you didn't buy enough kits! MLS merch sales vs the Big 9

I hope you washed them.

 

Are you talking about honest to goodness official jersey replicas? Cuz I never seen that price here in Reynosa, Tamaulipas for official gear. I have seen at cheapest $45.00 and that's for the "minor" teams. I have gone to the Nike store in downtown Reynosa and they sell their America replicas for the same cost that you would find for a MLS jersey. Of course, they do seel the "knock off" jerseys of any team you want for $12 made of good quality cloth. They'll even sell the official FMF logo patches to make you feel like a pro.

Or if you are patient and lucky enough, you can get MLS gear like official jerseys for $15.00 at stores like Ross Dress for Less or Marshalls. I have found LA Galaxy jersey for $12 and MetroStars sweatshirs for $16.00.

 

I really think that it is because of the SSS situation with many teams and the impending adidas changeover that we have such a limited selection of MLS merchandise. With the current pointyball stadiums that many teams are stuck using (RFK, Giants Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, etc.) the stadium gets the majority of profits from merchandise sales instead of the team, so there is no incentive currently to push merchandise sales. In SSSs, like Home Depot Center, they were hawking Nike merchandise because the adidas deal doesn't kick in until next season, so really they were pushing a lame duck merchandise line that they had no incentive to diversify. Why bother adding new things when you are just going to have to redesign them next year anyway?

I would guess that we're going to see a big merchandise push next year. It's been hinted that adidas is going to use their clout to put MLS jerseys in sporting goods stores across the country, so they will earn a big return on their $150 million investment. That would be nice because I have only once found MetroStars gear for sale at an everyday store where I live in upstate NY (Metro hats at the local Wal-Mart.)

 

It's hard to get an NHL replica for under $100. And if you want a name on your shirt you're looking at about $130.


Andy Mead - I don't think you can break it down to just attendees at a game. I - for example - bought 7 MLS shirts last year (okay, 5 were second hand old ones), including shirts other than game jerseys. And I don't live anywhere near any MLS stadium. If you count the US/England game and the Allstar game (the only two soccer games I made it to last year) I bought another 3 shirts.

So only 30% of my purchases were at games.

I think MLS has a problem with pricing. Both at games and for merchandise. MLS is often more expensive than (for example) the EPL for game tickets (see LA) and the concessions and merch are overpriced. MLS may be 'major league' here, but I think it is disproportionately priced for its place in the grand scheme of things, both in terms of world soccer, and perhps more importantly, American sports. An MLS ticket should not cost more than MLB, for example. Not yet.

 

I see golf shirts with event logos fairly frequently, although, I have to say that I see more from USGA events than PGA events.

Here in Chicago, I believe that sales of Western Open gear has fallen off the last few years. I guess their target market wasn't crazy about walking around in a shirt with the tournament sponsor prominently displayed . . . .






. . . . The Cialis Western Open.

 

Game tickets are priced for what they think they can get for a limited inventory. I don't necessarily agree with the prices, but it is what it is.

For replicas, I always thought MLS should price much lower than EPL, La Liga, Serie A etc. As the Newcastle chairman stupidly divulged a few years back, these things cost about five bucks to make, and they sell them for $70.

For MLS, its not just the initial sale that is important. It becomes a branding issue as more people wear them. They have to keep in mind that they can't drastically increase pricing later, but I still think they should sell replicas in the $35-40 range, and I think they would have a whole lot more people walking around town with the gear on.

 

Agree 100% with that. Hockey is very much still a blue collar sport. Though there are fewer now than before, NHL fans are extremely passionate and loyal. I go to 10-15 Islander games a year, and from experience you feel out of place if you're not wearing a jersey. 10,000 of the 13-16,000 there will be wearing a jersey on most nights minimum

 

I get most of my merch off of e-bay. I get it quicker, cheaper, and get the same quality product.

 

That's interesting, considering this is what I just bought:

 

Please tell me this was just for example only, and that you didn't really purchase said items.

 

Poor guy. How's the counseling coming along? LOL.

Go Rangers!

 

no doubt. if they were cheaper i'd buy alot more of them. but 80 bucks out of my wallet goes to something other than a shirt. now two of them is a different story

 

I bought three or four different ones. They made great gifts. I kept the Chivas jersey for myself.

 

I like Chivas too. Good choice.

 

Seriously. I think Bo sweats pure turkey gravy.

 

Have you seen Rimando recently? I think he and Tony ate him for their Christmas dinner.

 

And Zack looks like he ate them both

 

I'm not particularly fond of the team. I just like the jersey.

I'm really pleased with the Penarol jersey I got for Christmas from my parents trip around South America!

 

Don't forget about the donkey show!

Well, "jerseys" is what you put on the expense report, right?

Hey, I skewed the average for everybody in this freaking thread. I bought, at stadium prices, nearly everybody's jersey in the league this year, and then Christmas rolls around and they're all half-price!

Personally, I think they're overpriced - I understand the market, and I understand that NFL replicas usually go for even more, but the MLS replicas are really not all that great quality. Then again, they're not too dissimilar from game-worns, of which I have a few as well.

Is it just me, or does it seem like a smaller percentage of fans at MLS games wear jerseys to games than other sports? I may be off on that, but it just seems to me like that's the case, which begs the questions:

• If you're not going to wear it to games, where are you going to wear it?
• Doesn't it make more sense to price them so more people will buy them? So they aren't sitting in a warehouse and being sold at the Bigsoccer Shop at half-price after the season?

With only 12 teams, a relatively short history, and a fanbase whose really hardcore segment is really relatively small, I'm not surprised at the merchandise numbers for MLS. I also wouldn't expect there to be the myriad of merchandise options that they have on about five pages of the NFL Shop catalog, either - they'd make a bunch of stuff and it would sit around because there's no guarantee you'd sell it out.

 

Re: Don't forget about the donkey show!

Several have made a great point: That it's really in the league's best interest in a price point that moves the greatest number of jerseys while still making some profit.

It's not like selling MLS replica at $20 less than those of other sports will suddenly make an NHL fan switch to being an MLS fan. What it will do is put more MLS fans in team gear - or walking billboards advertising the league.

Then again, MLS may not be setting these, or even influencing, the price points that the manufacturers set for the jerseys.

To answer Kenn's querie. Frankly, I don't have much opportunity to wear my jerseys these days. Being media, I no longer wear them to games. During the World Cup 2002, I did take my collection of Wizards shirts and wear them to non-US games.

I'll occasionally wear one around town during the summer, but they're not really winter wear.

 

I wore my '97 Metros home shirt this past season (and got Amado Guevara and Sergio Galvan Rey to sign it for me), but now I've retired it so I can buy an adidas jersey when they arrive. We should all buy adidas MLS jerseys to thank them for investing so much in our league and funding the reserve system. I buy all adidas now (shin pads, soccer shorts, indoor shoes, etc.) because I feel they have earned my loyalty by believing so strongly in the American game.

 

Got my first MLS replica jersey for Christmas yesterday - '05 KC home, courtesy Eurosport. Clearance price, presumably because they'll have a new style in '06?

Quite a bit of good MLS stuff at www.soccer.com.

 

I've never purchased an MLS club jersey, despite being a fan from day 1. First I was one of the geographical oddities living more than 1,000 miles from a team. Then by the time RSL came along I was well into collecting national team jerseys and spent my money elsewhere. I did buy five RSL shirts - not jerseys - in the last year. One for me, five as gifts; casual fans will wear t-shirts around when they won't wear a jersey. But shoot, even the cheapest "supporter shirt" is $20.

And as for buying an RSL jersey - I already own a Spain jersey!

 

I bet The Loyalists have their t-shirts for sale at a cheaper price. Most supporters clubs have their own merchandise. You can get a nice deal on a shirt that supports your team's fan community that way.