billiken_roy Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 yesterday i had the opportunity to visit the campus bookstore at slu. i was on a mission to find slu72 a suitable window decal that would accurately reflect his love of the billikens. mission failed. i thought for sure that an item such as this would be standard goods for even our bookstore. they had two window decals to pick from. one said st louis university school of law. and the other st louis university alumni. neither mentioned a billiken or had a picture of the billiken. and both were about as stodgy as one can possibly create. i asked the help if maybe there was somewhere else i was missing or something in the back, she said no. sad. just sad. well while there i decided let's check the billiken apparel selection. surely there must be something to pickup. mission failed again. ONE item in the store that was billiken blue. actually a nice billiken pullover windbreaker. only problem was my 12 year old daughter was probably too big to wear any of the 3 size M they had on the rack. everything else in the store was basically white or gray or some wild pastel shade that i wouldnt let anita wear to get her hair done in. few had the billiken on it. i just burned to see a number of shirts, pants and hats done in black and gold. slu should NEVER be in those forbidden colors. what self appreciating slu student or alumnus would even think of wearing black and gold regardless of the letters? they did have a couple of golf socks that had a billiken on the ankle and a nice shooter shot glass that had billikens on it. but overall, the stock of goods was down right embarrassing and terribly disappointing. i spent a few moments with the on duty manager explaining the need for billiken stuff and especially billiken blue apparel. she looked at me as i was talking as though i was talking in japanese. sigh......... does anyone else think we are quite alone in our fandom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 broy, my guess is that late May through the first two weeks of August may be considered the slowest time on any college campus. Perhaps if you re-visit the campus bookstore in mid to late August, or the $22M newly renovated Busch Student Center (which is scheduled to open prior to the new school year) I'm sure you will find a much better selection of SLU items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I agree. It is not just the bookstore, it is everywhere in St.Louis. When I was growing up ... my most prized possesions were my items that supported my favorite teams ... How sad is it that kids in St. Louis don't grow up wearing SLU hats, shirts, and jackets. Wouldn't you love to have a Marque Perry, Latty Hughes, Justin Love ... jersey. How about driving by the playgrounds and seeing the kids wearing the SLU jersey of their favorite player on the court. I truly believe it would make recruiting locally a lot easier. I grew up in Texas and there are a lot of kids who go to UT because they grew up loving the Horns ... if they get recruited by UT that is where they go. The merchandising problem is huge and SLU needs to correct it ASAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 let's hope so. i will be back in august to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobo Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 From your experience, it sounds like nothing has changed. I have reported before of my experiences of making special efforts to go to the bookstore when passing thru St. Louis only to find nothing. And I have had similar responses from staff. I just don't understand. The situation just makes me want to swear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 It is the same with GW, I ordered Decals in late April, and I only got them about 3. They were sold out forever. August is probably the best chance for a well stocked store, with all of the kids coming back along with parents wanting to pick up merchandise. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Friend o' mine, class of '79, brought his daughter here for "orientation" last week. Yes, LAST WEEK. This is *not* her father's Oriflamme. The U. now holds one level of orientations ALL SUMMER so that the new kids hit the ground running at the end of August. Now, my friend Dr. B. used to sit with us at the games for years (he's one of the other 11 people B-Roy used to see in his student days -- and, like me, he's a faculty brat), so he already has his share of Billi-gear. (In fact, he was wearing a t-shirt when I saw him on Saturday. I'll have to ask him if that was a freebie as part of the orientation or if he had purchased it, and when. It wasn't, by the way, blue.) But imagine someone without a 3-generation pedigree bringing their parents to campus for the first time and looking for souvenirs inside that bookstore. First impressions? They could be a lot better. Ahh, but wait for the new Busch Center. Wait for the new Web site. Wait for blah blah blah blah blah, and hold no one accountable for the constantly abysmal marketing of our fine alma mater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I've got a couple of window stickers, both featuring the Billiken logo that I could send to you or to whoever was looking for one. [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Roy, I got a Billiken hat during last season--blue with a billiken on the front. It was not from the campus but a hat store at a mall in STL (I think West County but can't remember). I'm allegic to malls thus not very familiar with those in town. Maybe Steve or someone else will be able to tell you what store I am talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 You are probably thinking of Lids, which does have a small store in West County. It also has kiosks in most of the other malls in the area. I have found a few nice SLU hats there, and yes Roy, one of them is Billiken blue with a great picture of the Billiken on it. As for the bookstore and decals, the best SLU decals I have seen were on different cars but never in the bookstore. Mine is in the shape of a square and I believe it has the fleur de lis (official symbol of SLU) and says Saint Louis University all over it. I got it because it was the smallest one they had at the time. Recently my parents and my grandmother wanted decals, so went searching for decals for them, but they had a supply slightly better than the one Roy described. On numerous occassions I have gone to the bookstore looking for "SLU Mom" shirts, but they have always either been out or had them in something like XXL, so I have left frustrated. This winter I went looking for a winter hat to keep my head warm while I'm walking around campus. Nothing. And don't get me started about the way the bookstore rips the students off on book returns at the end of a semester. Students have a good level of hatred for the bookstore in that regard. I'm hoping it will improve with the opening of the renovated Busch Center, but I'm not too sure it will. I think the problem is two fold: 1) poor marketing at SLU and 2) I think that Barnes & Noble, who runs the bookstore, doesn't really care about the SLU merchandise. I have a friend from high school who works there, so I'll have to ask him about the poor selection. Also, I think I saw that SLU hired a new director of marketing straight from the C-USA office. Maybe she will improve SLU marketing. If not, as of now it looks like I will be majoring in marketing, so I could be taking care of the problem in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Well, if Barnes & Noble, rather than the University, runs the SLU Bookstore, then I would imagine that's the core of the problem folks are having in finding school-related merchandise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Anybody ever try to buy anything from the Billikens online store? http://slubillikens.ocsn.com/store/stlo-store.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted June 25, 2003 Author Share Posted June 25, 2003 thanks rich, i sent you an e-mail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 DeSmet gave me the web address for lids .... search for lids.com on the web. I ordered a Billiken hat from there .... "Top Of the World" model where the hat is white, the Billiken face on the front is also white (just enough contrast) and "SLU" is Billiken blue which really stands out on the all white. Then there is the full white face Billiken outlined in blue at the very back of the hat at the adjustment strap. Lids actually had like twenty hats or so available on Saint Louis University at the time I went to the web. Order took about 10 days and they sent it to a Lids store nearby for free. Broy got me a Bills hat once .... all blue, with the white face Billiken on the front, fitted ... that was also available at the Lids web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobo Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I've used Lids for SLU/Billiken hats w the same positive experience as you. Excellent choices and quality material. Maybe the bookstore could Lids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I agree that Lids is without a doubt the best place to buy hats anywhere. That's why I'm happy that they have an actual store in the West County Mall. I have some advice for those who shop there reasonably often. Join the Passport Club. I think it costs $5 and you get 20% off hats and 10% off on accessories until the end of 2005. It works at either Lids or Hatworld and can be used on the internet as well. I'm looking at my two SLU hats I bought from Lids and they are not the Lids brand. One is a blue fitted hat with the Billiken on the front and SLU on the back and the other is a white "one size fits all" with a smaller Billiken on the front and Billikens above it. Both of the hats are made by Zephyr, which can be found at www.zhats.com. I've seen numerous people wearing both hats around campus, and know I've seen the white one in stores besides Lids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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