Are you Renewing for 2012?

[GordonGecko]

This is what the Marlins are doing this year. It seems as if they're acting like an airline and will just raise/lower prices as they please, whenever they please.

http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/mia/tic...ricing_faq.jsp

Yeah, I made note of that on the Marlins thread yesterday. This item caught my eye:

Q. What happens if prices lower after I buy my tickets?
A. Tickets are always priced based on market demand. While prices typically increase leading up to a game, there may be times where prices decrease should conditions change. As with all of our tickets, all sales are final.

If prices do decrease on a regular basis after people buy, then that's just going to incentivize more and more people to wait out the prices until they become cheaper. I don't see how demand can be so high as to cause people who wait to miss out on tickets because they sold out. Instead, the Marlins advance sales will suffer

[dhettrick55]

Right. While a lot of teams charge "Marquee/Platinum/make up whatever word" pricing for when the Yankees come to town, we as home fans get stuck with insane prices. A Royals game on a Thursday afternoon should not cost the same as a Red Sox game. I don't like this Marlins method though either because everyone will just hold off for buying them like you said.

[Stick Michael]

The Marlins are in the process of determining what the market will bear for seats in the new ballpark. From a business perspective, it's easier to start high and lower prices to meet the demand of customers than it is to get customers accustomed to low prices only to raise them. Case in point: the Yankees charged up to $2,500 for Legends Seats when the stadium first opened, and when it became apparent those seats would be mostly vacant the team cut the prices of its most expensive seats in half. Of course, they misread the market this past offseason, which resulted in thousands of season ticket cancellations.

[yankees2010]

Not sure how it will effect overall attendance, but the aggressive partial plan ad campaigns are pretty telling. To think at the end of 2007-start of 2009, they were so arrogant as to tell long time holders of partials they better take whatever mid week crumbs they could get in the new "cathedral"

Now just three years later, including a World Championship in 2009, they can't sell out the partial plans. StubHub was a game changer no one saw coming. There is no reason anymore to lay out money in advance for seats, unless they restore guaranteed World Series rights. Why pay full price for a game that could be played in steady rain, moved to 8pm, etc when you can just pick and choose the morning of for a fraction of the cost?

[NJRuss]

The Marlins are in the process of determining what the market will bear for seats in the new ballpark. From a business perspective, it's easier to start high and lower prices to meet the demand of customers than it is to get customers accustomed to low prices only to raise them. Case in point: the Yankees charged up to $2,500 for Legends Seats when the stadium first opened, and when it became apparent those seats would be mostly vacant the team cut the prices of its most expensive seats in half. Of course, they misread the market this past offseason, which resulted in thousands of season ticket cancellations.

Does anyone have data as to the number of cancellations? Wondering if anyone on the inside has leaked that info.

[NJRuss]

Not sure how it will effect overall attendance, but the aggressive partial plan ad campaigns are pretty telling. To think at the end of 2007-start of 2009, they were so arrogant as to tell long time holders of partials they better take whatever mid week crumbs they could get in the new "cathedral"

Now just three years later, including a World Championship in 2009, they can't sell out the partial plans. StubHub was a game changer no one saw coming. There is no reason anymore to lay out money in advance for seats, unless they restore guaranteed World Series rights. Why pay full price for a game that could be played in steady rain, moved to 8pm, etc when you can just pick and choose the morning of for a fraction of the cost?

Francesa was also talking about how stubhub changed the game. I think that, while stubhub allowed the true maket values to be learned, it was more the Yankees greed that took over. By pricing their seats so high above real value, they killed (or badly wounded) the golden goose. If you look at the Phillies, their seats still go for reasonable prices and you can make a little money on stubhub. Their $48 seats are roughly equivalent to seats that the Yankees price at $150-225. THAT is the killer. If the face values were anywhere near reasonable, the place would sellout, or pretty close.

[JGriffinJS]

Random question... anyone who changed their seats at the select-a-seat not get charged for Feb on the payment plan? Do you have to re-sign up for the payment plan if a change was made to your account?

[NJRuss]

Random question... anyone who changed their seats at the select-a-seat not get charged for Feb on the payment plan? Do you have to re-sign up for the payment plan if a change was made to your account?

I made changes at SAS and was charged the correct amount for February.

[GordonGecko]

Signs of the Yankees starting to get chipped away on their crappy offers. Those mohegan bar plans now come with a free entree & soda for each game. Not much but it's a start (no mention if that's per ticket or per plan)

[4bronxbombers]

I just got that too, laughed and deleted it.

[jlevin]

Funny, I do the same thing with everything the Yankees email me these days.

New partial plans in the JB Suites! Click, delete.

Free drink with batter's eye seats! Click, delete.

That free non-alcoholic drink literally costs them probably less than a cent!

[GordonGecko]

That free non-alcoholic drink literally costs them probably less than a cent!

Not exactly, but close. Soda is probably the highest margin item on a percentage basis. Alcohol is obviously also huge margin but it costs them probably something like 50-75 cents a beer versus less than 10 cents per soda. Yes, that's how cheap they are with the plebians (fans)

[leokitty]

Signs of the Yankees starting to get chipped away on their crappy offers. Those mohegan bar plans now come with a free entree & soda for each game. Not much but it's a start (no mention if that's per ticket or per plan)

It's a free "entree" (hot dog, that gross pizza or something else I can't remember) and soda per game...but only if you pay with a MC (or so they say).

I am not sure how else they could phrase it but the idea of a hot dog as an entree amuses me a lot.

[Mattdoc]

Signs of the Yankees starting to get chipped away on their crappy offers. Those mohegan bar plans now come with a free entree & soda for each game. Not much but it's a start (no mention if that's per ticket or per plan)

Actually, "Batter's Eye" seats are the seats above Mohegan Sun, not inside of it. Mohegan Sun still costs more. Perhaps that will be the next offer, free Audi or Mohegan included with certain plans.

[ZYanksRule]

Signs of the Yankees starting to get chipped away on their crappy offers. Those mohegan bar plans now come with a free entree & soda for each game. Not much but it's a start (no mention if that's per ticket or per plan)

So the Yankees are finally having ticket deals like other teams do?

This is funny, if only because they think these "benefits" are actually real benefits. Give me something -- not a hot dog and a soda, but something that actually rewards me for being a fan. Then, maybe I'll consider it.

[GordonGecko]

Actually, "Batter's Eye" seats are the seats above Mohegan Sun, not inside of it. Mohegan Sun still costs more. Perhaps that will be the next offer, free Audi or Mohegan included with certain plans.

Well they threw me off then. So wait, is "Batter's Eye Cafe" now something more than the green-monster wannabe seats? Is that deck in center field now reserved only for batter's eye ticketholders instead of roaming fans?

[chan1023]

Well they threw me off then. So wait, is "Batter's Eye Cafe" now something more than the green-monster wannabe seats? Is that deck in center field now reserved only for batter's eye ticketholders instead of roaming fans?

I'm sure it is still just the 2-3 rows of seats that even at $70 are unbelievably overpriced. That whole area is way too big to limit it just to the few people in those seats. File "cafe" under another gimmick to sell overpriced seats. Please tell me people won't buy these.

[4bronxbombers]

I'm sure it is still just the 2-3 rows of seats that even at $70 are unbelievably overpriced. That whole area is way too big to limit it just to the few people in those seats. File "cafe" under another gimmick to sell overpriced seats. Please tell me people won't buy these.

People who have no clue of the stadium will buy them. Once.

[ellsworth]

At the select a seat I went to, they announced that anyone who added a plan and paid for it in full with a mastercard would get the free hot dog and drink for each game in the plan.

[AlbanyColonieYankee]

It's a value plan and all the games probably fall under the $5 moniker. It's the same as the E Plan in YSII without the one Premium Game. I've been waiting since they moved across the street to bring it back.

Yes, it was nice to see the price and number of games come down although I was disappointed to lose the Boston game. It is now more like the 8-game plan that I had in the old stadium, except that they added a bunch of day games. I attended select-a-seat and was able to move from 414 to 418 and down a few rows...a little closer to my beloved Tier 1 seats in the old place.

I was debating whether to renew because the last couple of years it has been more difficult for me to make all of the weeknight games due to work obligations. But with the reduced prices, I figured it was worth it. Even if I have to eat a game or two it's not the end of the world. I eventually want to upgrade to one of the weekend plans, so my main motivation at this point is hanging on to my seniority date. It used to be the pre-sales, but they are so limited now that they are almost pointless.

[dstoffa]

Not exactly, but close. Soda is probably the highest margin item on a percentage basis. Alcohol is obviously also huge margin but it costs them probably something like 50-75 cents a beer versus less than 10 cents per soda. Yes, that's how cheap they are with the plebians (fans)

My second job was working fast food.

While going through some training, I read up on the "cost" of a fountain soda.

The cup cost more than the liquid put in it. IIRC, a 20 oz. fountain soda costs 4 cents. 3 cents for the cup, and a penny for the water / syrup.

Soda markup is insane.

Cheers!
-Doug

[Sparky]

My second job was working fast food.

While going through some training, I read up on the "cost" of a fountain soda.

The cup cost more than the liquid put in it. IIRC, a 20 oz. fountain soda costs 4 cents. 3 cents for the cup, and a penny for the water / syrup.

Soda markup is insane.

Cheers!
-Doug

How about the cost of the ice - which is mostly what you wind up getting?

[Sparky]

Yes, it was nice to see the price and number of games come down although I was disappointed to lose the Boston game. It is now more like the 8-game plan that I had in the old stadium, except that they added a bunch of day games. I attended select-a-seat and was able to move from 414 to 418 and down a few rows...a little closer to my beloved Tier 1 seats in the old place.

I was debating whether to renew because the last couple of years it has been more difficult for me to make all of the weeknight games due to work obligations. But with the reduced prices, I figured it was worth it. Even if I have to eat a game or two it's not the end of the world. I eventually want to upgrade to one of the weekend plans, so my main motivation at this point is hanging on to my seniority date. It used to be the pre-sales, but they are so limited now that they are almost pointless.

Anything holding you back from doing that now? They've had some really choice locations this off-season.

[Tommy1961]

How about the cost of the ice - which is mostly what you wind up getting?

Ice cost way more than the soda ask for no ice and watch the owner smile.

[GordonGecko]

Ice cost way more than the soda ask for no ice and watch the owner smile.

The idea with extra ice is to not give the customer enough soda to actually be satisfied so he ponys up another 5 bucks for another soda