Argo Merchandise on cflshop.ca

[argofan81]

Does anyone know who within the Argo franchise we can contact to complain about the lack of Argo merchandise? I understand that there are limited resources to put the Argo merchandise in stores and that the Jays shop probably dictates the amount of merchandise that can be sold in their store BUT I think that there should be a ton available on the cfl online store.

I was on the site today and comparing what is available for other teams vs. what is available for the Argos and it is pathetic. For example, there is a new "Jack Beanie" hat available on the site for EVERY team EXCEPT the Argos. This holds true for many other items as well.

Argo fans want to show their Argo pride -- I think that perhaps if people start complaining a bit louder then maybe we might see more merchandise in the future?

[flafson]

I could be wrong but my feeling is that the selection at the Jays shop is actually better than what i found online.

[ArgoRavi]

Does anyone know who within the Argo franchise we can contact to complain about the lack of Argo merchandise? I understand that there are limited resources to put the Argo merchandise in stores and that the Jays shop probably dictates the amount of merchandise that can be sold in their store BUT I think that there should be a ton available on the cfl online store.

I was on the site today and comparing what is available for other teams vs. what is available for the Argos and it is pathetic. For example, there is a new "Jack Beanie" hat available on the site for EVERY team EXCEPT the Argos. This holds true for many other items as well.

Argo fans want to show their Argo pride -- I think that perhaps if people start complaining a bit louder then maybe we might see more merchandise in the future?

As others have mentioned elsewhere, I think that you will see this problem remedied if MLSE takes over the team.

[ArgoZ]

There are some nice jackets and other items available for every team except Toronto. There sometimes are good Argo items, but when you try to order, they will only have one size, like a small. So frustrating I know.

[Argo57]

As others have mentioned elsewhere, I think that you will see this problem remedied if MLSE takes over the team.

Agree with you Ravi, extremely puzzling how the Argos market themselves, make the merchandise readily available to casual fans and they will purchase, diehards like us will put in the extra work to purchase Argo attire no matter what.
Say what you want about the Ticats but they do a great job merchandizing in the Tigertown stores.

[AngeloV]

Agree with you Ravi, extremely puzzling how the Argos market themselves, make the merchandise readily available to casual fans and they will purchase, diehards like us will put in the extra work to purchase Argo attire no matter what.
Say what you want about the Ticats but they do a great job merchandizing in the Tigertown stores.

Argos had their endzone store on Front St in the 90's. Unfortunately it didn't generate nearly enough business to stay open.

[argofan81]

I understand that there may not be enough revenue to sustain a store but why can't they have more merchandise available on the website -- that would save the Argos the overhead costs of a physical location while still be able to share in the profits of merchandise sales. I still think that the more voices the Argo staff here, the more chance there is that something will be done! If they don't know that there is a demand for the products then they aren't going to supply it.

[AaronInToronto]

boils down to demand. Demand has been limited for options. You need critical mass to make money on these items, as set-up and design is so much. Hard to do when many of our fans simply show up game in game out in the free t-shirts and hats they get as STHs, or by signing up for credit cards. Limited cool factor in Argo wear. Sad, but true

[Stevoman]

Well there might be more demand if they offered more options. I for instance have wanted to buy a New Era 59/50 hat that so many of the players wear for the last 2 years but living in BC, the Argos one is nowhere to be found and the cfl.ca shop only has one size offered. It has been that way for 2 years.

[argofan81]

But do Argo officials know that there is demand? I for one would buy more merchandise if it were available. There are so many options out there -- jackets (including a winter jacket), accessories, outerwear (beyond the usual toques and baseball hats), even a replica of our mascot (jason the argonaut), the possibilities are endless. Just click onto the other CFL team sites to see what they offer -- if items are reasonably priced I would argue that you would get the casual fans purchasing more! The other teams are able to deal with the set up and design costs so feed off of them -- I'm sure we already have the logo design in place so approach the designers of the items and add our logo -- costs should me minimal. If you look at some of the items available for other teams on the cflshop.ca site, many of the items come from Forever Collectibles (as an example) -- the products are pre-designed so all that is required is the addition of the logo. As a further example, the Jake Beanie hat that is available on the site is available for all teams except the Argos -- the design is the same for all teams but the logos are different!

[paulwoods13]

AaronInToronto is correct. I think it's evident by now that there isn't much demand for CFL merchandise in this part of the world. A few times big releases have been tried and then the stuff gets sold off at bargain rates because it's dead inventory -- National Sports has done this at least twice in the past few years. There are some fanatical Argo fans out there, but unfortunately not enough of them to justify the production of a lot of merchandise. The team and the league can't afford to put stuff on the market if there's a good chance it won't sell, and many retailers have explicitly chosen not to carry CFL merch because they made a business calculation it wouldn't sell.

[1argoholic]

The Argo Store on Front was GREAT and the Argoholics spent enough to keep that place afloat back then.

[LLB997]

Found myself a real nice Argos cap in Ft. Lauderdale of all places. Toronto, aside from certain Lids locations , the odd sportchek or skydome are the only places ive seen Boatmen swag.

[argofan81]

AaronInToronto is correct. I think it's evident by now that there isn't much demand for CFL merchandise in this part of the world. A few times big releases have been tried and then the stuff gets sold off at bargain rates because it's dead inventory -- National Sports has done this at least twice in the past few years. There are some fanatical Argo fans out there, but unfortunately not enough of them to justify the production of a lot of merchandise. The team and the league can't afford to put stuff on the market if there's a good chance it won't sell, and many retailers have explicitly chosen not to carry CFL merch because they made a business calculation it wouldn't sell.

Agreed -- there might not be enough demand to put the merchandise in retail stores -- but if all the merchandise is in one location (i.e. cflshop.ca) then there is less of a chance of it becoming "dead inventory". I have been following Argo merchandise on cflshop.ca for a few years and rarely if ever (except for grey cup championship merchandise) have I seen it discounted. Hamilton seems to do quite well with there "Tigertown" so I hesitate to say that there isn't "demand for CFL merchandise in this part of the world". Perhaps the error is with the 'big releases'; if only a few items are produced at a time and then not re-stocked until there is known demand, the issue of 'dead inventory' would lessen.

[paulwoods13]

Perhaps the error is with the 'big releases'; if only a few items are produced at a time and then not re-stocked until there is known demand, the issue of 'dead inventory' would lessen.

But isn't the production of only a few items what some people are complaining about? There is Argo merchandise available through cfl.ca --- just not the same amount and variety as there is for other teams. To have every item available for the Argos that is available for other teams would mean producing a lot of stuff that history suggests likely wouldn't sell.

[Neely2005]

Speaking of Argonauts merchandise, the main store by Gate 5 still has 80% of the store full of Blue Jays merchandise. The World Series is over and the Blue Jays were eliminated months ago. On top of that the stadium is surrounded by Bills flags outside.

[argos1873]

Cflshop.ca is just a front end for jerseycity.ca. Check it out for yourself, but anything that is CFL related on jerseycity is also on cflshop. No more, no less. Also jerseycity coupon codes also work for Cflshop and vice versa. So maybe requests for Argo items should be directed to Jerseycity, since they seem to be handling things.

[BATKINSON001]

Cflshop.ca is just a front end for jerseycity.ca. Check it out for yourself, but anything that is CFL related on jerseycity is also on cflshop. No more, no less. Also jerseycity coupon codes also work for Cflshop and vice versa. So maybe requests for Argo items should be directed to Jerseycity, since they seem to be handling things. Also sometimes you can get stuff on Jerseycity cheaper than on cflshop.ca... my argos grey cup champions hat for example was $40 + shipping and taxes or something (dont think it was on sale) on cflshop and I got it for $19 after shipping and taxes!

[Gill The Thrill]

AaronInToronto is correct. I think it's evident by now that there isn't much demand for CFL merchandise in this part of the world. A few times big releases have been tried and then the stuff gets sold off at bargain rates because it's dead inventory -- National Sports has done this at least twice in the past few years. There are some fanatical Argo fans out there, but unfortunately not enough of them to justify the production of a lot of merchandise. The team and the league can't afford to put stuff on the market if there's a good chance it won't sell, and many retailers have explicitly chosen not to carry CFL merch because they made a business calculation it wouldn't sell.Not exactly true Paul, I was at a Sportchek at Eglinton East b/w Pharmacy and Warden and they had a clearance sale full of Tim Tebow Jets jerseys and Ryan Fitzpatrick Bills jerseys. By your statements you'd think that CFL swag would be on the clearance shelves....not one, CFL jersey was on clearance. They had plenty of Argo Jerseys in the summer and they've all been sold except one adult jersey and several kids jerseys...they had only a few toques and caps left and that was it...contrary to your statement....Argo merchandise does move, and it sales at it's overpriced retail.

Stores just don't want to carry CFL merchandise because they or their suppliers don't sponsor the league, and therefore don't want to promote the league by selling their merchandise, only NFL merchandise. It is only the CFL, as a leaugue which is treated this way by non-sponsors and non-suppliers. They'll go out of their way to sell and overstock TFC and Raptor jerseys which are worse sellers than Argo merchandise, but more readily available. Real Sports has expensive Argo customized Argo jerseys and charge $175. I'm not paying $200 with taxes in for any jersey...if it's really a poor seller, I'll drop by Real Sports and see if they have any left and have discounted the price since August. They may have some, but I doubt they'll drop the price. Some Walmarts have cheap Argo merchandise and the 18" by 12" flags, along with Antenna flags are sold by Dollarama recently. These are good stores to use to get your product to the masses that won't spend $200 for a jersey.

I think the CFL as a league should try to get Canadian Tire as a sponsor so that they can sell their replica merchandise across Canada in all thier stores...Sportchek is not a bad sponsor, but I find they are not consistent in their CFL stock in all stores and overprice all their swag from every sport and league.

[AaronInToronto]

I recently went to Canadian Tire in the Beach and bought two car flags at $20 each. That same day I found them at Dollarama for $3.50 each. Logically, I bought four and decided to return the original flags to Canadian Tire. Here's where reality sets it. I tried returning them at a Canadian Tire store in North York, near where I work. They would not accept them. The reason was made clear to me by the Manager. CFL merchandise is in-store promotional only. It is not true Canadian Tire stock. Each store has the option to carry it, if they choose. I asked about the NHL merchandise and was told, that it IS considered regular merchandise for the most part. Very sad that the iconic Canadian Tire itself doesn't see value in carrying CFL gear.

[argofandave]

I was at the Dollarama store in Burlington Mall recently and saw some children's Tiger-Cats/Disney t-shirts for $3 each. One of them showed Donald Duck wearing a Ti-Cats shirt with the caption "Don't ruffle my feathers." Has anyone else seen these or an Argo version of these?

[argofan81]

I saw those t-shirts too at the Dollarama store that is located at Dorval & QEW. Haven't seen any Argo-related t-shirts at any Dollarama's in Mississauga but I haven't gone to any located in Etobicoke/Toronto recently. When Dollarama was carrying the car flags, etc. both the location at Cloverdale and the location at Browns Line & Evans Ave. had them so they might carry the t-shirts?