The lack of transparency is their mode of operation now. Do not see it changing any time soon.
AFL Silver Membership Waitlist Number
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If they actually add photo ID to the membership card, and make it properly non-transferable, it might see some people who can no longer sell of GF tickets drop off.
If you are only interested in your own team, yep better to get a club membership that offers GF access, instead of being stuck in limbo land that is silver AFL membership.
If you like footy, and going along to a few finals irrespective of whether your team is playing, then AFL silver membership still a great offering.
But unless they dramatically increase the number of gold members, which would further erode its advantage, you are going to be stuck with the slow uptake as people won’t give up Gold memberships once they finally get there.
threenewpadlocks
Brownlow Medallist
I had to send in a photo ID just to get a discounted ski lift pass as I'm still a uni student, to prove it was me who was going skiing during the winter. If Mt. Buller enforce it just so I can ski down some slopes, why is it so hard for the AFL to crack down on people who have Gold Memberships to sell a GF ticket and make a profit on the membership?
Amen Corner
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- Feb 4, 2014
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- 149
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- Essendon
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Bingo! Spoke to them a week or so ago about joining my daughter up and asked the question re GF tickets. The explanation was the corporate/dining packages, combined with series tickets, combined with the high demand of life members wanting tickets meant the allocation was becoming less. They also said that Collingwood has one of the highest AFL Member tallies and hence the difficulty in getting tickets to the GF in 2018. Personally I think that’s BS, Collingwood AFL member tally aside, they were play West Coast FFS who’d have one of the lowest.
The explanations are all spin IMO. Low upgrade numbers in 2017 because the Essendon bandwagon got full again? Please. Don’t take us for fools. There were less upgrades this year than in 2018, can’t blame anyone’s bandwagon this year so what’s the excuse? Somethings up and they wanna apply the AFL approach of sweeping it under the carpet IMO.
The MCC have slowed their intake too. A few years ago when the Provisional membership came in, there was some fluidity in the upgrading of AFL members. Perhaps this is a factor too?
Anyhow, a mate of mine joined up in 2008 and his waitlist is still in the 2000’s. He’s only moved 500 spots in 2 years. At this rate will be at least another 6 or so years.
What are you on about re spin?
The Gold membership numbers are capped at 31,000.
The AFL upgrade Silver members based on the number of existing Gold members who don’t renew.
It is no different to MCC membership, there was a huge number of applications once the AFL started ground rationalisation in the 90s and more games were played at the G....but existing members rarely give up their membership. Hence you get an ever increasing waiting list.
So yes, anybody joining up in the last couple of years will be more like 30+ years away from getting Gold...and those people who talke of 8-10 years to get Gold are being sold a lemon.
This is makes sense that the wait list numbers are only moving by a few hundred each year, as they would be the numbers of Gold who don’t renew...once getting ‘Gold’ majority have no intention of giving it up.
The other option is to expand the number of ‘Gold’ members, but if you increase from 31K to 40K then all of a sudden even more ‘Gold’ members won’t actually be able to access big finals let alone GF, and the whole benefit of achieving ‘Gold’ status becomes redundant.
LanceRomance
Brownlow Medallist
I wonder if every lapsing gold member is replaced by silver member on the waiting list, or if they farm some of them off to others.
They wont do this though. If people drop off because they cant sell their grand final ticket, the AFL loses members and money. It will also cost money to enforce and check every membership. I have had gold for 30 years now, it ended up being all worth it last year, but i would never encourage anyone new to sign up. Save your $ and spend a few k on a grand final package if your team make it.
- Jun 21, 2009
- 26,776
- 33,452
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
15 years this year. Gold for 6 years.
Times have changed with these AFL bastards
Times have changed with these AFL bastards
With one poster claiming to have only moved 156 spots up the list and with a 31000 gold member allocation, it works out that roughly 1 in every 200 people are not renewing for 2019.
.5% churn rate is incredibly low. Only 150 gold members dropping off does not seem realistic. You can only presume that the afl are reducing the gold member allocation.
.5% churn rate is incredibly low. Only 150 gold members dropping off does not seem realistic. You can only presume that the afl are reducing the gold member allocation.
LanceRomance
Brownlow Medallist
Could be consumer affairs worthy?
- Jun 21, 2009
- 26,776
- 33,452
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
What could they do? The AFL are their own corrupt little organisation.
People who want to move from absentee status back to normal status take some of the lapsed gold spots. AFL claimed Essendon supporters did this in 2017.
Also some people for whatever reason (eg: team is currently crap) decline to take up gold membership when first offered and my understanding is they also get first dibs on upgrades when they finally decide they want to. I suspect there were some Richmond supporters in this boat last year and Collingwood this year.
A churn rate of less than 1% seems pretty sensible to me.
If you are an AFL fan, you would very rarely swap to an alternate membership.
A famous waiting list is Green Bay Packers, our to 130,000 now and they quote retention rates above 99%.
https://fox11online.com/news/local/...pect-season-ticket-renewal-rate-of-99-percent
No surprise to me that MCC and AFL Gold membership would have similar retention rates.
So unless they can expand the numbers, they will face huge queue problems as people who are Gold / Full members don’t give them up.
The recent Vic v Interstate GFs the Hawks had about 2k gold, Bulldogs about 1k, Tigers about 3k, interstate sides bugger all and Pies 7k. So it was certainly the reason this year why it was harder for gold non competing members to get a GF seat compared with recent years.
- Jul 16, 2003
- 1,648
- 2,074
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Keilor Bowls Club
Kids joined in late 2010.
They’re in the low 4,000’s now after being in the 4,500’s this time in 2017.
As a relative measure, I was made gold in ‘98 after 4 years. The wife was made gold in ‘09 after 7 years.
They’re in the low 4,000’s now after being in the 4,500’s this time in 2017.
As a relative measure, I was made gold in ‘98 after 4 years. The wife was made gold in ‘09 after 7 years.
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Filthy I stayed a club member in 09 instead of joining AFLmembership. Joined in 2010 and likely cost myself 5 years
- Jun 21, 2009
- 26,776
- 33,452
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
All my mates jumped on 4 years ago and are now going to end up ditching it i reckon.
In the exact same boat. I went overseas for a year in 2016 and took an absentee membership and it cost me an extra 3-4 years .
Saying this, I really enjoy going to neutral games! So the afl silver membership is great for me. I do realise that if essendon make a grand final in the next few years I won't be getting a grand final ticket through my membership.
Amen Corner
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- Feb 4, 2014
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For the record, I’m already Gold so i don’t have any skin in the game so to speak.
I say spin because it seems like there’s a different story each year. Did you really buy the Essendon story of 2017? This year it’s high renewal rates. I’m more likely to accept that as you are. I think we’re both saying the same thing in that regard. I think there’s something else going on behind the scenes too as we never see breakdowns of what the membership comprises. There’s no communication during the season IRT upgrades. I don’t think we get all the information.
The facts are that the waitlist has really slowed the past two years. I think my upgrade came in 2015 and I was around the 800 mark going into that year on the waitlist. Something has happened in those years to now and my theory is that the MCC opened up their new membership category and the others all moved a bit more than in the past. Having talked to some at EFC, during the saga years, there was a spike in membership. I believe many of them let go of AFL Membership and took up club membership which created movement in the waitlist not only from gold membership, but those also on the waitlist. Both those things have now ceased and I believe what you’re saying is correct, those who get gold understand the value of it and won’t be letting it go.
It seems some are still being told it’s only 8-10 years wait for gold, well that’s fanciful IMO. It’s much closer to 15 years now. I use the example of my mate who joined post 2008 (missed out on a GF ticket as a Haw member so joined AFL). He’s now been on the waitlist for a decade and is still in the 2000’s according to AFL Membership. I’m really thankful I got in when I did.
LanceRomance
Brownlow Medallist
I did the same thing.
All very curious. I wonder what happened to the memberships that year?
- Dec 29, 2000
- 23,599
- 20,841
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
Well I won’t renew my gold membership in 2019. Not worth it anymore.
Gralin
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My mate and I joined 10 years ago, I'm in the 1400s and he's in the 3000s
Reckons he hasn't gone absentee
Often hear stories like this and wonder why there are such differences, not sure how many days before him I joined but it would suck to be that far behind him with how slow it's going, I could end up gold years before him (sucker) for joining days or months before him
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