Selling uniform or club kit

These days many sporting clubs are either selling or considering the sale of their match or event day uniform or 'kit' online, with this sometimes extending to training wear, leisure clothing and even other items. This appears to especially be common in the UK, where many retailers contact sporting clubs on a regular basis with offers to sell their goods online. For the most part, the sales of these items occurs on the retailer's own website, with the club having a dedicated page on that website. Whilst it is possible for clubs to set up e-commerce 'shopping carts' on their own websites to do this, it is not common for them to do this. Some major sporting bodies, such as Cricket Australia's MyCricket, allow clubs to set up items for sale alongside online membership payments.

There are a number of benefits and concerns related to the use of online financial transactions to allow members to sell their uniform or kit online. The following have been identified by clubs:

Benefits

• Less need to handle cash.

• There is a record of each transaction.

• The system used often asks members to update their contact details at the time of registration - making it easier for clubs to keep in contact with members.

• The system may be associated with a database that can be used to manage member details.

• Some clubs find that the burden on volunteers is lessened in the long run.

Concerns or reasons for not selling uniform or kit online

• Whilst some people still pay 'offline' there is a need to balance two systems (online and offline).

• Most members already pay by cash, EFT machine or via 'direct debit' to the club's bank account. That is, the existing system works.

• There may be fees associated with setting up or using the system.

• There may be credit card fees that will need to be paid by the player or club.

• The system can be difficult to set up for multi-sport clubs.

• Some people still have concerns about the security and privacy associated with such transactions.