Lee On Solent Saint Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 When did the club start charging a booking fee to purchase tickets? I brought four tickets for the Burnley game last Saturday and was charged £1.50 per ticket. So, on top of the £85 they got from me for the tickets, I also got charged £6 for the privilege of buying a ticket. I get maybe just about, charging a fee if booking by phone, but I brought these in person from the ticket office. I know it's only £6, but for me, it's just another example of the club taking the piss out of fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 (edited) It’s been that way for years 10 at least probably more. Have you only just realised? Edited 27 October, 2021 by Turkish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 It is ridiculous. If they are going to charge a booking fee it should be a flat £1.50, not £1.50 for each ticket in the booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarehamSaintJames Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 I think they should reduce ticket prices full stop. How empty is St Mary’s nowadays? Get buns back on seats and have some atmosphere again. Football has proved, especially in the higher leagues, that it doesn’t need fans to be sustainable, it’s just taking advantage of the hard-working man/woman. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle04 Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 Riles me that, especially when it's done online and all automated (I presume LOSS bought the tickets at the stadium office ?). So for the Burnley you got shafted buying the tickets, shafted at the Chapel Arms, shafted at the burger van , and then Walcott is on the teamsheet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee On Solent Saint Posted 27 October, 2021 Author Share Posted 27 October, 2021 25 minutes ago, Turkish said: It’s been that way for years 10 at least probably more. Have you only just realised? Not so sure it has to be honest. First time I had been since the pandemic and can't remember being shafted the last game I went, the Newcastle one before the lockdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamplemousse Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 Yeah. Just bump the ticket prices up by £1.50 and be transparent about the extra costs. It's ridiculous. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee On Solent Saint Posted 27 October, 2021 Author Share Posted 27 October, 2021 14 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said: It is ridiculous. If they are going to charge a booking fee it should be a flat £1.50, not £1.50 for each ticket in the booking. Exactly. One booking fee per transaction is just about bearable, although how the fuck they can charge a booking fee when you are collecting the tickets and buying them at the ticket office I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW5 SAINT Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 Rip off, especially as I don’t think they encourage walk ups these days……. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Garrett Posted 27 October, 2021 Share Posted 27 October, 2021 Only this season it’s been per ticket rather than per transaction. Guessing this pays for the ticketing system which is utter shit, and the physical tickets / envelopes etc. Annoys me way more than what it should, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooney Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 I think we were only charged a booking fee a few years ago when we ordered by telephone but not if we ordered on line. The club appear to have slipped this in over time. They will be charging a penny to use the toilets next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 I run an online booking system as part of my business so have a bit of experience in this area. There are costs associated with every transaction. Firstly from the operator of the booking system, secondly from the financial transaction business who handle the actual payment and finally from the ticket distribution system (digital or physical). Their combines costs are what is covered by the booking fee. Saints are being completely transparent in seperating out the ticket and booking fee costs. They could just wrap them all together into one cost which would be the same as the total of the seperated costs. If anyone thinks this would be preferrable they should tell the club directly as it's exactly the sort of thing that they club can do if they get an indication that fans want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 1 minute ago, Alanh said: I run an online booking system as part of my business so have a bit of experience in this area. There are costs associated with every transaction. Firstly from the operator of the booking system, secondly from the financial transaction business who handle the actual payment and finally from the ticket distribution system (digital or physical). Their combines costs are what is covered by the booking fee. That doesn't justify them charging £1.50 if you buy one ticket online vs £7.50 for buying 5 tickets online all in one transaction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said: That doesn't justify them charging £1.50 if you buy one ticket online vs £7.50 for buying 5 tickets online all in one transaction. To a degree it does as the costs from the handling of the financial transaction will be a percentage of the total spend so will escalate as more tickets are purchased. Also I would expect there to be some increase in costs to the other elements of the process, but I would think they will be less than the cost of handling the financial side of the transaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 50 minutes ago, Alanh said: To a degree it does as the costs from the handling of the financial transaction will be a percentage of the total spend so will escalate as more tickets are purchased. Also I would expect there to be some increase in costs to the other elements of the process, but I would think they will be less than the cost of handling the financial side of the transaction. That doesn't make sense for this scenario and many other scenarios... The same £1.50 fee is applied to a £10 cup ticket as it is to a £50 league ticket at St Mary's. If you purchased four £10 tickets they would charge you £6 in booking fees, but only charge £1.50 booking fee for a single purchase of one £50 ticket despite the total spend being more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 4 hours ago, Alanh said: I run an online booking system as part of my business so have a bit of experience in this area. There are costs associated with every transaction. Firstly from the operator of the booking system, secondly from the financial transaction business who handle the actual payment and finally from the ticket distribution system (digital or physical). Their combines costs are what is covered by the booking fee. Saints are being completely transparent in seperating out the ticket and booking fee costs. They could just wrap them all together into one cost which would be the same as the total of the seperated costs. If anyone thinks this would be preferrable they should tell the club directly as it's exactly the sort of thing that they club can do if they get an indication that fans want it. Thank you. A sensible post based on real experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurosaint Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 2 hours ago, Matthew Le God said: That doesn't make sense for this scenario and many other scenarios... The same £1.50 fee is applied to a £10 cup ticket as it is to a £50 league ticket at St Mary's. If you purchased four £10 tickets they would charge you £6 in booking fees, but only charge £1.50 booking fee for a single purchase of one £50 ticket despite the total spend being more. I was charged £580 for my ST and £1.50 on top ! In percentage terms it's peanuts and hardly eats into the club's margin at all but it still pissed me off.. Irrational I know but I guess that's human nature 🤨 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarehamSaintJames Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 The other day wasn’t the attendance 28,000 roughly despite the fact there were clearly maybe 10,000 empty seats, screams of desperation that clubs claim it’s a “sell out”. I haven’t been for ages and don’t miss it particularly, I watch on TV and listen on the radio where available and feel a few grand better off for not seeing a mixed bag over the past few years. Lower the prices and I’ll go back. Anyone that pays the £30-50 for a match day ticket must be high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Force Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 (edited) I am going to go down the shop and buy a Mars Bar and pull out my change only to find the sticker on the item only covers the item and not the cost of delivery to the store the cost of putting in on the shelf, the self adhesive sticker with the price or the cost of the person who is brining it to the till (me) except that the person brining it to the till will be charged a finders fee for being given the opportunity to transport said item*. *I must accept all terms and conditions at this point too. There is no right of repair and I can only use the item in a set manner and no rights to the transfer to another are permitted without explicit written consent. Screw it now I am not hungry! Edited 28 October, 2021 by Mystic Force 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Louis Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 The £46.50 (inc. the £1.50 fee) per ticket I've just paid to watch Saints v Brighton does seem extortionate, for the product on offer. And these aren't even the 'decent' seats on the halfway line. Apparently it's a higher priced Category B Game, as its a 'derby'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintsLoyal Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 New ticket office manager , london mush so thinks we can afford all these price hikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 48 minutes ago, SaintsLoyal said: New ticket office manager , london mush so thinks we can afford all these price hikes. I doubt it is the role of the ticket office manager to set the prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpsaint Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 Bit unfair to attack Saints on this one, pretty much any event in the entire world will have a fee added on per ticket or transaction, it’s just the nature of the beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 In my opinion the price that you see should be the price that you pay. The only time that there should be an additional booking fee is where that fee is fixed and independent of the number of tickets purchased. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintsLoyal Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 2 hours ago, Matthew Le God said: I doubt it is the role of the ticket office manager to set the prices. Come one dont be daft 😆 He will be bashing away 'obsessed' at his computer looking at all the figures wanting to get every penny to make himself look good and update his linkedin page accordingly. Its a total con. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 44 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said: In my opinion the price that you see should be the price that you pay. The only time that there should be an additional booking fee is where that fee is fixed and independent of the number of tickets purchased. If they put the tickets up by £1.50 and abolished the fee , you’d be moaning. Why don’t you just think to yourself that the ticket costs £1.50 extra, with a free booking fee. The same money comes out your bank, and it might help your blood pressure. What difference does it make if the club state £30 plus £1.50 booking fee, or £31.50 a ticket with no booking fee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Force Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 The thing is next year they will put up the headline Ticket Price to remain unchanged! * *Booking feel will increase 5 pounds per ticket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suewhistle Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 4 hours ago, FarehamSaintJames said: The other day wasn’t the attendance 28,000 roughly despite the fact there were clearly maybe 10,000 empty seats, You clearly maybe weren't there! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 32 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said: If they put the tickets up by £1.50 and abolished the fee , you’d be moaning. Why don’t you just think to yourself that the ticket costs £1.50 extra, with a free booking fee. The same money comes out your bank, and it might help your blood pressure. What difference does it make if the club state £30 plus £1.50 booking fee, or £31.50 a ticket with no booking fee? No I wouldn’t. I thought I made that clear. It could be seen as misleading. It reminds me of when you buy something in America and then get the sales tax slapped on top. But what’s the point of it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintsLoyal Posted 28 October, 2021 Share Posted 28 October, 2021 (edited) A quick lookie at other clubs, chelsea free Newcastle £1 online Villa 50p online Leeds United TO is free, £1 online Arsenal £2.10 online QPR amazingly is £3.50 online Fulham is free at TO Edited 28 October, 2021 by SaintsLoyal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 29 October, 2021 Share Posted 29 October, 2021 On 28/10/2021 at 11:40, Matthew Le God said: That doesn't make sense for this scenario and many other scenarios... The same £1.50 fee is applied to a £10 cup ticket as it is to a £50 league ticket at St Mary's. If you purchased four £10 tickets they would charge you £6 in booking fees, but only charge £1.50 booking fee for a single purchase of one £50 ticket despite the total spend being more. It's pretty easy to put together a scenario like the one you have created and then look at the other end of the scale - £1.50 charged on buying a season ticket. Neither prove a case in isolation. I would imagine Saints know roughly how many tickets they will sell in a year and how much their booking system will charge them to sell those tickets. They just divide one by the other to get a flat fee per ticket sold. I guess there might also be a tax implication if the tax payamble on the booking system is different to the tax payable on the ticket price. That might be the case if the booking system is run by a company not based in the UK. As I said, if anyone would prefer the club to be less transparent and lump the fee into the advertised ticket price then let them know. I'm sure it would be an easy change for them to make and if it's a popular choice among fans I'm sure they would do it for the good publicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee On Solent Saint Posted 29 October, 2021 Author Share Posted 29 October, 2021 I still think it's pretty poor by the club if I'm being honest. Just highlights what a fuck up the ticketing system is. I could just about stomach £1.50 per transaction, but £1.50 per ticket is taking the piss. Equally charging the fee for buying the tickets in person is pretty shitty too. Who gets the £1.50? The club or the company that runs the booking system? Why can't the club run there own booking system? Just seems another way to make a couple of quid, much like not showing the game live on the big screens as it's full of adverts instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurosaint Posted 30 October, 2021 Share Posted 30 October, 2021 On 28/10/2021 at 21:38, Whitey Grandad said: No I wouldn’t. I thought I made that clear. It could be seen as misleading. It reminds me of when you buy something in America and then get the sales tax slapped on top. But what’s the point of it? In USA, different states charge different levels of sales tax therefore the retailer attaches the tickets to the items at source (most have central distribution warehouses) and later the tax is applied at point of sale ! It's actually quite a different scenario to the Saints ticketing system ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 30 October, 2021 Share Posted 30 October, 2021 14 minutes ago, eurosaint said: In USA, different states charge different levels of sales tax therefore the retailer attaches the tickets to the items at source (most have central distribution warehouses) and later the tax is applied at point of sale ! It's actually quite a different scenario to the Saints ticketing system ! Indeed it is and I understand the reasons why, but I only said that it reminds me of it in the sense that what you see is not what you pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 30 October, 2021 Share Posted 30 October, 2021 We pay booking fees for all manner things, what's the big deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saints foreva Posted 30 October, 2021 Share Posted 30 October, 2021 Hold up, Brighton is a category B game? Jesus christ. Empty seats galore for another home game then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 30 October, 2021 Share Posted 30 October, 2021 What I will say is I paid £26 for the Brighton game and I felt I got my moneys worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkoksaint Posted 31 October, 2021 Share Posted 31 October, 2021 For me it’s not the amount, it’s the bloody principle and another classic example of the club being completely ignorant to how supporters - the lifeblood of the club - should be treated. Everything is about taking as much as possible and giving very little back. They simply don’t get it and with the toxic financial shock that’s coming over the horizon for every household in Britain they’d do well to keep people onside with small meaningful gestures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRM Posted 31 October, 2021 Share Posted 31 October, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, bangkoksaint said: For me it’s not the amount, it’s the bloody principle and another classic example of the club being completely ignorant to how supporters - the lifeblood of the club - should be treated. Everything is about taking as much as possible and giving very little back. They simply don’t get it and with the toxic financial shock that’s coming over the horizon for every household in Britain they’d do well to keep people onside with small meaningful gestures. I agree, leaves a bad taste. Burnley game I got 2 adults and 2 kids, £6 booking fee when I printed the tickets myself at home! No p&p costs for Saints themselves, absolute rip off. Edited 31 October, 2021 by JRM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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