Alright. . .I’m definitely feeling that I have to vent. I’m very quickly losing patience with Official Sports. OSI and USSF announced the new-style shirts at the 2007 MLS Cup. That was November 18, 2007. Now here we are FIVE MONTHS LATER and they still can’t meet demand. I waited until March (four months after their introduction) to place my orders. I’ve ordered all five short-sleeve shirts (gold, black, red, blue, & green) and the gold and black long-sleeve shirts - all in the Pro style. So far, I’ve received both gold shirts (short & long sleeve) and the red short sleeve shirt. So I currently have the black, blue, & green short sleeve on backorder as well as the black long sleeve. During a call to OSI today, I was told that the remaining four shirts are expected in mid-May. Are you friggin kidding me? I understand initially underestimating demand, but 4+ months after the shirts were announced to still have a 2 month wait I find completely inexcusable. I only hope my backorders are filled before Regionals in late June.
Perhaps I’d be willing to cut Official Sports some slack if I felt the new-style shirts were something other than a money grab on their part. The color of the new shirts is the same as previous, save for the new option of green. I’d feel better about being asked to pony up for new shirts if they were lighter/cooler, but while the new shirts may be very slightly lighter than the older style, they’re the same material so there’s no gain there. Indeed, USSF hasn’t even issued a phase-out date for the old style shirts. My understanding is that OSI’s new contract with USSF is for two years. Given the way OSI has bungled the delivery of these new uniforms, I’ll have a hard time rooting for them when their contract comes for renewal.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I can’t agree more…..I placed my order in Dec. I got my shirts 4 short sleves (I couldn’t bring myself to the green yet) and a yellow long in Mid March. (I consider myself lucky) But I know plenty that can’t get them in. I went ahead and placed a second order for two more Yellows (one lone one short) since it is nice to have backups on those two highly used shirts. Still waiting….
It is interesting the change in style and money behind it. I had one official mention how he dropped $500 on new shirts. $50 per shirt 5 colors, 2 shirts at each color with the second being long. I have not gone that far but I am in Boise Idaho and do use a long sleeve most of the spring.
By the way great blog.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 am
I got all of my shirts in the last 2 weeks. I now have all short sleeve colors of the pro shirts.
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:07 pm
As an update, I finally received my Blue SS shirt last week. So now I have the full complement of SS shirts. But my frustration still stands. . .when one order 4 months after introduction of a product, there’s no way it should take 2 more months to receive your orders.