As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
SteveO 35 wrote:Forget the difference between Red and Silver memberships - what is the justification behind the % increase in the cost of renewing over the past 2 years. Ivan went on about the 6.5% on STs last year being part inflation (which did peak at just over 5%) and part VAT, but these silver increases are obscene. There is no additional benefit to being a silver member compared to 2 years ago, so what's with the hike.
Time to get in touch with the Black Scarves in time for their next meeting with the club
Outrageous increase
73% increase in two years. Disgraceful.
It should be noted that petrol has risen 21% in that time.
SteveO 35 wrote:Forget the difference between Red and Silver memberships - what is the justification behind the % increase in the cost of renewing over the past 2 years. Ivan went on about the 6.5% on STs last year being part inflation (which did peak at just over 5%) and part VAT, but these silver increases are obscene. There is no additional benefit to being a silver member compared to 2 years ago, so what's with the hike.
Time to get in touch with the Black Scarves in time for their next meeting with the club
Outrageous increase
73% increase in two years. Disgraceful.
It should be noted that petrol has risen 21% in that time.
I'd love to hear what the weasel has to say about that.
SteveO 35 wrote:Forget the difference between Red and Silver memberships - what is the justification behind the % increase in the cost of renewing over the past 2 years. Ivan went on about the 6.5% on STs last year being part inflation (which did peak at just over 5%) and part VAT, but these silver increases are obscene. There is no additional benefit to being a silver member compared to 2 years ago, so what's with the hike.
Time to get in touch with the Black Scarves in time for their next meeting with the club
Outrageous increase
73% increase in two years. Disgraceful.
It should be noted that petrol has risen 21% in that time.
I'd love to hear what the weasel has to say about that.
Don't hold your breath - they virtually ignored the black scarfs protests about tickets for a good year or so after fobbing them off by saying they were having a comprehensive review of ticketing arrangements
To be honest I agree with Frank Butcher on this. I have got a Cannon Club membership at the moment, when it turns into a Silver I'd have no problem paying that for priority access to tickets and being able to pick and choose. That is assuming the pricing trend of the past two seasons does not continue, which is a rather large assumption considering the people who run Arsenal Football Club.
I don't understand why tickets aren't discounted for members? Most games went to general sale this season, so a membership is only needed for about 5 of the 'big' games. So at £55, that's an extra £5.50 onto a match ticket + booking fee + postage. Joke. Absolute joke.
Rocky Number Seven wrote:
Funnily enough when we did finally get offered a season ticket it was after we had already renewed our reds, thieving b@stards!!
Season tickets should be taken care of well before membership renewal. Many other PL teams have had their season tickets available for over a month now. It would just make more sense. Douchebag owners.
I'm only a red member, and whilst my seat choice might be better as a silver member, I don't need it. I have attended every home match I've wanted to this season, including all the premium matches. I just wish I could get away tickets.
Why are people complaining about the cost of Membership? You are buying a "right" to priority over certain tickets. You also get Arsenal Player thrown in. The price has gone up because Silver is such a good Membership. It pretty much guarantees you a ticket to every Home game..... As has been pointed out, look at the amount it saves you from having to buy off touts etc. If you don't like it, don't buy it. You can stop going to Arsenal v Barca, Spurs, United, City etc and instead go to Arsenal v Wigan every year.
frankbutcher wrote:Why are people complaining about the cost of Membership? You are buying a "right" to priority over certain tickets. You also get Arsenal Player thrown in. The price has gone up because Silver is such a good Membership. It pretty much guarantees you a ticket to every Home game..... As has been pointed out, look at the amount it saves you from having to buy off touts etc. If you don't like it, don't buy it. You can stop going to Arsenal v Barca, Spurs, United, City etc and instead go to Arsenal v Wigan every year.
Read some of the posts again and answer my point i.e. what justifies the % increase for the past 2 years. Coca Cola is "good", was "good" last year and "good" the year before but it doesn't cost 73% more this year than in 2010 does it.
Put aside whether its better than Red membership or a ST. In an age where people's incomes have been squeezed harder than at any point since the war, and when the club were blaming ticket price rises of 6.5% on inflation and the changing VAT rate......what possible explanation can they have for a Silver membership going up by over 70% in 2 years?
frankbutcher wrote:Why are people complaining about the cost of Membership? You are buying a "right" to priority over certain tickets. You also get Arsenal Player thrown in. The price has gone up because Silver is such a good Membership. It pretty much guarantees you a ticket to every Home game..... As has been pointed out, look at the amount it saves you from having to buy off touts etc. If you don't like it, don't buy it. You can stop going to Arsenal v Barca, Spurs, United, City etc and instead go to Arsenal v Wigan every year.
Read some of the posts again and answer my point i.e. what justifies the % increase for the past 2 years. Coca Cola is "good", was "good" last year and "good" the year before but it doesn't cost 73% more this year than in 2010 does it.
Put aside whether its better than Red membership or a ST. In an age where people's incomes have been squeezed harder than at any point since the war, and when the club were blaming ticket price rises of 6.5% on inflation and the changing VAT rate......what possible explanation can they have for a Silver membership going up by over 70% in 2 years?
i'll tell you why it's gone up in price...
Silver was always a product that essentially rewarded length of time being an Arsenal member. Typically the next step was to take a Season ticket and hence promotion to Gold membership. People no longer want to become season ticket holders because of the cost and because of the loss of flexibility. IMO Silver is now THE PREMIER MEMBERSHIP. The Club have cottoned on to how good Silver Membership actually is. It is no longer a product that rewards long-standing Gooners. It is now a stand-alone product that affords Members pretty much guaranteed tickets to any home game you want. That is what you are paying for and that it why the Club are putting the prices up. The price has gone up so much due to suply and demand. Now if the Club had put the price up AND doubled the number of Silver members, I would see your point. To my knowledge Silver Membership remains as a pretty exclusive and enviable membership that you can't simply apply for without a track record with the Club. Once you have spent some time as a Red Member, you become eligible. For the flexibility and for the pretty much guaranteed access to tickets, you pay a premium
They can charge £55 because even after moaning, they know existing silvers will pay it. If they don't, thousands of red members on the waitlist will.
I will even predict this increase will not be the last as people will pay even more than £55 for what is almost a pay as you go season ticket. I will stick my neck out and predict to be silver member will cost £100 within 3 seasons.
Anyone who can be bothered to complain should email [email protected]
Last edited by hugh jardon on Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
frankbutcher wrote:Why are people complaining about the cost of Membership? You are buying a "right" to priority over certain tickets. You also get Arsenal Player thrown in. The price has gone up because Silver is such a good Membership. It pretty much guarantees you a ticket to every Home game..... As has been pointed out, look at the amount it saves you from having to buy off touts etc. If you don't like it, don't buy it. You can stop going to Arsenal v Barca, Spurs, United, City etc and instead go to Arsenal v Wigan every year.
Read some of the posts again and answer my point i.e. what justifies the % increase for the past 2 years. Coca Cola is "good", was "good" last year and "good" the year before but it doesn't cost 73% more this year than in 2010 does it.
Put aside whether its better than Red membership or a ST. In an age where people's incomes have been squeezed harder than at any point since the war, and when the club were blaming ticket price rises of 6.5% on inflation and the changing VAT rate......what possible explanation can they have for a Silver membership going up by over 70% in 2 years?
i'll tell you why it's gone up in price...
Silver was always a product that essentially rewarded length of time being an Arsenal member. Typically the next step was to take a Season ticket and hence promotion to Gold membership. People no longer want to become season ticket holders because of the cost and because of the loss of flexibility. IMO Silver is now THE PREMIER MEMBERSHIP. The Club have cottoned on to how good Silver Membership actually is. It is no longer a product that rewards long-standing Gooners. It is now a stand-alone product that affords Members pretty much guaranteed tickets to any home game you want. That is what you are paying for and that it why the Club are putting the prices up. The price has gone up so much due to suply and demand. Now if the Club had put the price up AND doubled the number of Silver members, I would see your point. To my knowledge Silver Membership remains as a pretty exclusive and enviable membership that you can't simply apply for without a track record with the Club. Once you have spent some time as a Red Member, you become eligible. For the flexibility and for the pretty much guaranteed access to tickets, you pay a premium
Basic business sense on every level.
Its only become the PREMIER MEMBERSHIP because the appetite for buying a season ticket has dropped dramatically....and why is that? Fans sick of being ripped off and paying over £1300+ for a team in decline and a board that is ripping them off. So whats the next step the club takes - oh yeah, lets hammer the next bunch of loyalists that sit below Gold members, and hope that it goes unnoticed. I've had a silver membership ever since it was launched. I have no fucking intention of ever buying a ST again - well I say ever, I mean under this board and manager because contrary to popular myth there was a football club here before 1996.
There are all sorts of 'enviable memberships' in life - whether its golf clubs, tennis clubs, you name it. They are exclusive clubs with waiting lists - tough shit, thats life. We are talking a 70% hike in recessionary times - that is fucking scandalous and I can not believe you are defending it. As many Red members have said - they can get tickets to virtually any game they like anyway. When I'm still supporting Arsenal, long after 50% of our current fan base have fucked off with their CL patches on their replica kits a fading memory, I shall remind people that there was a day when it was deemed 'acceptable' to charge people a 70% increase over 2 years.
Its a total fucking disgrace and I shall be making it known to the club personally and contacting the Black Scarves who have been very proactive in taking this up with the club
We are supposed to be united as fans - not looking over the fence at silver vs red, silver vs ST. I was as pissed off for STs and Reds last season with the ticket price increases as I was for myself and the family.
I do hope that Ivan hasn't claimed you as an Arsenalization clone
I'm interested to know what price it would have to reach before people actually say enough is enough and don't pay up. If in another two years it's risen by 146% since 2010 will you still renew?
As I said on another thread, I reckon a significant number of people would still almost bankrupt themselves and renew if their STs cost £5k...
SteveO - Firstly what the FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK are you talking about????????? Arsenalization clone. Don't fucking insult my intelligence. The Club is run by shysters. We are being milked like the proverbial cash cow. However, I can see why the Club are putting prices up. If people are shunning Season Tickets for Silver membership it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand how they can get away with upping the price. HughJ is right. Silver is a pay-as-you-go Season ticket. The benefit is unbeelievable really. You can have all the good games, but none of the shite vs Wigan, Bolton, Wolves etc. The Club also don't have your money up front. Hence they charge you for the fleixibility. Prices shouldn't be going up, but that doesnn't make Arsenal any money. We aren't seen as fans anymore. That ended when the Premiership began. In fact the Club have pure disdain for us. We are walking money-machines for the Club. What else do you expect with Kroenke and Co in charge.
Next time you want to have a pop at the Club, don't bark up this fucking tree. As an active member of the BSM (scarf owned, cufflinks worn every week to work) you should know that I would like to slap Gazidis round the face with a hot iron. The guy is on £1m+ per year AND bonus. That is earned by fleecing the fans for every last cent. He is effectively incentivised to fleece us. That shows why this Club is fucked. Short term gain is the way to go under Kroenke. Gazidis is a snake. Wenger is their puppet.
frankbutcher wrote:SteveO - Firstly what the FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK are you talking about????????? Arsenalization clone. Don't fucking insult my intelligence. The Club is run by shysters. We are being milked like the proverbial cash cow. However, I can see why the Club are putting prices up. If people are shunning Season Tickets for Silver membership it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand how they can get away with upping the price. HughJ is right. Silver is a pay-as-you-go Season ticket. The benefit is unbeelievable really. You can have all the good games, but none of the shite vs Wigan, Bolton, Wolves etc. The Club also don't have your money up front. Hence they charge you for the fleixibility. Prices shouldn't be going up, but that doesnn't make Arsenal any money. We aren't seen as fans anymore. That ended when the Premiership began. In fact the Club have pure disdain for us. We are walking money-machines for the Club. What else do you expect with Kroenke and Co in charge.
Next time you want to have a pop at the Club, don't bark up this fucking tree. As an active member of the BSM (scarf owned, cufflinks worn every week to work) you should know that I would like to slap Gazidis round the face with a hot iron. The guy is on £1m+ per year AND bonus. That is earned by fleecing the fans for every last cent. He is effectively incentivised to fleece us. That shows why this Club is fucked. Short term gain is the way to go under Kroenke. Gazidis is a snake. Wenger is their puppet.
Fair enough mate. I still don't agree with any of the arguments put forward justifying the hike. Trust me I don't feel like I'm getting something 70% better than I was 2 years ago, any more than I find my daily commute to London 20% more efficient than it was 2 years ago. Both are daylight robbery. The product is the same now as it was then. The fact that ST holders might be having a change of heart doesn't come into it.
Can I understand why they have done it? Yes of course, because I have worked closely with people like them for a decade or more and have come to despise second rate corporates, with a fraction of knowledge about the organisation they are responsible for and the first to blame "inflation, legislation, the weather, macro economic forecasts, unforeseen circumstances" before passing off huge cost increases on to their customer base. Thankfully the conditions we face these days have helped to weed most of them out but in football they have a captive audience and breed on people like us.
Apologies for taking a pop at you - wasn't intended that way. I just will not have anyone defending the way that Gazidis is running this club. I'll lend you the iron and I'll be checking out the cuff-links
frankbutcher wrote:SteveO - Firstly what the FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK are you talking about????????? Arsenalization clone. Don't fucking insult my intelligence. The Club is run by shysters. We are being milked like the proverbial cash cow. However, I can see why the Club are putting prices up. If people are shunning Season Tickets for Silver membership it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand how they can get away with upping the price. HughJ is right. Silver is a pay-as-you-go Season ticket. The benefit is unbeelievable really. You can have all the good games, but none of the shite vs Wigan, Bolton, Wolves etc. The Club also don't have your money up front. Hence they charge you for the fleixibility. Prices shouldn't be going up, but that doesnn't make Arsenal any money. We aren't seen as fans anymore. That ended when the Premiership began. In fact the Club have pure disdain for us. We are walking money-machines for the Club. What else do you expect with Kroenke and Co in charge.
Next time you want to have a pop at the Club, don't bark up this fucking tree. As an active member of the BSM (scarf owned, cufflinks worn every week to work) you should know that I would like to slap Gazidis round the face with a hot iron. The guy is on £1m+ per year AND bonus. That is earned by fleecing the fans for every last cent. He is effectively incentivised to fleece us. That shows why this Club is fucked. Short term gain is the way to go under Kroenke. Gazidis is a snake. Wenger is their puppet.
Fair enough mate. I still don't agree with any of the arguments put forward justifying the hike. Trust me I don't feel like I'm getting something 70% better than I was 2 years ago, any more than I find my daily commute to London 20% more efficient than it was 2 years ago. Both are daylight robbery. The product is the same now as it was then. The fact that ST holders might be having a change of heart doesn't come into it.
Can I understand why they have done it? Yes of course, because I have worked closely with people like them for a decade or more and have come to despise second rate corporates, with a fraction of knowledge about the organisation they are responsible for and the first to blame "inflation, legislation, the weather, macro economic forecasts, unforeseen circumstances" before passing off huge cost increases on to their customer base. Thankfully the conditions we face these days have helped to weed most of them out but in football they have a captive audience and breed on people like us.
Apologies for taking a pop at you - wasn't intended that way. I just will not have anyone defending the way that Gazidis is running this club. I'll lend you the iron and I'll be checking out the cuff-links
SteveO - I think you've hit the nail right on the head. These Corporate guys are 2nd rate. They have been brought in on big money and alll they are doing is charging us double the money for the same product. There is no"value-add". Effectively the price rises are simply paying for their own inflated salaries. I'm sure I read somewhere that the marketing team cost £10m per year. Well they've done pretty much zilch on sponsorship deals apart from Indesit and some other non-entity firms. Where else can they look to fund this £10m outlay? Yes, the mugs otherwise known as us the fans. At least at United their corporate team exploited loopholes in their shirt sponsorship deal to bring in c. £40m more from DHL. Our lot are fucking useless, and we are paying for it. Sums the Club up really.
That is earned by fleecing the fans for every last cent. He is effectively incentivised to fleece us. That shows why this Club is fucked. Short term gain is the way to go under Kroenke. Gazidis is a snake. Wenger is their puppet.
