Ebay pre orders.

[bigearl79]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRE-.....58b84aa513

Blimey, some people can't wait. Why don't you just order from club for £3 plus postage.

[pastpirate]

Same thing happens for pretty much every Rovers away game.
Why do people buy them?
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[Dorking]

Not all clubs have a programme ordering service.

Some clubs order very close to their estimates and regularly sell out. Pre-ordering guarantees a copy, without the hassle of getting in a bidding war for a copy listed after the game.

[efc1998]

How can this seller guarantee they are going to get all the programmes they have listed for pre order. If you look how many they have listed it is mind boggling.

I will take a programme they had listed to pre order from last month Dover v Chester. They had 3 available to pre order. I wrote in to Dover myself before the game for 5 copies and got the cheque back stating that the programme sold out well before kick off. So if I could not get them how can they?

I cannot believe for a minute they know a contact/fellow supporter at all these clubs they have listed. I have been writing to clubs/had help from fellow collectors for over 30 years and I still cannot get every issue I write off for.

As Bigearl states it takes nothing to write off to a club/contact them via their website or even phone them with your card details and there will be someone willing to help in most cases.

This seller is just a chancer and prices are overpriced. Another example is having the Southend v Chester FA Cup programme from last weekend at £4.49 plus £1.55 postage. Cover price £1.

If you collect current season issues I suggest you make your own arrangements.

[Maidonian]

There was a seller on eBay about five years ago called portyid from Northern Ireland who was doing much the same thing, except IIRC most of the items were auction with a low starting price not a high Buy It Now price. There were loads of lower division Scottish items listed and, judging by the feedback, a lot of purchases weren't fulfilled.

In this case, they all seem to be Buy It Now, but I note the proviso that they will be sent once received from the host club. If it's the same seller, it seems to be working a bit better judging by the very low number of negatives but, as mentioned, surely it would be better for a collector wanting a programme from a specific match for them to contact the club beforehand to acquire a copy.

[efc1998]

I suspect this is the same seller as you mentioned myself and they had a terrible feedback in the end.

They have 630 pre orders on eBay at present and with the best will in the world I cannot see some of them not being sell outs. You place your faith in someone who does not have the programmes to sell in the hope that the host club send the programmes through.

Okay some clubs will, but what about a club selling out that you have bought through them and they cannot fulfill that purchase.

As I say how can you sell 630 items you do not have, but hope to get, equals no guarantee?

[das]

efc1998 wrote:

I suspect this is the same seller as you mentioned myself and they had a terrible feedback in the end. They have 630 pre orders on eBay at present and with the best will in the world I cannot see some of them not being sell outs. You place your faith in someone who does not have the programmes to sell in the hope that the host club send the programmes through. Okay some clubs will, but what about a club selling out that you have bought through them and they cannot fulfill that purchase. As I say how can you sell 630 items you do not have, but hope to get, equals no guarantee?

It is the same persons name on an old receipt I have from portyid as that shown on the business details for that seller

[Tintowner]

The recent Altrincham v Grimsby Town match (15th November) was a sell out on the day (a text from my good friend Grimsby Barralad confirmed that they only printed 400 (crowd 1800)).

That teatime I searched ebay and realised that there was still a 'Pre order BIN' for this game and that there was one still available.

I pressed the BIN and then waited ........ all the time thinking to myself if could they deliver on what they had promised despite the game being a programme sell out.

Well......... they came good and it was delivered . I can't say if this would be the case all the time... but they certainly did okay on this occasion.


PS: The programme itself was advertised on the front cover as Altrincham v Alfreton Town (the opponents of the previous home game), a printing error

This worked in my favour as one came up on ebay and was advertised as ' Altrincham v Alfreton Town' and I was able to snap it up for my above mentioned collecting colleague.

[efc1998]

Again I will state that how can someone sell something he/she does not have?

Agreed for all the ones he/she may sell there will be the one which someone buys pre ordered that they cannot supply and therefore letting someone down who is expecting a copy if bought in advance. It's making a mockery of eBay allowing someone to post so many pre orders.

[garyspain]

Some of the sellers either work for the printers or have access to copies from the printers.

In other cases I assume they are going to the game and go early. Likewise they may have access to hospitality areas to grab a few free ones.

[Dorking]

And a network of contacts. I go every single Palace game home and away, everyone who knows me knows I do, and yet I am amazed how rarely people ask me to get them a programme (and before anyone asks, this is not an offer!!!)

[Tynie Topics]

I recall a couple of years back someone I knew stuck up a pre-order on ebay for Belgium v Scotland programmes. I knew that these would be VIP only but I bought one anyway and asked him his source, the response was well, they were on sale at the last game 10 years ago, so......

Needless to say I was refunded after the game!
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