The £3 Booking Tax

[Dig Dig]

That's fine for people who can make it to St Marys regularly, but for those who can't, but can make more local away games, it doesn't help.

 

So that's just you then

[dune]

You can normally buy them at the away ground as well that wont cost you £3 extra.

You will have to find yourself a penpal or adopt someone in Southampton that can buy and post them to you.

 

By leaving it to paying on the day there is a risk of not getting in and by paying on the day you often have to pay more. I'm glad you're finding this all funny btw.

[dune]

So that's just you then

 

Yeah, and it's a fact that SFC has a large fanbase outside of Southampton that form a sizeable chunk of our away following. This £3 Ticket Tax is going to add a considerable amount to the overall cost over a season.

[Thedelldays]

Yeah, and it's a fact that SFC has a large fanbase outside of Southampton that form a sizeable chunk of our away following. This £3 Ticket Tax is going to add a considerable amount to the overall cost over a season.

so, I will be going more than you next season..

 

silver lining and all that

[dune]

so, I will be going more than you next season..

 

silver lining and all that

 

And what's the point you're making?

[Legod Third Coming]

at the end of the day..it is a bloody game of football

 

you dont HAVE to go

 

As you have regularly proven. LOL!!!!!!!

[La BoIS Saint]

The whole point of booking over the phone or Internet is to make it more convenient, avoid queues and get in early for tickets. It's all very well saying you can buy tickets at the stadium for the next few matches but who is going to wander up with £100 in cash to do that? People who can will probably have STs. Not clear whether if you pay by card at the window you will have to pay a fee.

 

Whatever, this tax is a rip off.

[JustMike]

Is this per ticket or per order, and does it apply to away games aswell? I knew the club were lieing about the booking fee for the JPT final and sure enough they've rolled it out for next season. If Cortese is charging £25 - £28 for third division football I dread to think what he'll be wanting to charge should we get back to the premiership.

 

being a Tory I'd have thought you would be loving the taxes

[John B]

being a Tory I'd have thought you would be loving the taxes

 

It is because he is a Tory he does not like Stealth Taxes I would have thought

 

Not being a Tory myself I dont like Stealth Taxes either

[JustMike]

It is because he is a Tory he does not like Stealth Taxes I would have thought

 

Not being a Tory myself I dont like Stealth Taxes either

 

...unless it was them that thought of it

[miserableoldgit]

I thought that the £3.00p was per transaction not per ticket? Buy 2 tickets - £1.50 per ticket - 3 tickets - £1.00 per ticket?? Or am I wrong?

[oldsarum]

You can normally buy them at the away ground as well that wont cost you £3 extra.

You will have to find yourself a penpal or adopt someone in Southampton that can buy and post them to you.

 

At many away grounds last season they charged more for tickets purchased on the day of the game than those bought in advance

[John B]

I thought that the £3.00p was per transaction not per ticket? Buy 2 tickets - £1.50 per ticket - 3 tickets - £1.00 per ticket?? Or am I wrong?

 

Dont know but at the Oval I bought six tickets for the Test Match and the booking fee was on each

 

Would you be happy if Teco charged a fee every time you bought something

[stmusicdude]

at the end of the day..it is a bloody game of football

 

you dont HAVE to go

 

Indeed & we saw the mess we got in last time 3 to 4 thousand fans decided they " didnt have to go"

Lets not get carried away though which I think was your message .. The hike for some bands of tickets is high but not much more than expected surly after the spending spree ..

 

As I said tho this is NOT just about reducing admin cost to stop them getting stung by non payers either .. IF it was the half season ticket was there as a stop gap

I wish people wouldnt be so blind this is because someone & we dont know who believes more money can be made by customers/fans buying per match with the booking fee added on

[miserableoldgit]

Dont know but at the Oval I bought six tickets for the Test Match and the booking fee was on each

 

Would you be happy if Teco charged a fee every time you bought something

Of course not but my point was that everyone seems to be quoting £3.00 per ticket, which I don`t think that it is. Incidently if you buy theatre/concert tickets you invariably get charged for a "Booking Fee" AND a "Handling/Administration Fee". Now THAT is a rip-off but seems to be the norm.

[stevegrant]

I thought that the £3.00p was per transaction not per ticket? Buy 2 tickets - £1.50 per ticket - 3 tickets - £1.00 per ticket?? Or am I wrong?

Correct, it is £3 per transaction, not £3 per ticket.

 

The point still stands, though, that someone buying a single ticket for a game would be better off taking their chances in the queue at 2.30pm on the day of the game than buying in advance.

[eelpie]

So it's a £3 charge for an ST then?

[stevegrant]

So it's a £3 charge for an ST then?

No, the booking fee doesn't apply to season tickets, only matchday tickets.

[miserableoldgit]

Correct, it is £3 per transaction, not £3 per ticket.

 

The point still stands, though, that someone buying a single ticket for a game would be better off taking their chances in the queue at 2.30pm on the day of the game than buying in advance.

Yes if you buy a single ticket. The club usually puts tickets for several home games on sale at once. If those people who would have bought a ST on instalments buy tickets for a number of games at once that reduces the effect of the £3.00p surcharge.

[brmbrm]

Is this per ticket or per order, and does it apply to away games aswell? I knew the club were lieing about the booking fee for the JPT final and sure enough they've rolled it out for next season. If Cortese is charging £25 - £28 for third division football I dread to think what he'll be wanting to charge should we get back to the premiership.

 

Oh FFS stop moaning. If its not this its someting else. Just stop, will you. you buy tickets for some crap off ticketmaster and you pay hepas more plus postage etc.

 

Get a grip, get alife and stop the whining. Please.

[Legod Third Coming]

Correct, it is £3 per transaction, not £3 per ticket.

 

The point still stands, though, that someone buying a single ticket for a game would be better off taking their chances in the queue at 2.30pm on the day of the game than buying in advance.

 

Which is me, which is totally bonkers. It is now more expensive for me to buy in advance than come and pay on the day...

 

Right, so which business/marketing guru dreamt that up...

 

For the record:

 

Racing - advance tickets cheaper than on the day tickets

Cricket - advance tickets cheaper than on the day tickets

Concerts - ditto... shall I go on?

 

This is a sensible business proposition when supply is greater than demand, encourages people to make their purchasing decisions earlier, boosts cashflow, minimises risks associated with last-minute decision making, etc. It is surely also cheaper for the club for me to buy from a machine than a blonde - albeit I like the blonde

 

If you're forcing me to make a decision on the day, that could be scuppered by the weather, my previous night out, the missus....

 

I'm not against a booking fee per se, but to use one in this way is feckwittery of the highest order, unless I am missing something obvious? (Which does happen now I'm 40).

[Daren W]

at the end of the day..it is a bloody game of football

 

you dont HAVE to go

 

At the end of the day it's bloody football, you don't have to comment on it...

[LGTL]

What I don't understand is that they have put a £2 fee on for buying on the day to stop the queues at the ticket office, yet have put a £3 fee on online/phone orders in advance, and then have the cheek to say they want to encourage people to buy tickets earlier??! How does that make sense?

[Hatch]

Are away fans visiting St Marys having to pay these stealth tax charges as well?

[Kingsland Codger]

Not being funny but SFC do realise there is still a recession in this country dont they ?

 

The UK is no longer in recession. The figures for the first quarter of this year showed positive growth.

[wheels]

What I don't understand is that they have put a £2 fee on for buying on the day to stop the queues at the ticket office, yet have put a £3 fee on online/phone orders in advance, and then have the cheek to say they want to encourage people to buy tickets earlier??! How does that make sense?

 

The official answer from Mr Luker is here:

 

The £3 booking fee (for any number of tickets) will be more cost effective compared to the £2 surcharge per ticket which will be seen on a Matchday. As we can see that the vast majority of people book more than one ticket via the telephone or online, they will benefit this way.

 

It's more cost effective to turn up on the day unless you are buying more than 1 ticket :smt105

[Gemmel]

The only logic that I can associate with the delay in releasing season tickets, the short window they are for sale, the non selling of half season tickets and the removal of the installment plan, is down to this 3 pound transaction charge and higher cost per single ticket.

If money is not an immediate issue, then on the assumption we have a core fan base of at least 22,000, then charging over the season and the 3 pound transaction charge, will generate more revenue (This is based on the assumption that individual tickets + the transaction charge, will be more expensive than season tickets over the year).

If individuals bonus plans are based on increasing revenue and revenue streams, then if we have a good season and the fans turn up in the numbers they did last year, then it starts to make a tiny tiny tiny bit of sense (At least for the individual, if not for the fans).

Edited 2 June, 2010 by Gemmel

[stevegrant]

Just had it confirmed, the £3 booking fee will apply to away tickets as well. Christ.

[wheels]

Just had it confirmed, the £3 booking fee will apply to away tickets as well. Christ.

 

 

I guess it's a sign of the times - just booked a flight with Flybe and their transaction fee is £8, regardless of what type of card you use to pay for the flight!! If you use a CC, they then add £2.

 

I guess SFC are just getting in on the act. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone it (I think it sucks), but it's just another 'easy' way of making money. :mad:

[The Kraken]

Just had it confirmed, the £3 booking fee will apply to away tickets as well. Christ.

 

A booking fee for away tickets is, to be fair, understandable. The club don't make any money from the sale of away tickets but still have to provide the facility to sell them, so it could be argued that it's a good business principle to charge a fee for these.

 

Booking fees for home tickets however ( and especially via the online system), is very disappointing.

[Sour Mash]

Just had it confirmed, the £3 booking fee will apply to away tickets as well. Christ.

 

For F***S sake that is S**T! Will just mean long queues at the ticket office on home match days, as that's when I'll have to buy mine if I want them to go against my season ticket (as oppossed to just buying on the day at the away ground). No was am I paying possibly an extra £60+ to do Saints away games over the season.

[John B]

For F***S sake that is S**T! Will just mean long queues at the ticket office on home match days, as that's when I'll have to buy mine if I want them to go against my season ticket (as oppossed to just buying on the day at the away ground). No was am I paying possibly an extra £60+ to do Saints away games over the season.

 

Or perhaps you will have one pint less:(

[saint_mears]

A quick lookaround at other clubs and just £1 charge seems to be the norm for online/telephone bookings. Mk Dons offer members no charges as part of the incentive.

[dune]

I'm going to be making a point of using my credit card to buy tickets in future as opposed to my debit card. The credit card costs the club more because of fee's so if they're going to rip me off with the ticket tax, i'm going to make sure they get hit with fee's in return. This rip off tax also means i'll be making a point of spending as little as possible on matchday extras - f*ck you Cortese.:mad:

[Michelle]

Those that are saying "it's just three quid" - add that up over the course of the season, home and away... now try telling people "three quid is nothing"!!!

 

I used to sing the praises of the online system, despite the occasional glitches - it was easy and convenient. I'm not now going to pay the best part of £70 for the privilege of using it to book my away tickets, let alone the extra for cup games.

 

Bad move by the club...

[hypochondriac]

Just had it confirmed, the £3 booking fee will apply to away tickets as well. Christ.

 

What a f*cking joke. I hope attendances are well down this year so they learn.

[RonManager]

Those that are saying "it's just three quid" - add that up over the course of the season, home and away... now try telling people "three quid is nothing"!!!

 

I used to sing the praises of the online system, despite the occasional glitches - it was easy and convenient. I'm not now going to pay the best part of £70 for the privilege of using it to book my away tickets, let alone the extra for cup games.

 

Bad move by the club...

 

Yeah not brilliant. I got all my away tickets last year that way and sent to me by post. There was no extra added cost which was excellent because there is the cost of an envelope and stamp to be born by the club. Now I don't mind covering that cost this season, but it's not £3.

[La BoIS Saint]

I'm going to be making a point of using my credit card to buy tickets in future as opposed to my debit card. The credit card costs the club more because of fee's so if they're going to rip me off with the ticket tax, i'm going to make sure they get hit with fee's in return. This rip off tax also means i'll be making a point of spending as little as possible on matchday extras - f*ck you Cortese.:mad:

 

That idea occurred to me as well.

[Hatch]

Does the £3 apply to executive boxes as well,

I was thinking about getting one for the season, but this might put it out of reach.

[Neil]

So if you go to every away game next season you're paying the thick end of £70 extra?!

 

(maybe an idea to book a couple of away games at the same time etc, but not always possible given the demand for some of the games, plus the ridiculous timescales they give for getting them!)

 

Suggestion for the club - as you're now taking all the fans to the cleaners, could you endeavour to get the away tickets a bit earlier, one month+ would be nice?

How long before games do we send to the away team?

[benjii]

Can't you post a cheque to the club? That will cost about 30p.

 

Just a thought!

[dune]

What a f*cking joke. I hope attendances are well down this year so they learn.

 

I hope so too. That way I can pay at the games. It might be £2 more on the day at some grounds , but at least i'll save £1 by not paying the ticket tax and won't be lining the coffers of SFC.

[miserableoldgit]

I hope so too. That way I can pay at the games. It might be £2 more on the day at some grounds , but at least i'll save £1 by not paying the ticket tax and won't be lining the coffers of SFC.

Buy more than one ticket at a time.

[Chez]

I guess it's a sign of the times - just booked a flight with Flybe and their transaction fee is £8, regardless of what type of card you use to pay for the flight!! If you use a CC, they then add £2.

 

I guess SFC are just getting in on the act. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone it (I think it sucks), but it's just another 'easy' way of making money. :mad:

 

they do that so they can advertise flights for £29 rather than say £37.

[stevegrant]

That idea occurred to me as well.

American Express charge the highest fees, IIRC...

[hypochondriac]

We should pool all our money on here and then buy our matchday tickets in one transaction

[Chez]

What a f*cking joke. I hope attendances are well down this year so they learn.

 

do clubs actually give a **** about the number of their fans that go to away games?

[Neil]

Can't you post a cheque to the club? That will cost about 30p.

 

Just a thought!

 

If they still take cheques they will undoubtedly be a pain in the arse to administer, so will hit them in the pocket.

 

But they'll probably soon withdraw that option...

[Chez]

I hope so too. That way I can pay at the games. It might be £2 more on the day at some grounds , but at least i'll save £1 by not paying the ticket tax and won't be lining the coffers of SFC.

 

we appear to have come a long way from last summer when fans were dipping into their pockets to try and keep the club afloat.

[stevegrant]

If they still take cheques they will undoubtedly be a pain in the arse to administer, so will hit them in the pocket.

 

But they'll probably soon withdraw that option...

Cheques are charged by banks at a flat rate, whereas other methods are charged as a percentage. Unless you're dealing with small amounts of money (which the club aren't), cheques are much cheaper to deposit in a business account at the bank.