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Poll: Do you think the club should continue selling memberships?


saints_is_the_south
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Do you want the club to do memberships next season  

589 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you want the club to do memberships next season

    • Yes
      445
    • No
      144


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I would buy a membership if available. Seems like a non-brainer revenue generator to me.

 

Can't usually get to more that 10 or so games a season due to other commitments and distance from Southampton. I will however be tempted by a season ticket if priced closer to £200 than £300....

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I think its a waste of time till we are in the premiership (assuming we ever get back) to be honest as there is never any problems getting tickets when you phone up and £20 is a lot to waste

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I believe that memberships should stay.

 

I think the main purpose of a membership is to get priority tickets. Admittedly, with us in League One that would seem fairly pointless. However if we reach the playoffs, then the Club would have missed out on a lot of money in my opinion…

 

Personally if I wasn’t going to buy a Season Ticket, I’d fork out the extra £20-£30 on a Membership so I get the safety of knowing that I’d get a playoff ticket with no hassle.

 

Not only that, there are other incentives that could be offered with Membership.

 

- The ability to book tickets online

- Free entry to watch reserve games

- A previous season roundup DVD

- A Red & White Scarf

- Discounts at local restaurants, hotels and stores

 

These are just examples, some of which the club has used before.

 

I think membership should stay!

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Although games are not going to sell out, memberships do serve a useful purpose, it means the club can largely track who is buying tickets, and therefore offer sprecial discounnts or priorities, such as if we draw a manchester united in the FA cup as last year, or should we get to a play off.

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There should be a 'Don't care / Not bothered' option.

 

But... I voted yes. It's another income stream and it gives fans something to buy into even if they can't afford or justify a season ticket.

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I think that membership is vital, especially for away fixtures where grounds are a lot smaller so it tickets go to those season ticket holders and members first. Like wiae if we were to get to a final at wembley how many tickets would we be allocated? So I would not be pleased if had stumped up some money at the beginning to jump the queue onlyto find out that someone who didn't get a ticket before me.

 

However, pricing would be a crucial factor. Anything more that £10 is not value for maoney in my eyes, although I know of some fans who go to all away games so maybe they would be preapred to pay more.

 

For the record I will not be prchasing membership, as I generally only go to home ames so I don't see the point.

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Although games are not going to sell out, memberships do serve a useful purpose, it means the club can largely track who is buying tickets, and therefore offer sprecial discounnts or priorities, such as if we draw a manchester united in the FA cup as last year, or should we get to a play off.

 

Apparently they can do all that using your 'Customer no' now, so I've been told. I had a **** up with my membership where it had lapsed without my knowledge, so when I tried to resurrect it, this came up in conversation with the office.

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i would buy one if possible. as Trousers says, its an easy way to generate more revenue & is a way for fans not buying season tickets to feel part of the club.

 

That's what it's about for me too....it's not just about priority ticket purchases....it's about being a part of the club when it's not easy to get to the ground for every game.

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Was a bit gutted when the scheme was stopped. I've had one since the beginning and, despite not getting down too often allowed ne to show my support and in the past gave me a fighting chance of getting tickets for the odd game.

Seems a shame to stop it as I always assumed it ran at a profit.

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Yes, memberships are a good idea. However, whilst we're in a league where we're unlikely to sell out week-in week-out, they should be cut price, say a fiver a membership.

 

So this would give you priority tickets for big games, say we reach the JPT final or the latter stages of the FA or League Cup.

 

Plus, in the event we reach the PL again, people who have been members previously should get the memberships (now more expensive due to the fact we're more likely to sell out) at a reduced cost compared to new members.

 

If that all makes sense.

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Memberships raise vital cash to help run the club, we can't expect our new sugar daddy to pay for everything so its a good way to ' do our bit '.

 

I can't get to enough games to make it worth buying a season ticket and memberships give me the ability to buy tickets online.

 

Also, who says we won't get full houses ? A good cup run or play offs and those memberships could be vital to get tickets.

 

Finally, my membership says something about me, it gives me allegiance to my club, my vote is a resounding yes :)

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I believe that memberships should stay.

 

I think the main purpose of a membership is to get priority tickets. Admittedly, with us in League One that would seem fairly pointless. However if we reach the playoffs, then the Club would have missed out on a lot of money in my opinion…

 

Personally if I wasn’t going to buy a Season Ticket, I’d fork out the extra £20-£30 on a Membership so I get the safety of knowing that I’d get a playoff ticket with no hassle.

 

Not only that, there are other incentives that could be offered with Membership.

 

- The ability to book tickets online

- Free entry to watch reserve games

- A previous season roundup DVD

- A Red & White Scarf

- Discounts at local restaurants, hotels and stores

 

These are just examples, some of which the club has used before.

 

I think membership should stay!

 

 

 

 

I am like a lot in that money is tight. Membership always gives one the feeling of being part of the club. My nippers going to be a junior and in a couple of years his kid sister will be one as well.

 

So yes we want to keep membership going.

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That's what it's about for me too....it's not just about priority ticket purchases....it's about being a part of the club when it's not easy to get to the ground for every game.

 

This for me is the key, like otrhers I am unable to get to all home games due to domestic and work commitments, i am happy to contribute £20 just to have the members card in my pocket, it makes me happy, and the online booking facilty is very useful.

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i will not argue with the majority of points on here, they are all valid, raising money, feeling part of the club and not being in a position to attend all games.

 

i just feel at the stage that the club is in the biggest priority is to gain a significant season ticket base maybe over the 20k mark. this allows more solid plans to be made as we will be more aware of the income that will be generated across the season also aiding with generating sponsorship revenue.

 

i am lucky that im in a position geographically, work wise and financially to be able to purchase and use a ST and i have sympathy for those who are genuine saints fans who are not in the same position, but for the time being anything that may detract from people getting a ST is not needed, long term plans need a solid base to build from, the most solid base a football club has is its season ticket holders.

 

the membership scheme should be brought back in the future maybe when we show that we are challenging for a place in the premiership, as always just my opinion and as i say all pro points are very valid.

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i will not argue with the majority of points on here, they are all valid, raising money, feeling part of the club and not being in a position to attend all games.

 

i just feel at the stage that the club is in the biggest priority is to gain a significant season ticket base maybe over the 20k mark. this allows more solid plans to be made as we will be more aware of the income that will be generated across the season also aiding with generating sponsorship revenue.

 

i am lucky that im in a position geographically, work wise and financially to be able to purchase and use a ST and i have sympathy for those who are genuine saints fans who are not in the same position, but for the time being anything that may detract from people getting a ST is not needed, long term plans need a solid base to build from, the most solid base a football club has is its season ticket holders.

 

the membership scheme should be brought back in the future maybe when we show that we are challenging for a place in the premiership, as always just my opinion and as i say all pro points are very valid.

 

It should be possible to buy Associate Season Tickets for those who live more than 6o miles away which commit upfront purchase of say any 10 matches during a year. Then the club would sell more from London supporters and other outlying areas.

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It should be possible to buy Associate Season Tickets for those who live more than 6o miles away which commit upfront purchase of say any 10 matches during a year. Then the club would sell more from London supporters and other outlying areas.

 

Like this idea too....I can only get to c.10 games a season on average so I'd bite their arm off for an advance purchase option in chunks of 10

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just to add my £0.02 - would be happy to pay for a membership to get priority for tickets (after ST holders typically), as I can see demand for some of the smaller Southern grounds being quite high (e.g. Gillingham, Yeovil etc). However I think £20 is a bit steep, £10 would be much more reasonable

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I don't really care what it costs, I just want to know that my loyalty to the club even though I've moved away from the area is being rewarded. I want a garuntee that I will have priority to tickets after ST holders because I can think of nothing more annoying than a fairweather fan getting a ticket for Orient away etc over me.

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Perhaps a better idea would be to combine the membership with a subscription to the Saints TV/internet commentary service (Play Radio or whoever this week)

 

We have many far flung fans who would likely do one or the other, but not necessarily both, as we're in L1 perhaps 25 or 30 quid for the two (or from our perspective a Bogof deal)

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I would buy a membership if available. Seems like a non-brainer revenue generator to me.

 

 

 

Totally agree.

 

Obviously being an ex-pat having a season ticket is a huge waste of money for me. But, as others have said, paying out 20 quid to be sure of being able to get a ticket for the play-off final (should we reach it) is maybe worth the gamble.

 

And, before anyone asks why a person who lives abroad and only comes over a few games a season should get such a ticket as opposed to someone who goes to SMS regularly, memberships are available to anyone who wants to purchase them.

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Perhaps a better idea would be to combine the membership with a subscription to the Saints TV/internet commentary service (Play Radio or whoever this week)

 

We have many far flung fans who would likely do one or the other, but not necessarily both, as we're in L1 perhaps 25 or 30 quid for the two (or from our perspective a Bogof deal)

 

I like your thinking Phil, as I am already a subscriber to SaintsTV.

 

 

 

:D

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I voted no. I was a member but what did it offer me that my customer number didn't? Not much. I've never had trouble getting any ticket I wanted.

 

£20 is the cost of a matchday ticket in this league - I would rather show my support that way.

 

Saying that, I would be happy to buy membership if it rewarded me more than feeling connected to the club - which I do anyway. No booking fees? 50p off all tickets? 20% off in the shop?

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There are two reasons I can see for not offering Memberships.

 

1) The scheme would cost more to run that the income it generates, perhaps so few memberships were sold last season, they'd expect even less to be sold for League 1.

2) The club wishes to put all home games on general sale from the word go in order to kick start cashflow into the new business.

 

Otherwise it's Money for Jam, with many fans (and I'd include myself) being willing to fork out £10-20 for not much more than a piece of plastic with a number on.

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I voted no. I was a member but what did it offer me that my customer number didn't? Not much. I've never had trouble getting any ticket I wanted.

 

£20 is the cost of a matchday ticket in this league - I would rather show my support that way.

 

Saying that, I would be happy to buy membership if it rewarded me more than feeling connected to the club - which I do anyway. No booking fees? 50p off all tickets? 20% off in the shop?

But the question wasn't do you want to become a member; it was should the club continue selling memberships. Just because you don't want one doesn't mean the club shouldn't try to make a bit of money out of people (like me) who do.

I don't drink but I think the club should fill their boots selling beer to people to get a few extra squidders in.

Unless the membership scheme was run at a loss (which I doubt) I really don't see what is to gain from scrapping it.

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In light of recent events, I believe many supporters feel more affinity to the club than they have for years. On this basis, I would expect many more memberships to be sold this year (many people like myself cannot make sufficient home games to warrent a season ticket - membership is the "other option").

 

+2 memberships for me if available.

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Memberships should definitely be re-introduced. Because of my work hours a season ticket is pointless and a waste of money for me but it would be nice to know i have an advantage when it comes to getting tickets for games i can go to. I got FA cup semi and final tickets through my membership.

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is there any point in league 1..?

 

For those who cannot get to games because of distance, ill health, or age and infirmity, it would be a chance to confirm a sense of belonging to the fold. If, however, the cost outweighed the income, that would defeat the object of the thing.

That's why I am a "Don't Know," and have not voted.

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As a London based fan I'm obviously excited by the prospect of away games I can easily get to (travel & pocket). Having membership would allow me the chance to get to these games without pleasing the fact that just because I live in London doesn't mean I'm a fan of the local team SFC are playing. I once had to describe the journey (as I remembered it from 20 odd years ago) of the number 5 bus from the city centre to Sholing just to prove I was from Southampton. I'll definitely sign up if it makes getting a ticket any easier.

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I have had one for years and will continue if i can. There were some games last season that you needed to be registered on the system to even get a ticket so people who buy the odd ticket may not be able to get to a paticular game. As many said above, its another money spinner and I personally like to give my bit as I can't afford a season ticket/travel to many games. My mum even buys one and she hasn't been to a game in years!!!

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I myself like others above can't get to alot of home games but I have had my membership card for a few years and yes its £20 quid but I can afford to pay that. I would to buy a season ticket but 1. I don't have that much spare cash laying around and 2. I'm normally busy working late during the week so the midweek games I can't get to & on most Saturdays I'm busy as well.

 

I voted YES

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I don't know whether anybody has mentioned it and I can't be botherered to look, but there is an explanation on the OS about memberships. Whether it has been put there since this question arose or not, I can't say. It states that although there will not be any membership this season, the records of past memberships and match attendances have been recorded on their database and should a match be restricted to those who have had a good record of attendances in the past, that information is there to help decide who should have tickets.

 

Although the club could have had additional revenue from memberships, it seems credible that this encourages ST sales, at the same time also ensuring that when ticket sales are restricted, they go to ST holders and those who have been to most matches. Fair enough?

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