New Merch - opinions

[Richard Ingham]

On ebay now http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Barrow-AFC-Ho ... 1e76fbeba2

[Cliff_Corner]

I was in the club shop before the game yesterday and i overheard an elderly gentleman asking for a barrow afc pin badge and a mug (i assumed he was a luton fan and collects these items from each away game he attends) and all we had in stock was outdated 2010 fa trophy winning merch. He was offered one of the new 'road name' badges but he didnt seem too keen. He just wanted some plain barrow afc merchandise to show for his long journey. The whole affair was embarrassing when the lad behind the counter kept saying "sorry, all we have in stock is the fa trophy merch"!! I know it's not a lot of money lost but how many away fans are we missing out on by not having the simple things in stock. Sometimes it seems we try to over complicate things (like the new badges that will only seem desirable to home fans). I didnt stick around to see if he bought anything but my guess would be he settled for just a programme.

Maybe i'm thinking too much into it but the whole situation seemed embarrassing and did nothing to sell the club to away supporters.

[Richard Ingham]

Yes it is embarrassing, hence we are trying to do something about it. OK, the first batch of badges are not to everyone's taste but the next lot will be more traditional, after that we could look at mugs etc.

All of this comes down to the age old problem, not enough money in the club to be able to afford to restock with lots of new products. We are lucky to have had the donation from Ste from the sale of his canvasses to fund this first step. If anyone wants to follow suit and make a donation specifically for this cause I am sure Peter would love to hear from you.

[Uncle Peter]

Yes it is embarrassing, hence we are trying to do something about it. OK, the first batch of badges are not to everyone's taste but the next lot will be more traditional, after that we could look at mugs etc.

All of this comes down to the age old problem, not enough money in the club to be able to afford to restock with lots of new products. We are lucky to have had the donation from Ste from the sale of his canvasses to fund this first step. If anyone wants to follow suit and make a donation specifically for this cause I am sure Peter would love to hear from you.

I was the lad behind the counter, and you are spot on in saying it was embarrassing. In the end the guy bought a couple of mugs and a programme, so not all was lost.

Like Rich says, this is what doing these badges to start with is all about. We are now looking to set the wheels in motion to look at getting some generic badges and mugs that hopefully will appeal to away fans.

Yesterday was the first time I got to have a proper look in the shop, and we have a great space which the staff are doing their best with, we just need to freshen it up with new, interesting items.

I would add that we did sell a fair few of the new badges to away fans.

[Cliff_Corner]

Yeah i realised it was you Pete and i left the shop squirming and genuinely embarrassed for both yourself and the club. The club shop has the potential to make a lot more money than i feel it currently does. Some of the stock in there just needs taking out and donating to a charity shop or something. Who is gonna buy a copy of Football Manager 2008 these days? The FA Trophy stock is slowly trickling out at a price we're surely not making a profit on (I think we're all aware the majority of fans who went to Wembley have not been to Holker St since the final!). I think the player worn shirts are a good idea and proudly have a Carlos Logan one in my collection!

Ste Storey is doing a great a great job with the canvas' and i have bought two of these myself. I hope the money will be spent wisely. My personal opinion would be to buy small batches of different items so we're not stuck with excess stock and also keeps things fresh and encourages fans to keep handing their money over for new items.

I'd be interested to know how many away fans actually do venture to the club shop, or even the BDF, as i feel a lot don't even venture past the main stand.

[Jonty]

Please can the next badge be a traditional style enamel pin badge- no bigger than 16-18mm

Not sure who's done this one, but like this would be great

http://www.heartfootball.com/product.ph ... uct=200233

[tommy2thumbs]

Please can the next badge be a traditional style enamel pin badge- no bigger than 16-18mm

Not sure who's done this one, but like this would be great

http://www.heartfootball.com/product.ph ... uct=200233

says 22mm underneath....

[capman]

Hi Richard can you keep me one of them pin badges please that are on eBay, thanks

[Jonty]

Please can the next badge be a traditional style enamel pin badge- no bigger than 16-18mm

Not sure who's done this one, but like this would be great

http://www.heartfootball.com/product.ph ... uct=200233

says 22mm underneath....

yes I know- like that but just a bit smaller. 22mm or 28 mm like the other design in the thread and I think it's too big for a pin badge. I'm sure they's sell at that size, just not my preference for something like this

[barrowaberdeen]

Yup, small and traditional

[Uncle Peter]

says 22mm underneath....

yes I know- like that but just a bit smaller. 22mm or 28 mm like the other design in the thread and I think it's too big for a pin badge. I'm sure they's sell at that size, just not my preference for something like this

The next badge will be a traditional crest badge. I'll post up on here when they are ordered.

[Richard Ingham]

I'd be interested to know how many away fans actually do venture to the club shop, or even the BDF, as i feel a lot don't even venture past the main stand.

Depends on segregation etc obviously but for unsegregated games we get at least a couple per match after stuff like badges etc. I cant comment for the shop inside the main building though.

[Jonty]

what size Peter? and please show the syle. If possible - Thanks

[Zak]

Will the street sign badges be in the shop during the week?

I have recently started a mug collection (current mugs include a Union Flag mug, a big Nescafe mug, a John McCririck mug, a Coronation St mug). I also like pin badges. So I'm a fan of the away ground mug/pin badge idea and will start buying them myself, fair play to that LTFC fan.

[Richard Ingham]

Zak, yes Pete was leaving some in the shop for the club to sell.