What do you do when everyone thinks your product is boring, overpriced and mediocre? You provide incentives…such as “90 Days Same As Cash.”
Which is exactly what The Atlanta Braves are doing:
The Braves on Monday announced they have teamed up with GE Money to offer a 90-day same-as-cash financing plan on the purchase of full or partial season-ticket packages, which remain on sale.
“It’s a unique and interesting thing for our industry as a whole,” Braves senior vice president of sales and marketing Derek Schiller said prior to Monday’s announcement. “No other professional sports team has done this type of promotional plan to my knowledge.”
Makes me almost nostalgic for Chief Noc-A-Homa.
Well, on second thought–Baseball is “America’s Pastime” but credit card debt is practically becoming America’s pastime these days.
Still, it’s no way to entice people to spend time at the ballpark. At least if I financed a sofa I’d be able to sit my ass down on it for years…
UPDATE: Originally, I only saw this story on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s web site. There’s more to the story that they didn’t print:
Dennis Murphy, GE Money vice president of sporting goods industry, said the finance charge on balances unpaid after 90 days is between 20 percent and 25 percent and based on the prime rate.
“We find the very high percentage of customers will pay these off” before paying interest fees, Murphy said.
Selective omission by the AJC? ‘Cause that’s a pretty freakin’ high interest rate. People reading the hometown newspaper oughta know about it, don’t you think?
About Dan Goldgeier
