If you and your family are regulars at Scarby.... no more Adult season passes

[Drac]

I'm not angry just disappointed.

If they had said "Due to the economy we find it necessary to increase ticket prices."  I probably would have been a little bothered but not by much since many things are now increasing in price.  Just a fact of life.  So many things have been at a level price for so long.  Even things that aren't are increasing.  Again, a fact of life.  Things change, things need repairing, things need upgrading.

It's the way they increased the prices that make a difference here.  A pass is a pass is a pass.  Whether they sell season passes or FoF passes we are still buying a pass.  We are saying that we will be there.  Last year my wife and I barely broke even on the passes vs buying tickets.  That's not counting food and fun costs.  I can't see where the season pass innately costs them more money than a FoF so a slight increase of both would have been more up front to me.

Drac

[J M Gryphon]

 In my humble opinion, they just alienated a whole sect of us playtrons with this move, and I dont think It bodes well for the future of the faire, as I have already seen a post on the Highlanders group saying that the person is going to have to forego coming to Scarby this season. I will be buying 2 FOF passes this year, instead of one fof and one adult pass for my mate, so figure that I am going to be making more trips to the parking lot for food and refreshments than last year, I am not rich and this just puts more pressure on me to come up with $230 as soon as the FOFs go on sale so im sure to get my passes, not a good feeling.

                 anyhow thats just my 2 cents worth, I will be buying 2FOF passes this season, but I will be doing so UNDER PROTEST (already hit the petition).

                 hope this doesnt cause me not to see any of you guys an girls out there, but I will understand if it does...
                                                                    JMG

[DonaCatalina]

Scarborough's facebook page has a lot of the same commentary. People who were used to buying 1 FOF pass and multiple season passes are saying they probably can't afford to buy multiple FOF passes.

Does anyone know what the cutoff age is for the children's season pass?

[raevyncait]

Cutoff for the "child" pass is 12 years old.

[Drac]

My wife and I were talking.  We came to the conclusion that the fair owners are trying to make the extra money on the playtrons rather than raise the ticket prices.  They know most of us will grumble but still we will for the most buy the tickets vs the one weekenders are likely to pass if the prices get high.

So the loyal clients, the ones who provide steady income, the ones who provide entertainment in our own way (I march with Highlanders) are the ones penalized.  I guess I understand the logic but I feel, as has been noted, that this may end up being a downward spiral.

Drac

[Nicolas-Antoine]

The weekend passes are actually a great idea for Scarby. Most other faires already do them and it's great for the out of towners that will make only one or two trips during the season....   however, for Scarby to advertise them as a viable alternative to the old season pass is bs.

[Drac]

The weekend passes are actually a great idea for Scarby. Most other faires already do them and it's great for the out of towners that will make only one or two trips during the season....   however, for Scarby to advertise them as a viable alternative to the old season pass is bs.

I am very happy for these people.  It's a great option.  I just may have never noticed it as much at the other fair I go/went to but Scarby does seem to get a lot of weekend visitors.

Jim

[tad78]

Greetings - I am new on here but felt compelled to comment on the subject.
My family, for the past several years, has purchased 1 FOF pass and 4 regular passes. We used to buy 2 FOFs but when the price on them went up, we couldn't justify the extra expense. We make sacrifices in other areas to be able to afford the passes as it is because it's so important to us to be out there every weekend - it's what we look forward to all year.
The increase in cost for us this year would be $240 for the 4 extra FOF passes - this is if we buy early and get the reduced price. I spent some time crunching numbers and figured we can manage it if we buy little or no food and do not make any purchases in the shops. I've heard a number of people saying pretty much the same thing and it will be interesting to see if the Faire end up making more or less of a profit.
I'm kind of wondering if this is about profit, or more about cutting down on the number of playtrons. That doesn't make sense, really, but I've seen a few other things happen that don't make sense.

[cowgrrl]

We already had an added expense because our oldest is no longer a 'child'.  I just hope they don't totally do away with the childs season pass.  The cost of FOF passes for all of us would definitely be prohibitive at this time, although I know we're only a few years away from everyone needing one.

The thing I hate about the doing away with the regular season pass is that for us it was a 'stepping stone' to FOF.  We went a few times just buying day tickets & then decided we wanted to go enough to justify a regular season pass.  A few more years & we decided we wanted to go the 'extra mile' & get a FOF pass.  I don't know that we would have gone to FOF if not for the stairstep of the regular pass.  I think not as it would have seemed like too big of a leap.

[Merlin the Elder]

Excuse me if I seem a little dense on the issue, but if you're going so frequently that you need a season pass to make it affordable, the cost per visit is minimal, isn't it? I mean, as I stated in an earlier post, if you go every weekend, it's costing you a beer a week.

You're going to get mad at me for saying this, but I have to say it... if the price difference is breaking it for you—the cost difference between season passes and FoF passes—, you aren't providing the faire with a whole lot of revenue to start with. I don't say that to be mean, and I don't work for Scarby. But I can see the point from a business perspective. Look at it this way: if 100 people who buy $60 passes aren't spending any more than $4 a day for every day of the faire's run (more than the difference of the cost of the passes), what impact is that going to have if they don't come? It only amounts to a bit under $13,000 in revenue.

You have got to accept the reality of things. Times are tough, and economically, a business can handle it one of two ways: it can lower prices and get more customers, which raises costs by requiring more support staff; or raise prices and get fewer customers, who presumably would have more money to start with. I told you that you'd get mad at me.

I've noticed the increasing prices in the past few years, grumbled, and went on with it. If it gets to a point where the fun isn't worth it anymore, then we won't go. I don't see it happening soon. 

[VIII]

Some, if not most, of them pay for their own garb.

Yes sir, we ALL have to make and pay for our own costumes, including cleaning, upkeep, and repairs.

[Drac]

While I'm not angry at you I will say that I feel insulted.

I know that we are hardly the gravy for the fair.  The people who come out once or maybe twice in the season are the major money makers.  They are the ones who pay full price, who at themselves sick on fair food, and are the ones who do all the games.  We are the ones who rarely play games, quite often eat at our car (or at least eat less) and look for discount tickets.  As I said before I also understand that if they raise the prices of the 1 day passes that they will lose those customers.  

With that let me say an attitude of "Since you don't spend enough money you aren't worth our time" is not a good business practice.  Taking an attitude of "Since I know you'll shell out the money no matter what I do" is not a good practice.  We may not be thier big money makers but we are still customers, whether we are FoF or season passes.

I also feel sad.  They are seeming (this would be easier if they would say something) to apply a coorporate model to fun and you see a lot of companies that do also fail.  

Wile they are by no means required to answer to us, their customers, they have setup enviorment with their newsletter of we are suppose to be more than a paycheck.

Drac

[VIII]

Let the management know how you feel
www.srfestival.com/contact-us

[Drac]

My wife has, first by responding to the email which came back "unknown user."

She has also used the above conact email and has no response or even an acknowledgement.

Drac

[PollyPoPo]

This has been an interesting thread to follow.  We're seeing the pricing issue from various sides. 

As a faire goer, I've never been able to do a season pass due to my own particular circumstances, although I have family that has in the past at TRF because of location.  Had they been closer, it would have been Scarby. 

Both faires have grown incredibly large in just the 13 years since I've been attending.  As with any business, their target market changes and so they adjust their pricing and business model as necessary to make a profit and satisfy the customer they find most profitable. 

I know many Playtrons (or whatever term is preferred) get invested, emotionally and financially, in a specific faire as their "home faire".  Yes, I believe that Playtron investment in many ways "grows" faires.  As faires grow, they accommodate a more homogenized market.  It's just the nature of the growth of business. 

Unfortunately for us, faires must be run as businesses in order to exist, making it mandatory that they evolve over time into something that may not meet our needs.  It is not personal. 

Deciding where to spend our money - now, that is personal. 

Luckily for us, new faires pop up for us to explore.  Some will be tiny and die quickly.  Others will become competition for the big faires.  Personally, Sherwood calls to my faire soul.

Just my opinion,

Polly PoPo