Season Tick Renewal - What's Going On!

[Sir Rodger Doyle]

Mmmm. I smell cash flow problems.

[SpaceCruiser]

Mmmm. I smell cash flow problems.

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. However, I think I'm safe in saying that we don't need to read about your problems.

[West Stand Man]

Has anyone got evidence from previous years? I seem to recall that it was a similar timescale last year.

Can't see the problem to be honest. If you want a 'discounted' ST take up the early purchase offer. If you don't, then don't. Simples - as someone once famously said.

[RoyalBlue]

Has anyone got evidence from previous years? I seem to recall that it was a similar timescale last year.

Can't see the problem to be honest. If you want a 'discounted' ST take up the early purchase offer. If you don't, then don't. Simples - as someone once famously said.

For some it's less an issue of having to renew that early in order to save £20 and much more about having to renew by that date in order to keep a seat(s) which they like and may have used since the stadium was opened.

Given the capacity of the stadium and the fact that they are not likely to sell (being exceptionally optimistic) more than a couple of thousand new season tickets, the club could, if they wanted to, extend the deadline for existing season ticket holders who wish to keep their present seats but are happy to miss out on the £20 discount.

As things stand, the club had better hope the team are playing well come April or they could see a big drop off in sales (the benefit of a later cutoff is that summer is with us and people have started to forget the horrors of the previous season).

And if people decide not to renew at that point, they may well not renew at all.

With this earlier renewal date it will be borderline for me. My son can't attend very often now being at university and I could do with the considerable number of extra pounds and hours in my life that not renewing would bring. Added to that, I can only foresee more player sales and another season of average to disappointing, with a greater chance of relegation rather than promotion, whilst Madejski lingers on. At the end of the day it will come down to how keen my daughter is to keep turning up on a regular basis.

[West Stand Man]

Has anyone got evidence from previous years? I seem to recall that it was a similar timescale last year.

Can't see the problem to be honest. If you want a 'discounted' ST take up the early purchase offer. If you don't, then don't. Simples - as someone once famously said.

For some it's less an issue of having to renew that early in order to save £20 and much more about having to renew by that date in order to keep a seat(s) which they like and may have used since the stadium was opened.

Given the capacity of the stadium and the fact that they are not likely to sell (being exceptionally optimistic) more than a couple of thousand new season tickets, the club could, if they wanted to, extend the deadline for existing season ticket holders who wish to keep their present seats but are happy to miss out on the £20 discount.

As things stand, the club had better hope the team are playing well come April or they could see a big drop off in sales (the benefit of a later cutoff is that summer is with us and people have started to forget the horrors of the previous season).

And if people decide not to renew at that point, they may well not renew at all.

With this earlier renewal date it will be borderline for me. My son can't attend very often now being at university and I could do with the considerable number of extra pounds and hours in my life that not renewing would bring. Added to that, I can only foresee more player sales and another season of average to disappointing, with a greater chance of relegation rather than promotion, whilst Madejski lingers on. At the end of the day it will come down to how keen my daughter is to keep turning up on a regular basis.

None of which really explains why it is wrong for the club to do this. Mind you, your location status is a good indicator to your view of the club's management and so I don't suppose I should too surprised by the negativity in your thinking.

It is surely not a bad marketing exercise to offer loyal customers an early chance to but their STs at a reduced price. It is up to the marketing department to decide, with the hierarchy, what constitutes a good deal and they have done so. If we all (or at least some of us) choose not to renew, for what ever reason, that may be an indicator that the decision wasn't right - but my point is that they did a similar thing last year (as I recall - and I am haappy to be corrected). It seemed to work ok then and maybe that is why they have decided to go for this plan again?

[RG30]

LOL at the usual suspects moaning over absolutely nothing.

[Hoop Blah]

Good for you Drew!!

And, whilst I am in two minds about renewing anyway, having to secure your ST seat by the end of April is just wrong in my eyes.

The only thing that keeps me renewing my season ticket is that it's my seat and it's where I want it.

Pushing me into a corner like this, as early as April, is only having one effect at the moment. This could be the first time in about 20 years I won't renew.

[handbags_harris]

LOL at the usual suspects moaning over absolutely nothing.

I don't think it's necessarily "absolutely nothing"though. Many of this season's STH's will have utilised the Zebra Finance scheme offered by the club and will be in the last stages of paying for this season, and now they're being asked to renew before they've finished paying for this season. Not only that, in previous years the club have offered early renewals at this season's prices, and have then extended the deadline when we haven't been successful. This year they've said "renew now or you pay more" which, IMO based on how they've previously done it, is not right. Gotta be said it's caught me by surprise and I'm going to have to do some excessive saving over the next two months in order to be able to renew in time...

[Drew_3]

Good for you Drew!!

And, whilst I am in two minds about renewing anyway, having to secure your ST seat by the end of April is just wrong in my eyes.

The only thing that keeps me renewing my season ticket is that it's my seat and it's where I want it.

Pushing me into a corner like this, as early as April, is only having one effect at the moment. This could be the first time in about 20 years I won't renew.

Some people on here are missing the point, its not about good deals or saving money, the point is perfectly summed up in the above! its about a seat and where it is.

Add to this that the official website says we have longer to renew than normal and you start to get an understanding of the ineptitude which runs this club!

[RoyalBlue]

LOL at the usual suspects moaning over absolutely nothing.

Even bigger LOL at the same old mugs thinking everything the club do is in the interests of its supporters. I suspect some of you have an awful lot of double glazing, time shares etc.

For some it's less an issue of having to renew that early in order to save £20 and much more about having to renew by that date in order to keep a seat(s) which they like and may have used since the stadium was opened.

Given the capacity of the stadium and the fact that they are not likely to sell (being exceptionally optimistic) more than a couple of thousand new season tickets, the club could, if they wanted to, extend the deadline for existing season ticket holders who wish to keep their present seats but are happy to miss out on the £20 discount.

As things stand, the club had better hope the team are playing well come April or they could see a big drop off in sales (the benefit of a later cutoff is that summer is with us and people have started to forget the horrors of the previous season).

And if people decide not to renew at that point, they may well not renew at all.

With this earlier renewal date it will be borderline for me. My son can't attend very often now being at university and I could do with the considerable number of extra pounds and hours in my life that not renewing would bring. Added to that, I can only foresee more player sales and another season of average to disappointing, with a greater chance of relegation rather than promotion, whilst Madejski lingers on. At the end of the day it will come down to how keen my daughter is to keep turning up on a regular basis.

None of which really explains why it is wrong for the club to do this. Mind you, your location status is a good indicator to your view of the club's management and so I don't suppose I should too surprised by the negativity in your thinking.

It is surely not a bad marketing exercise to offer loyal customers an early chance to but their STs at a reduced price. It is up to the marketing department to decide, with the hierarchy, what constitutes a good deal and they have done so. If we all (or at least some of us) choose not to renew, for what ever reason, that may be an indicator that the decision wasn't right - but my point is that they did a similar thing last year (as I recall - and I am haappy to be corrected). It seemed to work ok then and maybe that is why they have decided to go for this plan again?

Depends on what you mean 'wrong'. Of course, it's legal and they are perfectly entitled do do what they like in this respect. However, that doesn't stop it being a pretty shabby way of treating loyal supporters. What's more they know exactly what they are up to. Let's be a bit economical with the truth shall we? Promote the 4 months interest free credit option but let's not mention the £15 admin charge in the same release.

However, that aside, you miss the main crux of my argument which is not about the costing but the way that longstanding season ticket holders are being made (unnecessarily in my view) to commit to purchasing their tickets even earlier, in order to keep their allocated seat. For some, that is more of an issue and they might be happy to accept forgoing the £20 discount as long as they could renew by a later date (e.g. June) and still keep their seats.

And prepare to stand corrected. We have never before been expected to renew our tickets before the end of the current season, in order to get the discount and/or keep our allocated seats.

As for my location. It is what it says on the tin. I don't recall Waller ever making statements about PL ambition and/or wanting to sell the club and then not doing either.

[Big Foot]

Wouldn't be surprised if the club had a treasury department investing the money from season ticket renewals on the stock market in this extra timeframe they've created.

Shambles.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

As for my location. It is what it says on the tin. I don't recall Waller ever making statements about PL ambition and/or wanting to sell the club and then not doing either.

Well yes. Being willing to let the club die for personal profit is clearly preferable to being reluctant to spend more than the club can afford.

[West Stand Man]

Lord give me patience.

[Hoop Blah]

What's STARs view on this change in policy?

Was there any consultation?

[jonboy29red]

hmm so im still paying for this season on dd and then will start paying for next season as well if i want my ST

[Royal Lady]

In May 2008 we were still wondering what the ST prices were going to be for the next season.

Last season, season ticket prices were announced at end of May.

http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/SeasonTickets/0,,10306~1583800,00.html

[Spud Gun]

More likely, this shows that the club have absolutely no intention, or think we have no hope, of getting to the play-offs and beyond and that they want to sign up us mugs by end of April, before we sell off a load of our better players and end up with a painter and decorator from Eastleigh holding our front line! If they waited until June, like they used to, we may have already sold Kebe, Long, Feds or whoever and people won't want to commit to a whole season on the back of that. Possibly.

^^^ This

As per last season, Reading FC will take the money from the loyal fans and then sell the best players ...

[Royal Lady]

As shown by my post a couple up from here, this is unprecedented. If the club came out and said, "due to financial constraints we need to have a rough idea of how much money we will be getting in and we apologise to fans in this current economic climate, but we need to have ST renewals earlier this year" then I *might* be a little more sympathetic to them - as it is, they just announce this, with no prior warning and we have to buy and secure our ST for NEXT August by the end of THIS April. People can say, "it's the usual people moaning" - though, clearly, it isn't, but if they just treat us like this now, what's next?

People will HAVE to renew by end of April because they want to keep their seat, so, why the club couldn't have asked for a £50 non-refundable deposit by end of April and the balance by early June (as is usual) I don't know. They'd still have a clear indication of how many STs they're likely to sell. Seems to me they actually need the MONEY now.

[Hoop Blah]

Absolutely agree RL.

It smacks of desperation that the club are either really worried about the money involved and the budget they're going to have to work with or they're really worried about the renewal rate and so they want to do something about it now.

In my case this is more likely to tip me over the edge and not renew. I always leave it to the last minute whilst I try and talk myself out of renewing. Having that gap between the end of another disappointing season and the cut off point usually gives me time to miss football and rebuild my positive hopes for the next season. By forcing me into a decision before a pretty dull season of minimal investment by the club and poor'ish returns on the pitch has even finished I think I'll not be able to talk myself round yet again.

I can understand the need to budget. It's the benefit the club gets from STHs coughing up in the summer but this is an odd move. Yes it means they might be able to steal a march on other clubs looking at the same players (those on free transfers especially) but so little happens before July I just don't see that as a major factor.

I just get the impression it's a sign that we're not going to speculate to accumulate at all. I just can't see any positive in this.

[Red]

I don't say this often but I completely agree with Royal Lady.