Football Kits Rip Off

[Law Stud]

I've been going to the USA for the last 11 years, and agree with the posts above - the price of an NFL replica top isn't cheap. I just ignored them and bought a few T Shirts of my favourite teams instead.

A Boston Celts basketball vest cost $55 at the NBA shop at Universal - probably the most prime site to rip off customers. Not cheap, I'll grant you that, but still nowhere near as expensive as a shitty Hummell top badged up and marked up to SPL prices - oh and before anyone starts I know St Mirren don't have the most expensive replica kits in the SPL.

[Demented Zebra]

I'm just back from a trip to Florida which included two days at the beautiful and exclusive Disney Resort at Vero Beach. There we spent a small part of the evening in the Green Cabin Room chatting away to a couple from New York where the lady is a senior executive for Adidas in the US. Very quickly the conversation turned round to how expensive it was in the UK and how cheap everything is in the US. We gave some comparisions like petrol, $3.85 per gallon in the US, compared to the UK equivelent at £1.20 per litre or $9 per US gallon - or like the cost of a box of Pringles - £1.20 per packet in the UK, while Walmart sell them at $1 per box, or 51p in sterling - or like the cost of a football shirt - £40.00 for a Hummel St Mirren shirt this season, compared to $30 (£15.38) for the latest Adidas MLS tops in the Festival Bay shopping mall in Orlando.

She latched on to the last example. "US prices are so cheap on soccer shirts because clubs want their fans to wear them. It's great advertising for the club, and it's great marketing for the shirt sponsor if they have one. Infact shirt sales are seen as one of the deciding factors as to whether or not an MLS club will get a shirt sponsor at all. However in the UK clubs use profit mark ups of up to 150%. The base cost of the shirt is actually cheaper in the UK but the clubs themselves use ridiculous price increases when they badge up the same material."

I'm not saying I was surprised at this news however I did think that the reason for such a large price difference might be at least down to the fact that Adidas, all MLS tops are made by Adidas, were selling the base shirts at a reduced price, however it seems this isn't the case at all. UK clubs get larger discounts, however the greedy b*****ds running these clubs use the blind stupidity of their support to rip them off for a ridiculous pile of profit.

Isn't it time we stopped this stupid "loyal supporter" crap that we have in this country and that we use our consumerism to force football clubs in Scotland to offer football fans a much fairer deal in comparision with that of other clubs in Europe, or indeed in America. The SPL boasts that it's sold TV rights to Setanta for a record breaking price. Good! So I expect that we can see price reductions at the turnstyle.....or more quality on the pitch. Will we f**k!

Welcome back Stuart glad you had a nice holiday.

Jeez that’s a long thread regarding football tops. You’re a bit of a sweetie wife aren’t you?

Why should you care as you don’t support any club (supposedly?)

So you won’t be buying any club’s shirts

Have you checked for all the latest news over on the OS

Clubs are no different from any other marketing. Some bands bring out new album every year. With that comes tours and new merchandise. See where I am coming from.

As for price. It’s the uk , we pay through the nose for everything again you know that from being in the US. So what’s the point

[Guest bernie]

Maybe you should have tried one of those all- inclusive holidays , rather than an all exclusive one.

[Law Stud]

I won't pretend to be an expert on this but why do people going to Spain insist on buying the cheap knockoff Barca shirts if the real things are so cheap??

Every fucking year some family member brings these hideous knockoffs home for my kids.

Probably because the knockoffs are more readily available at shite markets. The Official Barca club shop sells the home kit to Catalonian customers for 39 euros (around £30)

[BLF]

I won't pretend to be an expert on this but why do people going to Spain insist on buying the cheap knockoff Barca shirts if the real things are so cheap??

Every fucking year some family member brings these hideous knockoffs home for my kids.

I was in Barca earlier this year - bought a shirt from official shop at the stadium- no name & number - £60.

[zander]

Do you mean emigrate? We are considering an offer right now, not that it's relevant to this topic. This thread is about the price of football tops in this country and the ridiculous rip off mark ups imposed by football clubs intent on fleecing their customers. I'd suggest that anyone thinking of emigrating on the strength of the cost of football shirts alone would be more than a little bit bonkers. Fact is though that UK football shirts are ridculously priced as anyone who has been to Germany, Spain, or Italy and bought an official club shirt will testify. Scottish football fans are being ripped off.

Germany was pretty much the same I bought a Bayern Top with Toni on the back for €65 which works out at around £50

[Guest bernie]

And they cant even spell Toni correctly

[Dee4Life1893]

Probably because the knockoffs are more readily available at shite markets. The Official Barca club shop sells the home kit to Catalonian customers for 39 euros (around £30)

I was in Madrid and Real charge about £50 for a proper replica top. No wonder people who know f**k all about Football buy the fakes.

Germany was pretty much the same I bought a Bayern Top with Toni on the back for €65 which works out at around £50

I was in Barca earlier this year - bought a shirt from official shop at the stadium- no name & number - £60.

There seems to be a clear difference of opinion here.

[Disco Duck]

Ok so why can I go to Portugal and buy a Benfica top for less than half the price I can buy say a Clyde top in the UK? Why was a growing club like Gretna selling football tops for prices that were similar to that of Celtic? Why would a club like Aberdeen with a falling fan base not cut their mark up on tops in a bid to attract back the same kind of loyalty that "growing clubs" feel the need to get in the US?

The UK seems to be full of football club directors who take the lazy cheap way out. "We've lost supporters again this year cause we were shit so what we'll do is we'll charge those left behind a bit more to cover the losses".

(1) the cost of living and average income in Portugal is much lower than in the UK (2) do you think if Gretna sold them cheaper they'd attract Celtic fans because - oh look - their kit is cheaper (3) likewise Aberdeen. In MLS you're trying to attract casual sports fans - probably kids and families. Not so in Scotland. There's too much loyalty and "stickiness" in fans. If you've stopped going to see Aberdeen, you aren't going to go back because their kit only costs a tenner. THAT'S lazy thinking.

Kits are a rip-off the world over largely because they have a captive market, so they are price insensitive.

[Law Stud]

Welcome back Stuart glad you had a nice holiday.

Jeez that’s a long thread regarding football tops. You’re a bit of a sweetie wife aren’t you?

Why should you care as you don’t support any club (supposedly?)

So you won’t be buying any club’s shirts

Have you checked for all the latest news over on the OS

Clubs are no different from any other marketing. Some bands bring out new album every year. With that comes tours and new merchandise. See where I am coming from.

As for price. It’s the uk , we pay through the nose for everything again you know that from being in the US. So what’s the point

Yeah I checked the OS - apparently the big news is the draw results from the "Super Lotto" with a top prize of £50. I was actually looking to see if St Mirren had managed to sign any of these big name players that was being talked about before I left but it seems they missed out on one because he decided that the glamour of Scunthorpe was a better attraction.

I don't support any clubs as you know, and it's precisely because Scottish Football clubs are intent on ripping off their customers. My kids like to wear football shirts, like every other young boy I guess. We're in the fortunate position that our kids love these MLS strips and we've brought back a large selection for the two of them to wear rather than wasting our cash being ripped off by more local service providers. It's a great shame IMO.

I do know that the UK consumer has a tendency to get ripped off, but you would think that a business that needs the loyalty of their customer base to survive, would know better than to fleece those same customers year in, year out. Wouldn't you?

[Law Stud]

There seems to be a clear difference of opinion here.

Check the website - I did....

[Law Stud]

(1) the cost of living and average income in Portugal is much lower than in the UK (2) do you think if Gretna sold them cheaper they'd attract Celtic fans because - oh look - their kit is cheaper (3) likewise Aberdeen. In MLS you're trying to attract casual sports fans - probably kids and families. Not so in Scotland. There's too much loyalty and "stickiness" in fans. If you've stopped going to see Aberdeen, you aren't going to go back because their kit only costs a tenner. THAT'S lazy thinking.

Kits are a rip-off the world over largely because they have a captive market, so they are price insensitive.

Oh come on...do you really think that FC Dallas are going to convert fans of the Dallas Cowboys to football because they are selling football shirts for less. It was you that made the point that clubs in Scotland had less potential to grow, but still crowds are getting smaller. Fan bases are reducing. And the reason, it seems obvious, is that football in this country is charging rip off prices, whether for admission, tops, or even for the shite pies and bovril on offer.

If you stopped going to watch Aberdeen because it was too expensive, you might go back and watch them if they reduced their prices. Thats common sense thinking....

[Law Stud]

(1) the cost of living and average income in Portugal is much lower than in the UK (2) do you think if Gretna sold them cheaper they'd attract Celtic fans because - oh look - their kit is cheaper (3) likewise Aberdeen. In MLS you're trying to attract casual sports fans - probably kids and families. Not so in Scotland. There's too much loyalty and "stickiness" in fans. If you've stopped going to see Aberdeen, you aren't going to go back because their kit only costs a tenner. THAT'S lazy thinking.

Kits are a rip-off the world over largely because they have a captive market, so they are price insensitive.

BTW on your initial point in this post, the cost of living doesn't affect the base cost of the kit. The lady I spoke to was absolutely adament that prices are the same the world over, and the only difference would come from things like volume sales discounts. A club in Scotland would purchase it's strips at the same price as a similarly sized MLS side from the US. The price differential comes from the amount the club marks up it's prices when it badges the kit.

[Disco Duck]

BTW on your initial point in this post, the cost of living doesn't affect the base cost of the kit. The lady I spoke to was absolutely adament that prices are the same the world over, and the only difference would come from things like volume sales discounts. A club in Scotland would purchase it's strips at the same price as a similarly sized MLS side from the US. The price differential comes from the amount the club marks up it's prices when it badges the kit.

I know it doesn't. But it does impact how much someone can afford to pay.

[zander]

When we were in Berlin with the Dons I got a Hertha top from the official shop for about £40. Same for Bayern.

Did it have a name and number? I bought mine from a deparment store across from the big Mcdonalds up from Marienplatz so it could have been a higher price.

[Dee4Life1893]

Check the website - I did....

Indeed

barca.bmp

[Disco Duck]

Oh come on...do you really think that FC Dallas are going to convert fans of the Dallas Cowboys to football because they are selling football shirts for less. It was you that made the point that clubs in Scotland had less potential to grow, but still crowds are getting smaller. Fan bases are reducing. And the reason, it seems obvious, is that football in this country is charging rip off prices, whether for admission, tops, or even for the shite pies and bovril on offer.

If you stopped going to watch Aberdeen because it was too expensive, you might go back and watch them if they reduced their prices. Thats common sense thinking....

You don't need to convert American Football fans to soccer - they can follow both. Most people in the States follow a baseball team, a football team, and often a baseketball and/or hockey team. The reason for the heavy marketing is to add another club to the list. By the same argument you are making you may as well ask why are Scottish clubs not paying £170m or whatever for Beckham to play for them. LA Galaxy are doing it to get people interested in the sport. There'd be no point in doing it here. (and Paddy Cregg would break him)

The reducing fan base is nothing to do with prices - it's falling for the same reason that kids don't play kickabout in the park, golf membership is falling, go to the cinema less, and don't walk to school. Society has established a level of comfort where it's not necessary to get off its collective arse and do something. I can watch a number different football leagues on telly, or play football on my Wii. I can download films and watch them at home. I can get a lift to school. etc etc. Even despite recent "shocks", the UK is more affluent than a decade ago and prices reflect that. Attendances reflect other things.

I pay just over £300 for entertainment every second Saturday afternoon for 10 months of the year, I buy one top per season, and I only buy a pie if I have a hangover. I think I get good value for my money.

[BLF]

Indeed

I'll have a look for my reciept but my bank statement says:

"25 February 2008 F.C.B. Merchandising BARCELONA. 67.90EUR at 1.325 "

[glasnost]

Ok so why can I go to Portugal and buy a Benfica top for less than half the price I can buy say a Clyde top in the UK?

Well it would depend on where you buy it. In the official shops, the price of Benfica or Sporting tops are much the same as they are here - unless you bought an old top that was heavily reduced?

[Law Stud]

You don't need to convert American Football fans to soccer - they can follow both. The reducing fan base is nothing to do with prices - it's falling for the same reason that kids don't play kickabout in the park, golf membership is falling, go to the cinema less, and don't walk to school. Society has established a level of comfort where it's not necessary to get off its collective arse and do something. I can watch a number different football leagues on telly, or play football on my Wii. I can download films and watch them at home. I can get a lift to school. etc etc. Even despite recent "shocks", the UK is more affluent than a decade ago and prices reflect that. Attendances reflect other things.

I pay just over £300 for entertainment every second Saturday afternoon for 10 months of the year, I buy one top per season, and I only buy a pie if I have a hangover. I think I get good value for my money.

You pay £300 for 17, possibly 18 or 19, games of football throughout the winter months. If the rest of Falkirk thought the product was good value for money you'd have a third stand already with desperate appeals to the council to allow you to build a fourth. Your club would also be raking in the cash and you'd have nothing to worry about with your club having the ability to buy out the JVC eliminating fears that the stadium you play at might fall into the hands of some "undesirable".

People will attend football matches if you

1. Charge a more realistic admission fee, particularly to kids.

2. Provide a good standard of entertainment in comfortable surroundings.

3. Don't rip people off through high prices for sub standard food, or ridiculous mark ups on merchandising.

Kids love playing with a ball. It was easy to witness on holiday too BTW. When one kid entered the swimming pool with a ball all of a sudden he had loads of new friends. Kids would play football in the park if parents could be convinced that the park isn't full of broken glass, junkies needles and that their kids won't get assaulted or kidnapped while playing there. Like the rest of us kids love watching the events live rather than on telly - it's just that prices dictate that parents cannot afford to use the football as a family afternoon out.