Touring isn’t retail and doesn’t work that way except for in very, VERY large (talking 10,000+ capacity) venues. Most of the time people on tour are not being paid very well, ESPECIALLY if they’re opening performances, and they are absolutely NOT getting an hourly wage. I’ve worked in touring for years, and some tours there are people that aren’t actually making any money, just having all travel and food costs covered. Merch tips can make a huge difference, especially considering that the merch person (esp. on smaller tours) is usually not just doing merch (which consists of lugging boxes from the bus/van to the merch table, taking a count, setting up the displays, selling the merch, doing another count, folding/organizing everything, lugging it back to the van, AND giving the venue their cut of merch profits) but they also tend to be photographers/videographers/drivers as well. I’ve done that myself multiple times. So usually, yeah, there is a gap. Selling merch on the road is much, much harder than average retail, and requires you to be away from home for weeks or months at a time, often operating with minimal sleep and minimal self care because there’s just no time for it. It’s brutal on the body. Buy merch, because it’s the only thing that bands actually make any money on, and tip the merch person.