# Will Call **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620 "2001-10-05T16:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mothman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@mothman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mothman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/1 "2001-10-05T16:54:47Z")
You know, you go to a concert and you pick up your tickets at a booth or a tent and its labeled Will Call. Who is Will and why can’t he get his tickets from ticketmaster like everybody else? ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/2 "2001-10-05T18:01:31Z")
Will Call means that you have ordered and usually paid for the item, but will pick it up at the door. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/3 "2001-10-05T20:47:32Z")
I think that it might have a rather broader meaning than tickets at the door. If I ran a department store, I would have an area where people who might have ordered an item could come pick it up, whether paid for or not(probably not in most situations}. I would think that it might be short for “will call for.” I have no references etymologically. ---
**Author:** ![mothman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@mothman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mothman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/4 "2001-10-05T21:07:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*I would think that it might be short for “will call for.” > I have no references etymologically. \*\* I thought so too but I couldnt find a cite, but this makes the most sense. I am curious as to the origin of the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Dani\_Filth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dani\_Filth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dani_Filth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/5 "2001-10-05T21:51:25Z")
I think they mean “call” as in the Victorian sense, ie. someone came to call on you. That’s the way i always took it anyways… -Dani ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/6 "2001-10-05T22:07:54Z")
Many businesses that operate primarily by delivering their product (e.g., wholesalers) allow their customers to “call” for their shipment rather than pay the shipping costs. I used to work in a wholesale hardware warehouse whose customer base was located within about 200 miles. They shipped almost everything except for the occasional customer who was a) fairly close (30 miles or so) and b) had small or infrequent orders so that it didn’t make sense for them to establish a regular shipping process. Incidentally there was no connection between billing and will call status. If they were an established customer they were billed for their goods regardless of whether shipped or called for. If they were a newbie they paid at the will call desk or their goods were shipped C.O.D. Sears, when they had a catalog, did the same thing. You could have items sent to your house or to the catalog desk of the nearest retail outlet. It was a matter of balancing convenience with cost. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/7 "2001-10-06T20:22:37Z")
God I am officially old. Yes will call means Will Call for it. Virtually every store had this. It died out in the early to mid 70s. You know with gas stations giving us free maps etc. We kids could make money as the moms would shop and pay for it and give us a dime to pick it up. That was TWO candy bars. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-call/85620/8 "2001-10-07T19:12:05Z")
Hmmm… I have “will call” tickets waiting for me at the Detroit Music Hall for tonight, that I _did_ order through TicketMaster “just like everybody else.” For one, it saves $12.50 in FedEx charges (since I only ordered them Wednesday and the performance is tonight). But really, saving the $12.50 wasn’t the big concern. The big concern is that FedEx and UPS around here only knock very lightly before they leave a yellow label, and I’d have to got to FedEx anyway to pick them up. Since we’re going to the Music Hall anyway, why not just get the tickets from the “Will Call” window? (DLH drivers are GREAT though… the last one knocked and knocked until I got out of bed!) As said others, “call” refers to “coming by.” Have you never noticed the signs that say “Closed. Please Call Again?”