O's are raking it in

[Frobby]

From season tickets to apparel to memorabilia, everything Orioles has sold well since the club's startling run ended in Yankee Stadium on Oct. 12.

"Things continue to be very strong," Orioles spokesman Greg Bader said. "We're very pleased with what the response has been and really was, starting with the postseason sales."

Though Bader said it's too early to have a grip on possible attendance for 2013, he said the club has seen a noticeable uptick in deposits for 2013 season-ticket plans, especially from new customers.

A "holiday five-pack" promotion, which included tickets to Opening Day and four other games, sold out in two days compared to several weeks in past seasons. More than 2,500 people have put in pre-sale orders for a "Buckle Up" video recounting the 2012 season, though it won't be available until late January.

The Orioles are also a stronger presence in national retail than they have been in years.

Since Black Friday, sales of Orioles gear are up 136 percent compared to the same dates last year, and up more than 300 percent compared to the same dates in 2010, according to Fanatics.com, one of the country's largest online retailers of officially licensed sports merchandise.

Women's and kids' merchandise are both up more than 200 percent compared to 2011 holiday sales.

That's after the club's merchandise saw an 88 percent jump from 2011 during the regular season and was among the top sellers from Major League Baseball in September and October.

The club's share of the baseball merchandise market increased substantially from 2011 to 2012, according to SportsOneSource, a Charlotte-based company that analyzes the sporting goods industry.

From August to October, the Orioles accounted for 2.89 percent of the sport's U.S. retail sales, which ranked eighth among MLB clubs. The Orioles accounted for only .47 percent of the baseball retail market during the same period last year, which ranked 26thin MLB.

The numbers were even better for November, when the Orioles ranked sixth with a 3.38 percent share of the market. They ranked 20th in November 2011.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-business-increase-1223-20121222,0,4306812.story

[scOtt]

[Orioles West]

I am one of those 2500 pre-orders, and living in Colorado, the whole family pushed the national retail totals up quite a bit, updating our O's gear this season.

That aside, the cash flow will hopefully be reflected in further reinvestment into the roster. I still don't think the O's are done looking for trades or depth as of yet this Hot Stove season....

-Don

[Rene88]

Shocker....but we just cannot compete (or spend money at all it seems) with those AL East money rakers, the Toronto Blue Jays:)

On the positive side of things- we are working on a long-term extension for Buck. That is the best thing we can do for this franchise and it isn't even close. One of the best, if not THE best in MLB right now. Nothing short of a miracle worker in my eyes. Not lets get Peterson locked up:)

Happy Holidays all!

[TonySoprano]

Merchandise sales are divided equally amongst all teams.

[Scrat1]

Merchandise sales are divided equally amongst all teams.

Well that's sort of a buzzkill.

[Moose Milligan]

Merchandise sales are divided equally amongst all teams.

Bingo.

Essentially, we're giving the Sox and Yanks money, too.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

My thoughts exactly.

[Can_of_corn]

I am holding up on the increased revenue rant until we have an idea how much season ticket sales have gone up.

[OFFNY]

Merchandise sales are divided equally amongst all teams.

Bingo.

Essentially, we're giving the Sox and Yanks money, too.

Yes, but presuming that the Yankees and the Red Sox are still selling more merchandise than us (according to the article, we were ranked 8th of all MLB teams from August through October, as opposed to the same time last year, when we ranked 26th), then they are (and have been) giving more money to us than we have been (and are) giving to them in regard to the sale of team merchandise.

Especially taking into consideration how badly we have ranked in selling merchandise previous to our great 2012 season (and again, I am presuming that both the Yankees and the Red Sox have been selling a lot more team merchandise than we have in the last decade), I would think that the Yankees and the Red Sox have given LOTS more to us than we have to them in this aspect. We would probably have to rank at least in the top 5 for many years to "break even" with them in terms of which teams have benefited more off of the opposing teams' sales.

[sangar]

I'll get the ball rolling:

Well then why can't we spend tons of money on blah, blah, blah. I'm sick and tired of lining Angelos' fat pockets with my hard earned blah, blah, blah.

[Camden_yardbird]

Increased merchandise sales = the Orioles independent league contract fund.

[BrunoCherrytown]

Increased merchandise sales = the Orioles independent league contract fund.

And Rule 5 picks unless you think the money for TJ McFarlands just grows on trees! Well money is made from paper which comes from trees so I guess technically the money for TJ McFarlands does grow on trees.

[TonySoprano]

And Rule 5 picks unless you think the money for TJ McFarlands just grows on trees! Well money is made from paper which comes from trees so I guess technically the money for TJ McFarlands does grow on trees.

Some of it came from looking under other people's seat cushions or on the ground, so it's not all paper

[MemorialStadKid]

I'll get the ball rolling:

Well then why can't we spend tons of money on blah, blah, blah. I'm sick and tired of lining Angelos' fat pockets with my hard earned blah, blah, blah.

Snark.

But it's true. The Orioles are broke right? Angelos has no money.

We can't compete.

Love the apologists.

MSK