How much is too much for Merch?

[Kimmo 80,771]

I get it that some artist have to pay their bills and what not, but how much is too much for merchandise? 
 

Im not going to name drop any artists because most of them do it, but is it tone deaf to come up with items that are usually copy and paste and “graphic design is my passion” tease and ask more than $50 for it? 
 
In comparison you can get an Under Armour for only $45 

 

Then we have this “WAP” merch from Cardi’s site, which I’m just using for comparison, going for $60  and we all know the quality of this artist merch is not the best 

 

So is this some sort of scam or what is the deal with this so high prices? 

[RAMROD 109,620]

Who knows, I paid $90 for a Gaga hoodie and $150 for a GnR leather jacket after tax and shipping so, let's just say above $100-$200, I guess? 

Not like it matters personally, so long design is decent, or even better, good. I mean, I owned shoes that were sold for a grand for a pair and I am happy to spent that much since it was well made. I had lots of issues with Joanne merch cos it was just a square image slapped on a fabric, and were only able to get a couple of them for the collection. Like, I don't mind paying so long they show me value for money, show me that at least they tried.

And for that Cardi crew nexk, I'd pay for it. I like the tagging style design. 

[Celloo Deng 55,071]

I almost never buy official merch unless the design is outstanding. The cost isn't worth it for the quality that you usually end up getting. 

If I do really want merch for a particular artist I tend to seek out designers or go on Etsy, it's usually a lot cheaper and the designs can be better than official stuff. 

Overall I wouldn't pay more than £25 for a shirt or £40 for a jumper/sweater. 

[MelbHawker 6,583]

I actually never buy merch  it’s SO overpriced.. & tickets are so expensive. I’d rather save my money. 

[Guest]

I've got quite a bit of Gaga merch, but i admit it is expensive for what it is. Most of these merch companies use t shirts that just have graphics printed on.

[Beanybb 1,235]

It's disgustingly overpriced. 

I'd rather give my money to smaller businesses/artists who create stuff that's miles above what any singer or high end designer puts out, it's usually cheaper too.

I contemplated spending 160 AUD for the pink Chromatica sweatpants on Urban Outfitters but I came to my senses and deleted that hoe from my favourites list. 

[Supersonic 49,376]

IMO, most official merches are plain rip offs, especially the clothes. These are REALLY cheaply made garments with a print on them that comes off after washing it 10 times. The sizes are never really inclusive and the fabric blends are always 60% cotton and 40% polyester, which makes wearing the items for an extended time super uncomfortable because you get hot & sweaty.

They're just expensive because they know superfans are willing to shell out 100 bucks for getting metaphorical breadcrumbs AND because nobody makes money off selling actual music anymore. Merch and touring keep the music industry afloat.

[MJHolland 12,725]

But you also have to figure that these are limited-edition items and artists can only make a limited quantity — meaning demand is really high and supply is relatively low (AKA high prices) 

They also don’t own the manufacturing and distribution components so they don’t have full control over the pricing 

Yeah the merch that I have is probably overpriced, but it bring me a lot of joy  

[CyanLights 15,576]

I got a couple of tshirts that were available during the BTWB. The quality really wasn’t equal to the price of the shirts and all clothing I’ve got from other concerts never lasts and is awful quality. 
 

Similar to what @Kimmo said in the OP, high quality sweatshirts and shirts from companies like Nike, UA, Asians, etc. are muchhhhh cheaper and of higher quality

[steven 5,963]

I never buy merch from artists since it's usually way too overpriced and cheap.

[Teletubby 149,806]

Gaga and Sia got the same T-Shirt and it is on amazon without graphics printed on for $15
also they all use exactly the same photo 
: https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Groovy-Sleeve-Youth-Shirt/dp/B07BT3G19P

[BlondeQueenOfGGD 25,454]

I’d pay up to $50 if it was reasonable, but I won’t pay $80 for a dollar store quality hoodie with a screenshot slapped onto the middle of it

[Guest]

If it's a hoodie, I'm not paying more than $30-$40. But I also don't buy merch.

[GagaSine 7,464]

It really depends. I tend to buy more merch at concerts because then I can actually see the quality/fit and decide if it‘s worth it (RIP those days).

A lot of the time I look at official merch and think I could make something myself that I like better or find bootleg/fan made merch that is so much more appealing. Luckily most of my favourite artists tend to produce good quality and interesting merch (ironically they also tend to be indie/less known bands lol, Gaga‘s merch is shameful compared to like Xiu Xiu, Foals, of Montreal, and then there are popular artists like RTJ that collab with clothing companies for their merch and produce excellent quality stuff)