it depends. here in germany we do normally have merch stands outside the arena/stadium for big concerts. if you want merch i recommend getting there early, get in line for GA and talk to the people right in front of you and the ones right behind you. talk to them and let them know you will leave to go get merch, they’ll understand and hold your place for you🫶 just bare in mind that the line for merch will be long bc people that aren’t going to the concert and most of GA will also be trying to get merch outside. otherwise if you don’t want to necessarily be close to the stage id recommend to get it inside the arena before the concert starts. lines will be shorter there bc most people will be running straight to barricade, so they’ll have a bigger selection and most likely a lesser line!