08.22 | Nashville 09.16.22 | St Louis 09.18.22 | Baltimore 09.12.24 | Fenway 1 09.15.24 | Fenway 2 09.17.24
"He made the deal with the devil, we get to play with him.
He goes to hell, of course. We're going to heaven."