Purchasing away tickets

[Dundee Hibernian]

To go to Paisley last Saturday, I went to the St Mirren site and purchased, if I am going to Easter Road in 10 days, I have to order from Hibs. This has been the case for away matches this season, and works well enough.

Yet, and correct me if I'm wrong, it appears that Old Firm fans buy tickets for their away games from their own clubs. Rangers have a 'MyGers' membership scheme* which costs to join. Celtic sell to their fans to travel via their ticket office.

Why are is this arrangement in place? Would it not be more profitable for the 10 other clubs to handle tickets sold for their own grounds, rather than hand an electronic batch to the Glasgow clubs? This would also prevent the Glasgow clubs allocating large blocks of tickets to groups they favour like the Green Brigade and Union Bears, which would be a win-win for all other supporters, home and away.

Edit to add, the MyGers scheme was bringing in over £1 million a year to the Ibrox side, reported over a year ago. They are getting their fans to pay this selling items which don't belong to them, that is, away match tickets.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Dundee Hibernian
More detail

[Suspect Device]

I buy my away tickets (OK only once this season) from AFC's site. I thought this was the same for everyone.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

6 minutes ago, Suspect Device said:

I buy my away tickets (OK only once this season) from AFC's site. I thought this was the same for everyone.

This. 

[AJF]

I think it may be partly due to demand. I can only speak for Rangers, but even prior to the MyGers membership, away tickets were always allocated via Rangers for as long as I can remember.

They invite you to register for a match ticket and then they are allocated out once the registration window closes so Rangers get to control who gets one. I think it's done like this so that everyone gets a fair opportunity to get some away tickets in a season.

Particularly for games v Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs, tickets can be quite hard to come by and if they were sold by these clubs directly to Rangers fans then you could potentially have a situation where one person buys a load of them, or the same people are able to get them because they get in there first.

So, in theory, if 10,000 Rangers fans apply for all of the away games during a season through Rangers, then Rangers get to try and fairly balance out the allocation e.g. give people 4 or 5 games each rather than there be a potential scenario where 1 person gets 15 matches and another person only gets a couple (this of course may vary slightly depending on how many MyGers points you have).

Additionally, Rangers have a friends and family scheme where you can link your membership to someone else. This means adults taking children often get allocated the same matches and seats together which may not be possible if the tickets were sold by the clubs individually.

You then have applications from Supporters Clubs to deal with as well which is probably more easily managed via Rangers rather than individual selling clubs.

Some of these issues are obviously not exclusive to Rangers or Celtic supports, it's just my theory as to why they operate like this.

Edited March 23, 2022 by AJF

[Theyellowbox]

I think there might also be some legacy from when Rangers and Celtic had some sort of handling fee on tickets for their games.

In an ideal world, there would be some kind of single system for away fans where you register once and then choose tickets for your clubs away games, rather than having to create an account for every team. Could do all sorts with a platform like that such as additional content etc and could act as some kind of gateway to SPFL TV. Select your club when you sign up and additional revenues from it, such as advertising etc (basically anything outwith tickets) is split based on teams subscribers. Eg Rangers get 25% of subscribers, they get 25% of non ticket revenues. 

 

[EdinburghLivi]

1 hour ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

if I am going to Easter Road in 10 days, I have to order from Hibs.

We were unable to do that for our away game at Hibs and had to buy in person at Livi (as we did last week for the game against Hearts). Do any other supporters have to go through this nonsense? 

Edited March 23, 2022 by EdinburghLivi

[lubo_blaha]

For (just about) every away game we buy direct from AFC and the club allocated loyalty points for each purchase.

Something that has pissed me off for years is that you can’t purchase away tickets less than three days before the game aside from going to Pittodrie. Very few clubs offer cash gates these days and whilst many clubs had some form of e-ticket available during covid, these seem to have been binned. A real pain in the arse to scramble about looking for spares when the away end isn’t sold out and it’s surely costing clubs money.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

5 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said:

For (just about) every away game we buy direct from AFC and the club allocated loyalty points for each purchase.

Something that has pissed me off for years is that you can’t purchase away tickets less than three days before the game aside from going to Pittodrie. Very few clubs offer cash gates these days and whilst many clubs had some form of e-ticket available during covid, these seem to have been binned. A real pain in the arse to scramble about looking for spares when the away end isn’t sold out and it’s surely costing clubs money.

I remember collecting tickets off the team bus one time after I’d bought a couple the day before and the office said they would take them down on the bus.  Haven’t seen that option in a while.

[craigkillie]

We were unable to do that for our away game at Hibs and had to buy in person at Livi (as we did last week for the game against Hearts). Do any other supporters have to go through this nonsense? 

Hearts and Hibs were always terrible for this when I lived on Edinburgh - always directing me to traipse all the way through to Kilmarnock to buy one.

[Dundee Hibernian]

Thanks for the replies, I'm thinking from the perspective of clubs hosting home matches, most specifically against Celtic and Rangers.

Good points raised about the difficulties fans face when purchasing for their teams' games away though, and I've found it difficult to adapt to these times whereby online purchases must be made to attend matches where the ground is nowhere near capacity. Obviously some clubs are toiling to move with the age as well.

But to return to my main query, why do clubs trust Celtic and Rangers to sell their ticket allocations when the Old Firm are away from home?

@AJF, why would it matter to, say, Dundee United how Rangers want their allocation managed, as an example? United really don't have an obligation to Rangers supporters' clubs, as an example. Instead of Rangers gaining cash for their administration of such tickets, noting they have 25,000 paying members, why don't home sides make an extra charge?

@Theyellowbox, good outline, but who would run such a plan? I would hardly trust the SPFL, but it would have to be them, probably.

After witnessing the antics of the Green Brigade and Union Bears at Tannadice this season, the time is surely here for clubs to take responsibility for the attendees at their own grounds, to ensure they stick to their own ground regulations, while at the same time perhaps make a wee bit extra cash.

[AJF]

30 minutes ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

@AJF, why would it matter to, say, Dundee United how Rangers want their allocation managed, as an example? United really don't have an obligation to Rangers supporters' clubs, as an example. Instead of Rangers gaining cash for their administration of such tickets, noting they have 25,000 paying members, why don't home sides make an extra charge?

I don't think it matters to them, Dundee United would get their cash regardless. Rangers will presumably buy all the tickets outright from Dundee United so they are guaranteed to sell out the allocation even if Rangers were unable to sell all the tickets (pretty unlikely, but still). It likely suits both parties.

I'm not sure what extra charge there would be for Dundee United to make out of it? Surely administration fees are simply to cover the costs of allocating and posting the tickets to individual fans? There won't be a profit included in administration charges (it is normally £1 if bought onlibe via Rangers). If Rangers have already taken possession of all the tickets and are responsible for allocating and posting them, then there is no additional burden on Dundee United so they are not losing anything. Unless I am misunderstanding what you are meaning.

Edited March 23, 2022 by AJF

[Dundee Hibernian]

25 minutes ago, AJF said:

I don't think it matters to them, Dundee United would get their cash regardless. Rangers will presumably buy all the tickets outright from Dundee United so they are guaranteed to sell out the allocation even if Rangers were unable to sell all the tickets (pretty unlikely, but still). It likely suits both parties.

I'm not sure what extra charge there would be for Dundee United to make out of it? Surely administration fees are simply to cover the costs of allocating and posting the tickets to individual fans? There won't be a profit included in administration charges (it is normally £1 if bought onlibe via Rangers). If Rangers have already taken possession of all the tickets and are responsible for allocating and posting them, then there is no additional burden on Dundee United so they are not losing anything. Unless I am misunderstanding what you are meaning.

Thanks for the reply: my points, simplified, are

1) The home side could ensure Green Brigade or Union Bear groups weren't allocated a large area of their choosing.

2) Who posts tickets to individual fans these days? United could charge an admin fee of a couple of quid, but the service, being automated, would cost nothing but set up. Tickets are on 'phones or home printed with QR codes anyway.

3) Celtic and Rangers shouldn't make money selling tickets for other clubs' grounds.

I'm criticising Dundee United and other clubs who meekly allow the Glasgow two to organise how their ground is set up for their visits. There's no finger of blame pointing at Celtic and Rangers, other than them trying to keep their extreme fan groups sweet.

[AJF]

17 minutes ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

Thanks for the reply: my points, simplified, are

1) The home side could ensure Green Brigade or Union Bear groups weren't allocated a large area of their choosing.

2) Who posts tickets to individual fans these days? United could charge an admin fee of a couple of quid, but the service, being automated, would cost nothing but set up. Tickets are on 'phones or home printed with QR codes anyway.

3) Celtic and Rangers shouldn't make money selling tickets for other clubs' grounds.

I'm criticising Dundee United and other clubs who meekly allow the Glasgow two to organise how their ground is set up for their visits. There's no finger of blame pointing at Celtic and Rangers, other than them trying to keep their extreme fan groups sweet.

1) That's fair enough

2) All away tickets I've been allocated this season have been paper tickets and it has been since I've been going to matches. This must be part of the deal between the clubs (maybe a Celtic fan can confirm if it is the same for them) whereby they provide all of the tickets in paper form to Rangers and allow them to do what they want with them

3) Rangers won't make money off selling away tickets. There is a £1 admin fee for an online purchase that will cover the postage and staff costs

[LiviLion]

5 hours ago, EdinburghLivi said:

We were unable to do that for our away game at Hibs and had to buy in person at Livi (as we did last week for the game against Hearts). Do any other supporters have to go through this nonsense? 

 

3 hours ago, craigkillie said:

Hearts and Hibs were always terrible for this when I lived on Edinburgh - always directing me to traipse all the way through to Kilmarnock to buy one.

What made it worse, in addition to no tickets being sold at the stadium on the day, is our reception closing stupidly early. For the 3pm Saturday game at Easter Road the latest you could buy a ticket was 1pm on the Friday. 

[Dundee Hibernian]

3 minutes ago, AJF said:

1) That's fair enough

2) All away tickets I've been allocated this season have been paper tickets and it has been since I've been going to matches. This must be part of the deal between the clubs (maybe a Celtic fan can confirm if it is the same for them) whereby they provide all of the tickets in paper form to Rangers and allow them to do what they want with them

3) Rangers won't make money off selling away tickets. There is a £1 admin fee for an online purchase that will cover the postage and staff costs

1) 'tick'

2) I'm jealous: I've a huge collection of match tickets covering many seasons, but think it was only the Dens park game I got one this season. 

3) Taking Rangers as an example, one of their main selling points for 'MyGers' is the chance to secure away match tickets, so I'd argue they do make money selling away tickets.

[AJF]

10 minutes ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

1) 'tick'

2) I'm jealous: I've a huge collection of match tickets covering many seasons, but think it was only the Dens park game I got one this season. 

3) Taking Rangers as an example, one of their main selling points for 'MyGers' is the chance to secure away match tickets, so I'd argue they do make money selling away tickets.

3) That's true to an extent, however the sole purpose of MyGers is not to sell away tickets. It is a big part of it though, but Rangers selling MyGers memberships does not deprive the home club of any income though, which I thought was the original point.

[Lyle Lanley]

6 hours ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

To go to Paisley last Saturday, I went to the St Mirren site and purchased, if I am going to Easter Road in 10 days, I have to order from Hibs. This has been the case for away matches this season, and works well enough.

Yet, and correct me if I'm wrong, it appears that Old Firm fans buy tickets for their away games from their own clubs. Rangers have a 'MyGers' membership scheme* which costs to join. Celtic sell to their fans to travel via their ticket office.

Why are is this arrangement in place? Would it not be more profitable for the 10 other clubs to handle tickets sold for their own grounds, rather than hand an electronic batch to the Glasgow clubs? This would also prevent the Glasgow clubs allocating large blocks of tickets to groups they favour like the Green Brigade and Union Bears, which would be a win-win for all other supporters, home and away.

Edit to add, the MyGers scheme was bringing in over £1 million a year to the Ibrox side, reported over a year ago. They are getting their fans to pay this selling items which don't belong to them, that is, away match tickets.

We have an away season ticket scheme which guarantees a ticket for every away game in league and cup each season but it’s only really worth it for games away to the old firm and Hearts at Tynecastle. 
 

[kingjoey]

6 hours ago, AJF said:

I think it may be partly due to demand. I can only speak for Rangers, but even prior to the MyGers membership, away tickets were always allocated via Rangers for as long as I can remember.

They invite you to register for a match ticket and then they are allocated out once the registration window closes so Rangers get to control who gets one. I think it's done like this so that everyone gets a fair opportunity to get some away tickets in a season.

Particularly for games v Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs, tickets can be quite hard to come by and if they were sold by these clubs directly to Rangers fans then you could potentially have a situation where one person buys a load of them, or the same people are able to get them because they get in there first.

So, in theory, if 10,000 Rangers fans apply for all of the away games during a season through Rangers, then Rangers get to try and fairly balance out the allocation e.g. give people 4 or 5 games each rather than there be a potential scenario where 1 person gets 15 matches and another person only gets a couple (this of course may vary slightly depending on how many MyGers points you have).

Additionally, Rangers have a friends and family scheme where you can link your membership to someone else. This means adults taking children often get allocated the same matches and seats together which may not be possible if the tickets were sold by the clubs individually.

You then have applications from Supporters Clubs to deal with as well which is probably more easily managed via Rangers rather than individual selling clubs.

Some of these issues are obviously not exclusive to Rangers or Celtic supports, it's just my theory as to why they operate like this.

Given the away Rangers support songbook this season, surely Rangers should be ensuring that anyone who has purchased any away ticket so far, gets no more. 

[kingjoey]

7 hours ago, Dundee Hibernian said:

To go to Paisley last Saturday, I went to the St Mirren site and purchased, if I am going to Easter Road in 10 days, I have to order from Hibs. This has been the case for away matches this season, and works well enough.

Yet, and correct me if I'm wrong, it appears that Old Firm fans buy tickets for their away games from their own clubs. Rangers have a 'MyGers' membership scheme* which costs to join. Celtic sell to their fans to travel via their ticket office.

Why are is this arrangement in place? Would it not be more profitable for the 10 other clubs to handle tickets sold for their own grounds, rather than hand an electronic batch to the Glasgow clubs? This would also prevent the Glasgow clubs allocating large blocks of tickets to groups they favour like the Green Brigade and Union Bears, which would be a win-win for all other supporters, home and away.

Edit to add, the MyGers scheme was bringing in over £1 million a year to the Ibrox side, reported over a year ago. They are getting their fans to pay this selling items which don't belong to them, that is, away match tickets.

As others have said, when you buy a ticket for an away Aberdeen game you go through AFC themselves, and I did just that today for Dens a week on Saturday. There was one away game early this season where we had to buy via the home club, but that was a one off due to coming out of Covid restrictions at that time.

[Dundee Hibernian]

1 minute ago, kingjoey said:

Given the away Rangers support songbook this season, surely Rangers should be ensuring that anyone who has purchased any away ticket so far, gets no more. 

That's partly my point about the Union Bears, and also the Green Brigade. Rangers and Celtic facilitate this anti social behaviour allocating blocks to these groups, and by giving tickets to these two clubs to sell the home sides are shitting on their own doorsteps.