Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Anyone else having issues since joining Nightrain? I joined in early December last year, didn't manage to get any pre-sale tickets (not worried - I know they aren't guaranteed and I've got them through another (free) pre-sale anyway) and still haven't received the membership gift - despite several emails and requests. Is this normal?

Unfortunately, it's normal. It took some months to receive the gift.

Go on the Nightrain forum- there's a big thread about it on there.

People are PISSED OFF!

You can try at this link as well. I keep asking though and get no response at all, but I suppose the more people that hassle them the better. Over three months and received no communication at all. A shameful and embarassing service.

https://www.store2.livenation.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/50/wa/orderStatus?sourceCode=FANWEB

Yes it is normal.  It took six months for me to receive most of the stuff and another month before I received the hoodie.  If I remember correctly, I did receive an email just prior to receiving anything but even that didn't give any specifics like approximate date of delivery.  There were no communications from them before that shipped notice.

Possible good news for you @variant is that about two of those six months were part of the Nightrain site being revamped so hopefully your wait should be that much "shorter" (if that's even a thing at this point).

Six months?! That's shocking. It's a case of putting a t shirt in an envelope and posting it! I bet there's no other 'fanclub' where service is that bad. I feel like a mug for joining really.

As I said, two of those six months were part of them revamping the website.  They did give people a chance to sign up/renew their membership prior to them taking the site down. That 2 months includes the time they gave people to renew plus the site downtime. 

I should also point out that this was the time period around the Coachella announcement (I don't recall if the announcement was already made when they offered the sign up/renewal incentives.  I don't believe so but I could be wrong.)

But that being said, four months is a long time to wait for a t-shirt unless that is specifically stated in the ordering process.


P.S.  The hoodie is awesome!!!  : ok:

I was a member years ago when it first started it took it's time to get the merch to me but it does come in the end,ended up with two tshirts i seem to recall as they sent out the wrong one,still wear them to this day,shame it is still have the odd issue though.

Hahaha.  It sounds like it's a fan club from the 1970s.   


A bands fan club Gould have zero errors.   It should be a safe haven for hard core fans to go and get rewarded with deals and special merch etc..

It's 2017.   

Anyone can buy anything online and it come world wide within a week.

Didn't this site advertise for this fan club?

If like you said the site was being revamped during that time, then you would have applied before the Coachella announcement, I belive the revamp was because of the regroup news/speculatation just prior to this. If you remember Coachella had Nightrain memebers pre-sales.

In regard to "It's chuck a tee-shirt into an envelope" Its not a simple as that, they don't just recieve an application and just do it, the company running it would no doubt have other services running along side to the GnR fan club.  They would in all probability, look at the numbers to be dealt with and have a stratagy into how they are gonna process these.  It maybe that Team Brazil have agread to to buy this services at one day per month. This would done to provide the most effiecient service, where stacks of merchandise is processed in bulk, where a system for picking the items and putting into jiffy bags (or whatever) and labelled for dispatch. It maybe that additional time needs to added to clear a back log, but I'd imagine that after the spike in initial fan club uptake there is something of a levelling off of numbers and that they will catch up.

Speculation on my part of course, but that is broadly how these things should work, that is from experience but in a different sector. If they have more applications than can be serviced each time they deal with the GnR stuff after this time clearly then somebody somewhere needs to throw more resources at this issue. Anything more than 3 months IMHO is shocking and doesn't reflect well on the band, particularly when the NITL tour financials clearly show they are coining it in.

I'm not a Nightrain member, so not a fan club member either, but I do feel, in the absense of anything official being announced, some of you guys need to understand how I believe things are usually done.

Yeah, so all this is your fault. Since you post here.


It's unfortunate that the merchandise hasn't been shipped out in a timely fashion.


/jarmo

Mine took forever too.  But attention to detail is not exactly their strong suit.

That said, 6 months is a joke.

I could get my kids to make up some t shirts and send them out if we want.  Something like a white t shirt with a logo written in crayons   Will sale G N R Rules.   Something simple like that will go over well

The kids can also make a drawing over the band for a poster.  Sure they will loves colouring mellisas hair

I will have it all shipped out in 5 months. So even quicker than this fan club

Serious question... who cares? I signed up for the fan club last year, got my presale, eventually got my TShirt (in time for my concert) and Sweatshirt (I wasn't wearing it to a July concert), and took part in a few contests.

There have been misfires with this band in the past. We can beat them up on communication, album releases, previously failed tours, etc... BUT we are in a sort of renaissance for the history of this band, and we are filling the 'slow time' between huge stadium shows with t-shirt shipping time discussions?

I care. I shelled out $45 and have received nothing. I think that's a fair thing to complain about, and I see why people are kicking off.

Sure many things are good- this really isn't. Money has been taken, goods not delivered. Any company would get slammed for that.

Not in that company's "safe space", they wouldn't.

But I myself obviously agree with you.  It's not like this is some radical concept to get what you pay for in a timely manner.  That's called good business.

Sure is. I can't see them getting too many renewals off the back of this. I've learned my lesson!

I don't think they are stealing money, I just think the company is poorly run or understaffed. I remember I waited about 4 months or more to receive my t-shirt. At one point I wrote and got an answer two weeks later that it was coming, I just needed to be patient. The t-shirt eventually arrived although it was a really, really long wait. I don't think it was 6 months for me though.

Agree with the point in bold.

On the other hand, it's their name on the product.  At some point, you need to give something of a shit about that.

^Agreed. But it's GNR world where everything is a bit dysfunctional. It would be so boring otherwise.

Not really a fan of that particular argument.  Being lazy and incompetent is a character flaw, not an experience enhancement.

But I do see your point.  Because of their history, my expectations were WAY low.  I figured if the shirt and all the rest of it ever showed up, that was gravy.  I signed up for the presale.

Yet do you really want to be in a place where your reputation is to the point when you can simply walk and chew gum at the same time, it's seen as a huge step in the right direction?  I'd be kind of embarassed if that's how the general public viewed my operation.

Been waiting 4 months so far. Emailed a few times, same excuse on each occasion assuring me that the shirt would be sent "soon". Very dismissive and apparently they don't do refunds! Doesn't reflect at all well on the band unfortunately.

The other issue at hand is if you remember the site and club changed over around the time of the 'reunion' and subsequent tour planning... This is the first section of the terms and conditions of the 'club':

Welcome to the Guns N' Roses website (in general the "Site" paid or registered areas of the Guns N' Roses website are the "Club" ), owned and operated by Ticketmaster("we," "us"). The following terms of use ("Terms") govern your use of the Site.

You signed up for a club run by the ticketing company, the sole purpose of this club is the presale. You paid $45 to take part in the fan club presale. Everything else was gravy. Ticketmaster is who is taking their sweet time printing and mailing those T-Shirts (which to be completely honest I wore once at the show for the chance to move into the pit). If you wanted a shirt you could have bought one from their store which would have shipped much faster from a company that runs their business on merch, not a ticket company that oh by the way threw in a 'set of steak knives'.

It's Live Nation who are running this shambles apparently. (Not sure if they are related to Ticketmaster or not though in some way).

I'd argue that the sole purpose of the fanclub isn't the presale at all. It's a fanclub- advertising a membership package. Most people are unaware who is running it- it's advertised on the official site of the band they like, so they join. expecting to be well treated. Sure, access to the presale is a perk (about the only one as far as I can see!) but I bet there are a lot of people who sign up just to be part of the 'fan community' and get an exclusive shirt. Nothing wrong with that at all. Whichever way you see it really- the point remains that they advertise a package of goods which they are very very poor at sending out. I'm not sure there's much to defend with all this- it's a bit of a shambles, people are pissed off waiting. Hopefully they'll pick their act up in the future, but personally it would take a lot for me to be arsed to join again!

That's the long and short of it really. It doesn't reflect well on the band at all. Especially when most bands have fanclubs that operate smoothly.

Slow time between shows?  There really hasn't been that much time in the middle of shows, so I don't know what that is about.    It is just slow

You are right there have been misfires in the past and present and this looks like one of them.

So you are saying because Axl, Slash and Duff got back together around a year ago and have proceeded to tour the world ever since that lets them off the hook for all the above? 

Is it what it is then with this band?  Expensive tickets to concerts, no new original music released or played live, no interviews, problems with the fan clubs, huge rumors of Axl recording and touring with ac/dc after this.   

So if the band is just a larger version of what people where giving it crap for a couple of years ago.  A touring oldies act, but with zero interviews (we used to get interviews).  Than cool

The slow time between shows was a little tongue in cheek... meaning we have seen this band tour sold out stadiums in every region of the world outside of Europe and on the day after their last leg where they are about to see some downtime we have a typical whinny post about something trivial like fan club t-shirt delivery times.

Yes there have been misfires over the past 20+ years, but t-shirt shipping times are no comparison to the bullshit in the early 2000's while waiting for CD and watching tours fail. I just find it hysterical that someone is always going to find something to bitch about. The reformed lineup doesn't repair all of the 'damage' done to their reputation, but it is a very very small (and whinny) group that the t-shirt issue is impacting. There will be no Rolling Stone articles about the delay in shipping Baconman's t-shirt to The Great White North. So the 'this doesn't reflect well on the band' only rings true here.

For everyone waiting, I hope you aren't expecting a t-shirt that is worth the $45 signup fee. This is a $5 dollar throw in. The value of the club is in the presale and contests. The board is nothing in comparison to this and other fan boards and obviously LiveNation (Ticketmaster as the Terms and Conditions states) is not a merch and t-shirt distribution company.

 

Nah that's unfair on the original poster. It's not a 'whiny post' at all- he was asking if anyone was experiencing the same troubles in not receiving their stuff. It's not a case at all of "someone finding something to bitch about" - his money is tied up in this. It's pretty off to say he's whining and bitching because he hasn't received something he's paid for! Come on- just because things are going well musically it doesn't give a pass out to not deliver on things, or mean people haven't got the right to ask where the stuff they ordered is! Why do you have to assume other people's concerns about where their merchandise is is to trivial to them? That's not cool.

They just seem slow to ship stuff. Not sure why.
Could be many reasons.



/jarmo

Look I get what you are saying, and I was talking less about the original poster and more about the additional piling on. I also get the money aspect, but thats part of my point... it isn't a $45 dollar t-shirt, you paid to join a fan club and the t-shirt was a throw in. There is other value to the club, and there are better ways to buy much nicer t-shirts. It's a one year membership, the shirt will get there within the year, there was no promise otherwise. I do understand though that some people have different point of views, this time last year I wasn't exactly waiting everyday on my front step for the t-shirt. In fact I probably wouldn't have noticed if it never came... as it is I have never opened the shipping envelope that the sweatshirt came in, they weren't why I signed up.

My other point is that it's always something with some people here... they don't like the lineup, they don't like the set list, they don't like the number of covers, they don't like the opening acts. I understood (and even took part in) the negativity when there was very little happening in the world of GnR, when we kept being told 'soon', or when we were being shown a revolving door of members... BUT now we have the bulk of the core of the band that brought most of us here. They have been selling out all over the world for a year now, and don't look to slow down.

Do you think you are, perhaps, blowing this a bit out of proportion?

What bearing does asking why the fan club doesn't seem have their shit together have on the current state of the band or the current state of their tour? 

Where is that connection?

Totally out of proportion.

Its like the poster is saying "Because the poster wouldn't wait, the poster thinks the shirt was just a add in to ticket sales, the poster thinks everything is fine because Axl, Slash and Duff are touring the world, people shouldn't gripe there concerns on topics they feel are off"

Who know, perhjaps the t shirt really meant something to someone.  Why would you judge someone else opinion on something, especially when its there money!  They spent there money on something they havnt received.

Cool, Axl Slash and Duff are touring the world, making huge amounts of money, playing to sold out concerts in front of pretty happy fans.

Not cool, The list is very long, but one of the items would be the band allowing there name to be used on what looks like a bush league fan club, that is slow/no delivering on commitments

Perhaps...

I just don't see why this needs a thread. The same issue existed last year, no better, no worse. I signed up in January last year and I'm pretty sure I got my T-Shirt in June, and I think the sweatshirt came in the fall (like I said earlier it's still in the shipping envelope).

Is it dysfunctional, sure... The issue though is they obviously entered an agreement while booking the tour with LiveNation/Ticketmaster. It was in their best interest to turn over management of the fan club to them as it related to the presale. While yes there are tshirt delays and it isn't ideal, this arraignment probably made the most financial sense for the band. If there is a problem it is with LiveNation, but it is being presented here as more of the same from GnR/Team Brasil and that just isn't the case.

YOUR MONEY WASN'T FOR A FUCKING TSHIRT, it is a throw in, you paid $45 for the club and pre-sale. When they get around to it, you will get a poorly crafted tshirt that cost less than $5. If you wanted a special TShirt you could have gotten one from their store run by Brovado or Lucky Brand who are actually in the business of selling and shipping merchandise.

Am I overreacting, sure... but it gets fucking old listening to people do nothing but bitch about every little thing at every turn.

It needs a thread because the original poster was asking advice, seeing if people were in the same situation! I do question why you clicked on a thread titled 'Nightrain troubles' if you didn't fancy reading about it.

But this is what is out of proportion.  This is grossly inaccurate.  There has been nothing but good times and good moods since the reunion was announced.  

I made that joke about this place being a "safe space".  But, as they say, all humor is based in truth.  

So is that what we are saying?  Everything is awesome?  Even the slightest beef, over something inconseqential, turns this place into 2013 again?  

Is that what we're saying?

Not true though is it? You pay $45 dollar for what is advertised to you. That includes a shirt and lanyard. It's not a 'throw in' at all- that would only be true if you didn't know about it when you shelled out.

.....and are we saying that ANY complaint is not valid anymore? How about those people at that gig in Singapore who were complaining about poor management at the gig and no shuttle buses?

Really - a lot of us here have stuck with this band through some pretty surreal times. Personally, I've had tickets for many gigs that haven't happened, I've traveled, I've waited, heck, I've even missed transport and ended up sleeping rough for the whole night due to late shows. I'm sure we've all got similar stories. I'm certainly going to appreciate and be grateful for some smooth shows this summer! But when it comes to fuck ups, it's still important to call them as such. I don't think it's whining- I think it's just expecting a certain standard of service as a consumer of something.

Jarmo has now chimed in twice this thread. 

Neither time corrected anyone, neither time told anyone to knock it off, and both times shared the sentiment that this was not being handled right.

Is there a better confimation that the gripes described in this thread are not unfair?

Or I've just had it with Baconman whining every chance he gets...


Yes, the shipping seems to take time. And yes, it's happened to others as well.
There's a topic about it on the Nightrain forum.



/jarmo

No kidding.  I have always said, as a one off show, what Guns is doing right now is great

As a tour, holy crap, this is the most professional thing the band has ever done.

So now someone paid money for a fan membership that included, as well as other things, a thirt.   They havnt received it, havnt received any feed back on why its taking so long.    Then you are getting people saying its not a big deal, because it was just a throw in??  How could someone possibly someone tell someone how to feel or act or what to expect when its there MONEY!  You sure are getting up in arms about other peoples opinions and real life examples.

haha That offer to buy you a pop in a few months still stands!!   

Unless I am too busy printing tshirts...

This has surely got out of hands. Of course you need to receive whatever you ordered online. Anything else is a scam. It's just laughable that someone is saying you are not eligible for your merc.

Spring is coming but it's cloudy and somewhat cold here in Central Europe. The T-shirt says 100% cotton and made in Mexico. It's a good looking shirt and I'll wear it when it gets a little warmer. Normally we get shirts made in Bangladesh.

Looks like a few American fans have gone down the legal route- and won. Got refunds via it. That's a pretty ugly situation.

I assume you mean me, I never said they weren't entitled to the merch. What I was saying is that it isn't the primary 'value' of the club, so I wouldn't (and last year I didn't) expect quick shipping. Granted they went way to far with how long it took, but it seemed at least last year that because this is being run by the tour promoter, that the t-shirts are being shipped in order of tour location/regions so that you have them before the shows. They definitely missed a few here an there last year, but based on last years discussion they tended to get to you a month or two before your show. For the people traveling region to region, they tend miss out if for example they are an American (summer tour) traveling to Australia for a show.

I just checked my emails from last year and after signing up in January I received my t-shirt and lanyard July 1st just in time for my July 19th show.

Same here, would be great to get the T-shirt for the summer, when the gig is in Finland. My AFD shirt from 90's and 2006 Chinese democracy tour -shirt are in pretty bad condition now days  :hihi:

What's unfortuante was that when they first opened, everyone was all excited about it.   It looked like a professional operation again. 

Now...same old, same old.  Gang that can't shoot straight.

To hear that fans of a band have to sue their own fan club, and the fan club would rather just pay the refunds than make it right...what the hell sort of business sense is that?

The problem is it's not them it's LiveNation/Ticketmaster. I get that they represent the band publicly in this case, but if you are Guns N' Roses how to you fire the promoter of your multi year multi national headlining stadium tour (who is pretty much the only game in town) over t-shirts?

There is very little noise being made outside of these forums over this issue, but if Guns breaks an agreement with Live Nation and the tour somehow gets effected or there is a lawsuit I see that as being much more harmful and 'more of the same' in the eyes of the public.

In the grand scheme of things, "it took me longer to get my t-shirt" ranks pretty low on the list of things that can go wrong.

Very little noise out side of these forums regarding this?

Really?  You think!

I would bet a large sum the majority of fan club members are also members to various gnr fan sites.  And the majority of the public is not either a member of the fan club or a member of fan sites

Where's would honestly expect to hear this noise for you to realize it's affecting the fans and is a problem. Are you expecting the national news media to pick up on this?  Then would you say. Nah it's only Fox News  hahahaha

As of today not a peep about this on mygnrforum as an example, and no I'm not expecting this to hit the news. What I'm saying is there is nothing the band can do about it because they don't run the fan club site and merch. The also don't have a ton of leverage to push the merch vendor running the site because it is the worlds largest promoter, who is also booking their tour (and owns most of the venues). If something were to happen with that relationship then it would be on the news that "Surprise, Surprise, GnR blows it again..."

So in the grand scheme of things, a few people impatiently waiting for T-Shirts is not that big of a deal... and if $45 is that big of a deal to the individual, then you absolutely do not have the expendable income to sign up for a band fan club.

That argument could be made about anything you order online. If you order via Amazon you expect to get it. Then someone could say if x amount you lose is that important then you should not order. It's a specious argument.

Let me make it real simple: we are talking about Contract Law 101. If an organization says "give me X amount of money and in exchange I will do A, B, and C," then it is incumbent upon that actor to fulfill the terms it promised when it solicited money. Failure to do so is theft. All this nonsense about the t-shirt 'not being the real value' or 'don't order if you can't afford to lose the money' is simply silly.

As I said several posts ago, no money is being stolen, the organization is just really slow in sending out the t-shirts. So it is what it is.

I agree.

I can't see this sort of reaction for any other merchant that treated you this way.  It's just this weird way we are supposed to have all this deference if it's GNR and can't just call a spade a spade.

I get the point about this not being them, as being someone they hired who is fucking up.  But my god, just say what it is without trying to church it up, just because it's GNR.

I wasn't trying to say that if you order them and they never come, that is OK... It's not, but in this case there is a previous year of evidence that these take 6 months or more to arrive. Does it suck, yes. However nowhere in the terms and conditions or in the email confirming sign up does it guarantee a shipping date, shipping method, or delivery date. You signed up for a 1 year membership, if you get it before the year is up, you win. Did we have anyone who never received anything when they signed up before Coachella last year?

What I feel the need to correct is the number of people attaching some level of blame on the band. This site in not run or maintained by the band, it is LiveNation/Ticketmaster.

This is crazy scary. Really, you would have to sign up for bullshit again? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who will not be signing up again.

But maybe it's a good fan club and some people will. Wouldn't it be easier for everyone to run a proper club where people would want to be part of something and belong to.

It's not about the money.

It took me a minute to figure out if you said anything. I wouldn't expect you to understand what I've said in this thread when you can't figure out how to quote something properly.

The band via LiveNation and the FanClub have already:
Run Contests and provided memorabilia as prizes
Upgraded fans at most shows (who are fan club members)
Provided pre-sales
And (while slowly) have shipped T-Shirts and sweatshirts to fan club members since January of 2016

As I said above, is it unfortunate the shipping times are slow? Sure, but can you give me an instance in 2016 where a club member didn't eventually receive the merch promised to them?

Are you a member of the club? If so go to Gunsnroses.com and read the terms and conditions of the club, then pull up your order confirmation from the sign up. After reading them please show me where they promise a shipping method, or guarantee a delivery date.

2016 was a little different because they actually said that merch wouldn't start shipping until June:

"Nightrain members-

We know there are some fans out there inquiring about the fan club merch and timing on shipping. Per the original messaging when the Not In This Lifetime tour was announced, gifts will ship in June. Some of you have already received your gift while many of you are still waiting.

Due to the volume of orders, it may take a bit longer to ship all the Nightrain merch but all of the t-shirts, hoodies, and laminates are at the shipping facility and began shipping last week. Once your order has been packed and shipped, you will receive an email indicating as much. We are doing our best to prioritize shipment based on the show you're attending but this is not an exact science and we're doing our best to get everything out as quickly as possible.

As a reminder, the Nightrain laminate is NOT a VIP package laminate and does not grant you access to any "special" areas at the show. We encourage fans to wear their Nightrain laminates to the shows as you never know who's watching?

The tour is off to a great start and we look forward to seeing you at the show.

#GnFnR"

I've never taken part in a competition. Do we know if the winners have received any prizes? Or if any winners even exist.

Yes.



/jarmo

Some of the stuff was pretty cool.

Fans in Europe have started receiving their Nightrain goods.




/jarmo

I got my t-shirt and keyhanger here in Denmark yesterday. : ok:

I received mine today, in the UK.

Pleased to say that the T-Shirt is good quality- well printed and decent material.

I was a member of Nightrain but opted not to renew. When I signed up, I got my t-shirt promptly, which was very nice. I should note that the t-shirt is good quality cotton and has held up well to repeated washings. Unfortunately, the moderators encouraged members to post questions on the message board that they said would be passed along to the band. Quite a few people posted questions, including your humble servant, who posted a very polite question back in the summer of 2016.  To the best of my knowledge, none of the questions were ever answered.  I understand that the band is extremely busy and that they never agreed to answer any questions.  I don't fault them for the situation, but I do wish the moderators had never gotten people's hopes up.  It was simply disappointing, that's all.     

Didn't Dizzy, Frank and Richard answer questions via a video feed or something?

Looks like there's new gear from Nightrain, anyone renewing to get the new t-shirt and stuff? When I first saw the post I thought it was a 30 year anniversary copy of Appetite they were adding, turned out its just a litho print, still cool though.

https://twitter.com/gunsnroses/status/860602604367171585

What's on that red disc?

(https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/18380306_294060761007102_3641820542576623616_n.jpg)

It's a pretty lively $85 (!!!!!!) and includes the following:

Exclusive Access to Concert Ticket Presales*
Exclusive Access to a Members Only Community, Fan Forum and Blogs
Exclusive Access to Members-Only Perks and Contests when available
A Commemorative 30-Year Guns N' Roses Nightrain T-shirt
A Commemorative 30-Year Guns N' Roses Nightrain Laminate and Lanyard**
A Collectible 7" "Nightrain" vinyl single printed on red vinyl, one side
A Commemorative 7" gold foil lithograph of the original Appetite For Destruction cross
One of three Collectible Guns N' Roses turntable slip mats featuring either the Axl, Slash, or Duff Appetite For Destruction skull artwork. Fans will receive one of the three at random.

There's a cheaper package at $45 which includes:

Exclusive Access to Concert Ticket Presales*
Exclusive Access to a Members-Only Community, Fan Forum and Blogs
Exclusive Access to Members-Only Perks and Contests when available
A Commemorative 30-Year Guns N' Roses Nightrain T-shirt
A Commemorative 30-Year Guns N' Roses Nightrain Laminate and Lanyard**

Thanks @allwaystired  : ok:

It's a pretty nice set of stuff don't you think?

Damn it! I renewed in February so I missed this update. Anyone know if I can upgrade to the new package?

So a red vinyl of the song Nightrain. Would be cool if they threw a live version on the other side or something.

I re upped and took a gander at tickets for Staples Center  in November.
Sadly, no GA tix. What's the best way to get GA/pit tix? Or allthey all part of the VIP packages?

I doubt all are part of VIP. Lots will probably be available during the public sale, although might sell out quickly.

I've always had the best luck getting pit tickets using the citi presale.

NO OFFENSE MEANT HERE AND NONE TAKEN IF THE POST IS MOVED OR REMOVED.  GRACIAS!

It?s hard to know how to start this but let me start by saying what this is not.  This is not more of the usual griping/nonsense/bitching/hogcock (an amalgam of hogwash and poppycock thanks to the great show 30 Rock!) that you hear from the online community (or maybe even in person) on a daily basis.  I know by now that you are plenty sick and tired (and sick and tired of being sick and tired ? Ozzy reference!) of hearing about personnel complaints, new material complaints, ticket prices, setlist complaints, and other complaints.  Where?s Izzy?  When are you going to record new material?  What?s up with Axl?s (insert whatever the latest topic du jour is these days)?  How come tickets aren?t free?  Why can?t the setlist be changed every night and the band play for four hours?  How come life?s not fair?  How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?  I may be an asshole but I am not a fucking asshole and therefore I don?t beat dead horses (or live ones for that matter) and in the interest of full disclosure I really don?t have a problem with any of those areas.  The issue sadly is the fan club, how it is run, the company behind it, and how I think things can improve for the better.  I don?t expect anyone or anything to be perfect and yes, the argument can be made that there are plenty more serious things to discuss in the world.  That may be true and I am more than happy to discuss them at a later time but for now we will stay on topic.

I also want to be clear that this discussion is not directed at anyone in particular and is meant to have a tone of generality to it.  If it comes off otherwise I apologize sincerely.  After all tone is very difficult (most of the time) to infer from the written word.  Just ask any friends that have ever had an argument over a text.  I fully understand that the band, the band management, and an army of others behind the scenes are working their asses off and we do appreciate that.  But I think we have all heard the old adage of ?work smarter, not harder? and this is meant to be like that.  To be clear I?m not saying that you are not smart and I?m not saying that I have all the answers.  Like any ordinary son of a bitch out there I do not.  But I have concerns and I have ideas and goddamit this is a forum.  Are you ready to go on a journey with me?  Strap on in then and let?s begin.

From what I have been told, from what I have read, and from what I have seen, the organization currently behind this fan club is Live Nation/Ticketmaster.  I am not sure which since I am unclear which company bought the other out.  Regardless I can tell you that when I first heard that I thought my head was going to fucking explode.  Am I saying that groundctrl or Wonderful Union were perfect?  Hardly dear reader.  But Ticketmaster/Live Nation!??!?!  Are you shitting me?  In case you don?t already know this then let me warn you that you may be about to have your mind blown.  Ticketmaster/Live Nation allows scalping on their own goddam website.  Oh yes.  That?s one thing but they also openly price gouge as well.  The user heavenaboveyou already talked about this with the whole platinum pricing horseshit.  As mentioned previously I don?t fuck around with horses but I do know horseshit when I smell it.  Yes, groundctrl and Wonderful Union both had/have their share of problems as well and I am not saying to go back to them.  OK, someone has to do the job though right?  Indeed so let?s get into that. 

Another user mentioned the Pearl Jam fan club.  I will also bring up the Metallica fan club.  These are just two examples though I?m sure there are others.  Again let me say that I am sure neither of these or any other fan clubs are perfect.  But the satisfaction rate at those fan clubs is very high.  Let?s try to see why.  I will only mention three things but the list could and does go on.  One, they both offer downloads of their shows.  That?s something I feel could easily be accomplished with the GN?R fan club.  I?d recommend that each show be available for any member to buy, and to really increase morale maybe you offer a free copy to those who bought their tickets through the fan club presale.  From what I understand this was already being looked into previously.  Two, items that are mailed out, if any, actually arrive on time.  I am unsure of the current GN?R fan club?s problem with this.  Keep in mind I fully understand that this aspect of the club may be contractually farmed out to a separate entity but ultimately the buck stops with the fan club.  I have mailed plenty of things, even internationally, and have never had problems.  Am I just the luckiest bastard in the world?  Doubtful considering the rest of my life but maybe.  Again I read the forums of the Pearl Jam fan club and the Metallica fan club and don?t hear about similar problems.  At the very least it seems like it?s time to pick a new company for this contract.  One that offers multiple shipping options including ones with insurance, tracking, priority mail options, registered mail options, etc.  Lastly is in how they handle fan club ticket presales.  Again another user already posted how the Pearl Jam fan club does it but since that post is hard to read (and I can?t find it anymore) here?s a link:

https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204909414-Ticket-Policy

Pretty cool stuff, eh?  You may be wondering though, how the hell did they pull that off?  Well, wonder no more:

https://www.inc.com/3-superfan-strategies-from-pearl-jam.html

What about Metallica you ask?  First of all, fans that have been in the fan club longer will have first dibs.  If it is a limited event then they will do what Pearl Jam does in that members who are able to get tickets can only get two, they will have to be picked up in person, and one person has to be the fan club member.  And they will make sure that member walks in the venue (can?t sell it to someone).  This cuts down on but does not completely eliminate scalping since they can still sell the other ticket to someone and have that person meet them at the show.  Personally, and I know this may piss off some folks, I?d recommend only one ticket per member for all shows.
Here?s what I would recommend.  Create some sort of internal ticketing system like Pearl Jam did or better yet just ask them for their assistance in doing this.  Don?t limit the amount of shows someone can buy tickets for.  You?d be amazed how many people attend multiple GNR shows (Tyler, elias, margott, etc.).  Do limit how many tickets they can buy.  Again I would say one but fine let?s max it out at two.  For special events (like the Troubadour show) I would absolutely limit it to one.  Have all tickets bought through the fan club include early entry.  Members will go in a special line where they will pick up their tickets with ID (again this ensures at least one of those tickets is not scalped ? maybe you could make it that when someone buys two tickets they have to provide they name of the other person they are buying for).  Ensure they go straight into the venue.  If the early entry thing happens make sure the merchandise stands are open (more on this later).  I would also give first dibs to the members that have been in the longest.  Those members are more unlikely to be scalpers.  I think you guys are probably even aware of this.  When it was announced that Slash and Duff were back in the fold, Coachella tickets were the first shows announced and sold.  You guys stopped new memberships before and during the fan club presales for that.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2

PART 2

I also feel that all the tickets should be available for the fan club presale.  I understand that certain bands out there may not have the clout to make this demand of the venue/promoter/whoever.  But I?m sure that GN?R (and PJ and Metallica) do have that clout.  Especially now with Slash and Duff back in the fold (no offense to the rest of the band, IMO the demand was there regardless).  Why make this demand you ask?  Because not everyone in the fan club wants to be in the pit.  If someone wants to be in GA or in the very farthest seat from the goddam stage that?s their business.  Why is it only certain sections?  That doesn?t make much sense to me.  Every interested party I can think of only has one goal in mind and that?s to sell every last ticket in the place.  Does it matter who gets the tickets (fan club, Citi, Amex, etc.)?  For proof of clout that GN?R holds I would refer you to the 2006 Hammerstein shows.  Small (relatively) venue and high demand (especially since it was NY).  If I remember correctly the fan club had not yet existed at that point and mygnrforum.com and heretodaygonetohell.com (and maybe another website forum) worked with someone (GN?R, GN?R management, Ticketmaster, not sure really) to generate presale passcodes for the fans.  And guess what?  To my surprise I never had an easier time getting tickets.  Now that we have an official fan club what changed?  An argument you hear all the time is about demand, OK, but you seriously trying to tell me that there wasn?t a big demand in 2006 when they played the Hammerstein shows?  If anything it should have been harder to get tickets for those shows.  At the very least all of the GA tickets should be available to fan club members first.
In terms of ticketing I know you guys have limits placed but scalpers will just purchase multiple memberships.  A drop in the bucket compared to what they are making.  And if you or Ticketmaster/Live Nation think that whole ?I am not a robot? and ?check all the squares that have road signs? shit is preventing the bots the scalpers use from working well then think again goddamit.  They know the systems inside and out and part of that is because Ticketmaster/Live Nation are intimately involved with it sadly.  Again to beat this we limit it to 2 tickets per member per show, fan club membership seniority will play a role, the member has to pick up the tickets in person with ID, include early entry, and the member has to provide the name of the person they are buying the other ticket for if they are buying another ticket (and that ID will also need to be presented when picking up tickets).  People might ask well what if that person can no longer go, is sick, etc.?  A small price to pay to end all this nonsense is my answer to that.

Another weird thing about ticketing that seems to be the case with GN?R is how all of a sudden a flood of tickets become available for a show, usually general admission tickets.  While this is great of course there are some concerns.  One, why in the fuck did this happen any why oh why weren?t they available from the jump?  I theorize that they are tickets bought by scalpers that aren?t selling.  I?d be more than happy to be wrong about that if someone can provide a real reason this happens.  What sucks about it is that most hard core fans, having been denied these prime tickets during the original sale, have already bought scalped tickets being the dedicated fans that they are.  Why?  One, many of them travel from afar and they do not want to make flight and hotel plans without even having a ticket to the show.  Two, even if they live locally, they don?t know for a fact that more tickets will get released at some point and instead of taking chances they bite the bullet and get a scalped ticket.  The biggest case of this that I can recall in recent memory was the Vegas shows in April of 2016.  Was it a month before the show perhaps when all of a sudden there were these great hotel deals that came with tickets?  Don?t get me wrong here.  Kudos for arranging a deal like this, and double brownie points for having the option of seated or GA tickets.  Too bad most fans already bought scalped tickets and had hotel plans.
The point by mentioning Pearl Jam and Metallica is not to say that they have superior fans, or superior management or are superior bands.  The point is to try to relay some killer news to you.  You don?t have to reinvent the wheel!  Woohoo!!  Try reaching out and asking them how they are able to pull all this off.  I can?t see why they wouldn?t share that information.  The argument I always hear is about blaming the venue, or the promoter, or the ticketing company, etc.  If that?s the case then how did these other bands pull it off then?  And those clubs are run by the fans for the fans.  I am not just talking about the forum boards.  At every level it?s by the fans for the fans.  I know I?d be willing to do what I can to make this happen and I assume there are others that would too.  I also understand that some of the people currently involved are fans (Jarmo for instance) and we thank them for their efforts so far.  At this juncture in our discussion let?s take a moment to talk about the VIP tickets the fan club offers.  Don?t worry, we?re almost done, hang in there.  I don?t want to derail things by talking about pricing so let?s not get into that for now.  I am talking about yet another fairly basic concept.  Each tier that is offered with VIP should include either a seated option for those who wish to do that and a general admission option for those that swing that way.  I mean honestly, why the fuck not? 
As for the merchandise stands I really cannot fathom what the hell is going on.  One, although it was well intended (and it may not still be happening for all I know), don?t have that merchandise stand that opens early outside of the venue.  What?s happening is that people (that aren?t even attending the show) are buying multiple limited event shirts and posters and selling them for profit on eBay.  This is not speculation but fact.  Two, for some reason not every merchandise stand carries the same stuff.  I can understand if one runs out of something, but I am talking about even when they first open.  This is bewildering.  Third, they run out of bags for people to carry stuff in.  Again I can completely relate to running out of a shirt/poster/bandana/etc., but bags?  Really?!?!?  Fourth, I would advise limiting the limited-edition show event posters and shirts to one each per customer.  Believe me when I tell you this is against my own interest since I am a collector and most times my only way to get my hands on something is from a friend at the show.  But it would be the fair thing to do for those that are attending the shows.  Lastly, if there is any merchandise left from a show it should be available for purchase on the GN?R store.  At the very least an email should be sent to fan club member with links on where to buy it.  Leftover merchandise from the New Zealand/Australia/Singapore shows was available on third party websites.  The great news is that it was available at show prices.  The bad news is that by the time most people found out a lot of items were sold out.  Just better overall awareness is needed, you know?

I?d like to end now on a positive note here.  And please know that I am not just blowing smoke here.  I mean what I am about to say.  Thank you for keeping the band alive and touring all these years.  Regardless of the bumpy road traveled the shows are always great.  Thank you for the seemingly new practice of announcing shows in a good amount in advance.  This helps us out a ton in making plans and truly makes a difference.  Thanks for working hard and trying with the fan club.  Yes it may not be perfect but you could have just not even started a fan club again.  We appreciate that you did and we appreciate the times the members come on the forums, we appreciate the merchandise (however long it takes to arrive!), and we appreciate the contests that are held.  Thank you for the Troubadour show!  I personally was not there but it was handled well (one ticket per person, amazing pricing, making sure there was no scalping, etc.) and everyone said it was a magical experience.  In hand with that, thanks for the whole Tower Records GN?R museum.  Again I wasn?t there, but as a huge collector I loved seeing the pics and the videos.  And thanks for supplying food and drink during the event.  That was appreciated by all.  Thanks for bringing back Coma, Estranged, and other fan favorites to the setlist.  Thanks for having the limited edition shirts and posters at most of the concerts these days.  Well this is already way too long so I will end it here.  Take it easy.

Wow... Simply not possible to read all that. Does anyone have a short recap of what is being said :confused:

I could not agree more.

I re-upped with the fanclub, and after taking a look today...I wonder why.

Most diehard fans want to be on the floor or in GA.  Me, I'd rather be killed than have that seat.

What I wanted, was a club box.  And they were not even available to me.  The fanclub guy.  Who paid extra money for early access.  Say what?

I have seats in the lower level.  They are great seats.  What they were not, were not my first choice.  Why did I not even have a chance at my first choice?

Why, 2 weeks after fanclub access, a week after AmEx access, and 3 days after the general public seats go on sale...can I suddenly get club box seats?

Makes zero sense.  It's a first world problem, to be sure, but it's fuckin' irritating.

Yeah I paid the 45 dollars to "upgrade" my membership for the passcode... even though I just paid for the membership not even a year ago...

but I did it... I'll get a new t shirt... alright.. no big deal.. and like you said, I also got good seats...but it's not a good system, and not worth it when you have an opportunity to choose from the entire seat chart after the presale.

Here's the other side of that.  And frankly...it destroys my own argument.

I could NEVER have rolled the dice and waited.  I needed to know I had my seats ASAP.

So, something of a Catch-22, really.  It's just frustrating. 

Yup.... that's why I did it too.... would be too anxious.

Common sense should have slapped me and told me to wait....but oh well haha.

Has there ever been a problem for anyone getting seats when they just become available to the general public.

That's all I did In Seattle.  Got great seats.  And greatvseats are still available in Edmonton and Denver.   Even on resale sites the markup isn't even close to being outrageous.   

Defenetly not worth my time to sign up for this to wait in line for that only to get something you are 100% satisfied with and then complain about it

The Baconmans account has been hacked, not a fucking moan in sight, I had to double check the posters name to be sure. :hihi:

All this sitting down at concerts in America beats me from the start! Seats on the floor at Arena and stadium shows are pretty much unheard of over here- unless it's an act aiming for that vibe. For rock shows, it seems totally alien to me. Why is it? A health and safety thing?

Reading is fundamental.  Read a paragraph and then go take a break.  You can do this!   : ok:


I hear you man.  Thanks for the sympathy.


Exactly, especially if you are making travel plans to get to the show.  As mentioned in my rant it's great that with some shows amazing tickets become available a week before the show and all, but not so great for folks who decided not to go because they never even had the chance to try to get those tickets. 


We are not 100% satisfied with it that's the problem.  I know my rant is long but if you take the time to read it you will hopefully come away knowing two things.  One, the problems with the fan club are not just with the tickets, that's only one problematic area.  Two, many of us were not satisfied with the tickets we end up getting (or not getting in some cases) for the shows.  Yes, we understand that there are no guarantees even if the fan club had access to all the tickets.  At this point we would simply appreciate an explanation of why things are being run they were they are when, based on other fan clubs, it doesn't seem like they have to be.


A great question indeed, wish I had an answer for you on that one.

Yup. It's a fire code thing to ensure venues don't oversell the venue.  A LOT of it stems from some pretty horrific outcomes (like the Whitesnake/Station club fire) when at medium sized to large venues that have had large % GA shows.

Indoor Venues are allowed a VERY small % of their capacity to be GA (basically enough to fill a pit) and not much more.  You can apply for permission to change that, and FESTIVALS have entirely different rules (don't get me started on the complexity of THAT set of craziness), but by and large, most venues comply with them.

Different cities and states have different exact rules, and there are a few that still allow more GA setups...but those venues are few and far between.

I don't think anyone was talking about Americans sitting on flioor seats

I totally get why they actually have to sell floor seats

What blows my mind.  Is people in the stands that sit. 

Europe and Canada all have stadiums.  We. All have seats.   There is no fire code that says you must sit during a concert n perhaps in the United States there is haha

Cheers. Thought it might be something like that.

Nope, he literally meant "Why are there physical seats on the floor of the arena/stadium". Because in South America and most of Europe..that's not a thing. The floors are all first come/first serve GA style entry.

IDK what shows you've been at, but at the GnR show at Metlife...nobody was sitting during GnR's set anywhere near me! I can tell you that, for sure. I have video footage to prove it, actually.  And by and large at 90% of the shows I've been to...even pop concerts....over the past 30 years, I don't see all that many people sitting during the show.  There's a few..but its not nearly "most".  Maybe it's a geography thing.  90% of the shows I go to are in the NE U.S.

Yeah, that was what I was curious about. I'm not surprised if people sit in their seats- when I've gone to gigs and booked a seat, it's usually because I wanted to sit down, for whatever reason! 

Yea see I knew what you where taking about

I have been to United States concerts in

Las Vegas
Seattle
Denver

People are always sitting in chairs.    It's brutal

I have been to concerts all through out Canada

I have never seen this

I've seen GnR in several different countries but my experience in the US was surrealistic. I still cant believe I have experienced a GnR show without having any contact at all with other human beings. In the general field section. It was like attending an opera or ballet act.

in my homeland, going to GnR concerts is literally going to WAR. Im a 1,85 mts and 84 kg guy and I thought I was going to die several times in Buenos Aires 11/4/2016.

I think Brazil is a good and healthy intermediate

Oasis gigs in the UK were like an actual battle! I loved it all at the time, but no way would I go back to that. Rougher than any gig I've ever seen, even by the most aggressive Metal bands you can imagine. Their fans are insane.

Agreed, the trouble with the Oasis follower was that there were seriously fucked up fans (in want of a better word) with a real nasty attitude, looking to start fights, throw piss bottles and basically were trying to be Liam wannabe's. It was embarassing to be honest.

Definitely became that way in the later years yeah. The passion was there, but towards the end the 'fucked up' element was definitely taking over. Loved the band though, still do. Never put me off the shows, but don't think I could handle it now!

Has everyone seen the new official merch t-shirt "I Listen To GNR With My Kid"? Thought it was pretty cool.  :smoking:

https://gnrmerch.com/products/i-listen-to-gnr-cassette-kids-t-shirt

Is it still taking months to receive products from the store? I've been considering a Nightrain membership, but I'm curious as to how active is their forum these days?

If you're joining Nightrain solely to use a forum, it's not worth it. No idea about products from store, but Nightrain package took months and months to arrive.

Other than having an additional forum, I don't see many other benefits of joining. You do get a 30th anniversary Nightrain t-shirt, so that's not too bad considering the cost of the lower membership is only $45. Considering they are going be making their 2nd NITL run through NA, I don't see pre-sale benefits being a necessity.

Prior to them announcing the additional dates, I almost did buy a membership because I was really hoping that the band was going to put something cool together for AFD's 30th anniversary. In the off-chance that it would have only been a show or two, and if they would have offered tickets to Nightrain members first, I wanted to be ready.

I'm still hoping that the band does something special for AFD's 30th. It's such an iconic album - and being as though all 5 members who helped to create that album are still alive and well - it would be a damn shame if the anniversary were to pass with no special fanfare or celebration.

Anyone know when the Fanclub merch will be shipped out? I paid the $85 for the album n stuff. Just curious when it might arrive. Thanks

When did you buy? Assuming it's in the last few weeks I'd expect it about October time.

Order in Spring and maybe if you're very good all year Santa will come.  :hihi:

Ya I bought it for Toronto presale. Thanks. I'll try to remember in October to keep an eye out for it lol

Competition for Nightrain members to win tickets to the tour just gone out. American residents only. Again.

So they just rolled through Europe, and there were no perks whatsoever for European members - not even a ticket giveaway for shows?

I don't know who is running Nightrain, but they really need to look at the way European fans are treated. There seems to be no perks whatsoever. Essentially you just buy a shirt and a lanyard- that's all the fanclub amounts to for Europeans.

Sorry to moan- it just seems a really poor, and unfair, deal.

Agreed. I didn't bother to renew my membership.

I won't when mine expires unless things notably change in the interim- it's a shame, as it wouldn't take much to make it decent. I guess it's run by Live Nation? They're hardly known for high quality fan liasons. Throwing the running of it over to fans with experience of running things who had some knowledge of what other fans want I think would surely bring in more renewals?

On the site it says  "T-shirt and laminate will ship in August. Vinyl, litho, and slipmat will ship in the fall."

I may get the laminate before Hershey show or maybe not.


They had a guitar pick scavenger hunt where they gave away tickets for nearly every show.  Yeah that was for anyone but they never did that in the US.  In London they gave away 12 stage used drum heads signed by Frank to Nightrain members.  Each one was labeled with what country it was played in.   

Where was all this revealed? First i've heard about any of it, and i check the nightrain forum regularly!

Just used mine to get good seats for Hartford.

Section 105 (right by the stage), 6th row! PERFECT for us!

Is membership just for a year?

Yeah.

That's what put me off getting it. You can get the exact same tickets without the membership, and since the European shows (or at least Slane Castle and London, not 100% sure about the others) the floor was all standing it wasn't even like the pre-sale got you a better spot. And since there seem to be no real benefits except the pre-sale there was no point in joining.

Yeah- I've not been impressed at all. Feel pretty cheated, as I expected at least a few things to justify being a member. You are basically buying a t-shirt/lanyard. It's a shame, but there seems to be no effort put in at all in terms of European fans especially. Pre-sale is the only perk, which, given that they've just finished touring Europe, probably isn't going to be much use!

My Nightrain package was shipped to finland on 27 Feb.
The tracking code dosent work for somereason.

Any guess on how long it will take?

Probably a few weeks at least.


If you wanna check on the order, contact them at: https://www.gunsnroses.com/help




/jarmo

Thanks!

Ok. So my nightrain stuff arrived in finland, but its held at the costums until i declare it and pay taxes from it in Finland because the value is over 22€.

Is this legit cause in a way those are a gift from being a member? Well what im asking is that can i get around it?

Sorry to say, but I don't think so. When you paid for the membership, essentially you bought that merchandise.

Not sure what the rules are for Finland, but over here in your neighboring country I had to pay customs and VAT for my Pearl Jam fan club t-shirt that was valued at $1. So VAT on that $1 plus fees to pay the fee..... Yes, the fees to pay were more than the VAT.




/jarmo

No, not unless they specifically marked and wrote in "gift."

Thanks for the replies.

On my receipt it says:

Purchase info:

Nightrain Passport
0,00 USD

Nightrain Fan Club Premium Membership - 1 yr New Membership
80,00 USD

Nightrain Hoodie
0,00 USD

2019 Nightrain Tumbler
0,00 USD

2019 Nightrain Pin
0,00 USD
Total:
80,00 USD

edit:
So im not sure how to read it.
The content of the package is free (hoodie ect)
But the price of the purchase isint

17€ customs fee and 3€ of service fee later i think im all set for receiving my hoodie (which at this point wouldnt surprise me that it wont fit)

In another subject im hoping that the euro tour will be rescheduled to 2021 instead of being 100% cancelled

So i received it today.
The hoodie is perfect btw.

On the box value was marked as 8$.
So i wonder if i would have gotten away with it declaring it as a 8$ hoodie and only pay a couple euros worth of tax instead of twenty