Too Much

thankyousally

I love Pearl Jam and have for a good while and I have to say this.
It turns me off that there is so much Pearl Jam merchandise. I actually was somewhat amused for a while basically just posters and t-shirt and an occasional trinket of some sorts. Now just about everything you can think of, socks, etc. I don't care if you have been around for 50 years ! Don't sell out like KISS !
The band may have succeeded staying out of the limelight compared to other bands but not as far as the merchandise goes.
Life is very hard and hard to make a decent living as you already know or else you wouldn't like Pearl Jam's lyrics.
Especially in times like these where we pretty much know it is going to get worse, aren't you too starting to see what I see?
This is not a lash out I would think you can see also. I would like to see how other fans feel about it too.

AzWicker

Except, almost nothing PJ is sold in stores and any KISS limited edition item would have a run of 500 million units. I do wonder how many PJ coffins would be sold.

dimitrispearljam

i dont see it this way..there no band out there than no sell their work...
same as merch..what is much or less is a big conversation..
no one force us to buy anything...all are our choices...
i like there are alot to choose,i like they add more female clothes..
cos there are out there,u dont have to buy them..

dwhite76

WOW, I was starting to feel the same way but in a different aspect.

Yes they are merchandising more but it stays mostly only sold through the 10 club. That I can understand. But Now they have gone to selling things on EBAY. We see some one selling the 10 club playing cards on ebay for $20 we call them a flipper. But now 10 club is doing it with not only cards but key chains and other things.

I was asking myself do I think they have the right to wright songs about corporations ruling the day or Green disease? Of course they have the right but are they now just empty lyrics?

I know in the PJ20 book on page 200 under JUNE it says "Tim Bierman becomes the head of PJ 10 club and begins to oversee long term improvements to its online ticketing and merchandising operation"

Seem that him and his crew have taken care of the merchandising but not the ticketing. 14 years latter and still F5

Im not saying he's done a bad job. Im sure PJ is not mad about the money he is helping to bring in. But is that what the band is about now. Or did they just hand the 10 club rains over and forget us?

What happened to the Eddie that wanted to tour on a bus. The man who had to get away from the plush recording place of Vs? Did age and the will to stop the fight finaly take over?

I know they are older now but they arent dead. They still put on a hell of a show. But is that all its turned into now? A show.

Im sorry for the rambling but I had a bad day and I was thinking this same thing about the band. No one loves the music more than I do. I dont think Im saying any thing hurt full. It just seems like the pushing of Product has become more important than the fans.

deftones

Maybe this is a way to keep the fans on fire during their dead periods, like when they are not touring or in between records. But on the other hand i see the fans keep asking for new stuff...Alpine BluRay, bootlegs, DVD's, women shirts etc...

thankyousally

deftones wrote:

..Alpine BluRay, bootlegs, DVD's, women shirts etc...

I wouldn't bat an eyelash at any of those being released, i love bootlegs (that is going the extra mile for the fans who want to hear a show they couldn't or did attend) women shirts are cool since there were never that many of those, dvds are understandable since we rarely get anything inside from the group and blu ray is alright for a 20 year anniversary i suppose. I guess I am talking about all the excessive things that seem to a point, pointless.

thankyousally

AzWicker wrote:

Except, almost nothing PJ is sold in stores

That has and still is truly a saving grace.

elwayvedder

Great thread discussion and thanks for the topic/debate.

I don't think it has become 'too much' as there has always been PJ merch offered, rather I think its just more visible now. Back in the 90's, the only way to get PJ merch without being at a show was via the 10c's newsletter etc thru the fan club. Now its as simple as a click of a website and checking out (for those that can stay logged in on the new beta site LOL).

What does concern me, and I often partially joke about it is the amount of PJ items that seem to just test die hard fans if they will buy anything with "PJ" on it. There have been rare times where we are offered really neat items and products with lots of thought and deep meaning into the artwork on the items. Lately, however, it just seems any old item is quickly thrown together with "Pearl Jam", "PJ", or "10 club" on it and they just throw darts and see what sticks. I wish they took more time in their offerings or even had artists such as BK design some of the merch or maybe offer different items. Maybe have more items designed by band members so we feel connected more. Change up the items and offer different things. There are only so many t-shirts a closet can hold or a person can wear.

I am guessing some of this is why they now sell items on eBay, because they overestimated the response of us "Faithfull" buying and snatching up every single item and now they are over supplied with not enough demand. Don, I am guessing the higher prices on ebay are to account for eBay/PayPal fees and my rough calculations say that once 10c is done with those eBay/PayPal fees and shipping, it comes out to the same net gain for them after completing a sale with eBay.

Dr. Delight

Hopefully with the passing of the PJ20 "celebration", the merchandise train will come to a slowdown.

It was starting to look like Yogurt from Spaceballs there for awhile.

thankyousally

elwayvedder wrote:

What does concern me, and I often partially joke about it is the amount of PJ items that seem to just test die hard fans if they will buy anything with "PJ" on it. There have been rare times where we are offered really neat items and products with lots of thought and deep meaning into the artwork on the items. Lately, however, it just seems any old item is quickly thrown together with "Pearl Jam", "PJ", or "10 club" on it and they just throw darts and see what sticks. I wish they took more time in their offerings or even had artists such as BK design some of the merch or maybe offer different items. Maybe have more items designed by band members so we feel connected more. Change up the items and offer different things. There are only so many t-shirts a closet can hold or a person can wear.

Excellent and you have hit the center of why I feel this way. Everything you said above. I just couldn't put it to words. For sure when I would see merch with deep thought and work it says Pearl Jam to my heart, but when I see something thrown together (and you can tell), it is not for me.

'Maybe have more items designed by band members so we feel connected more.'

and that is a true intelligent thought and I have thought the same thing too. I often wonder for years if any member had any say in any work or did a design. It would mean so much more to me as a fan if they did posters and shirts with their own ideas, drawings, etc.

Tell me you wouldn't buy a t-shirt or poster with a cool doodle from Eddie or one of the guys.

dimitrispearljam

elwayvedder wrote:

What does concern me, and I often partially joke about it is the amount of PJ items that seem to just test die hard fans if they will buy anything with "PJ" on it. There have been rare times where we are offered really neat items and products with lots of thought and deep meaning into the artwork on the items. Lately, however, it just seems any old item is quickly thrown together with "Pearl Jam", "PJ", or "10 club" on it and they just throw darts and see what sticks. I wish they took more time in their offerings or even had artists such as BK design some of the merch or maybe offer different items. Maybe have more items designed by band members so we feel connected more. Change up the items and offer different things. There are only so many t-shirts a closet can hold or a person can wear.

.

got that.understand what u said...but who knows whos idea is what of the items they sell..who knows from the fans that isnt all lets say Ed,Jeff ,whatever ideas,or a manager,a graphic designer,whatever..we just assume always....
as the OP said if the design is from the band u connect different..
who said isnt all bands work?who knows?
really,who thought the zombi play cards?really,who thought that..we just dont know..
when you dont know,like all of us...how can u have a 100% opinion?,based on what..?
you know the moto with the asses and the opinion....

for me its too much analysis that i dont get it..
its 2012....they sell stuff,u like and want buy...u dont like ,you dont..
i didnt see anyone has problem with apple that every fuckin 6 months put out a new i phone..
and cost a fortune..

there is no too much in business..its music industry..works this way...
and pj dont sell anything if u check other bands..

broloco

wait, so they have an official ebay presence?! what's the seller name?

actually i think they do a good job with the amount of stuff and the quality of it. that said, this is the second year they got the analog membership "gift" wrong. There shouldn't even be an analog gift in the first place charging us $20 extra which is kinda what the OP is talking about. Anyway the first year we got the "I'm Analog" t-shirt, which nobody is going to wear, and this year we received a whole sheet of 10C stickers, which is slighty better, but how about more variety with the stickers or at least one that said Pearl Jam?! Sorry, but I'd rather tell the world I love PJ rather than 10C. I personally love stuff with Pearl Jam written on it - not 10C.
We love the band not the club!! Maybe 10C has gotten too big an ego?

MissJam81

dimitrispearljam wrote:

i dont see it this way..there no band out there than no sell their work...
same as merch..what is much or less is a big conversation..
no one force us to buy anything...all are our choices...
i like there are alot to choose,i like they add more female clothes..
cos there are out there,u dont have to buy them..

:thumbup: nice one Dimi! :clap:

dimitrispearljam

broloco wrote:

wait, so they have an official ebay presence?! what's the seller name?

actually i think they do a good job with the amount of stuff and the quality of it. that said, this is the second year they got the analog membership "gift" wrong. There shouldn't even be an analog gift in the first place charging us $20 extra which is kinda what the OP is talking about. Anyway the first year we got the "I'm Analog" t-shirt, which nobody is going to wear, and this year we received a whole sheet of 10C stickers, which is slighty better, but how about more variety with the stickers or at least one that said Pearl Jam?! Sorry, but I'd rather tell the world I love PJ rather than 10C. I personally love stuff with Pearl Jam written on it - not 10C.
We love the band not the club!! Maybe 10C has gotten too big an ego?

for the record alot of 10c member wear the analog shirt at euro tour...

MissJam81

I think you might be looking into it a bit too much.... I agree with some here, things are available, you get if u want!

moses562

Once a new album drops this will not matter any more. Buy what you feel comfortable with and leave it at that. I thought the Zombie cards were fun but I did not, and will not, buy them. I do not need them.

thankyousally

dimitrispearljam wrote:

i dont see it this way..there no band out there than no sell their work...
same as merch..what is much or less is a big conversation..
no one force us to buy anything...all are our choices...
i like there are alot to choose,i like they add more female clothes..
cos there are out there,u dont have to buy them..

'there is no band out there than no sell their work'

i am not saying they shouldn't sell anything, re-read

'what is much or less is a big conversation..'

of course but can you honestly say that there is less when it comes to PJ merch?

'no one force us to buy anything...all are our choices...
i like there are alot to choose,'

i am not against that, not against choice. i cant think of anyone that is.. well the religious and authority . WOW look at that just thought of 2 instantly off the top of my head, must be something to that.
Of course there are people who like and buy KISS merch.
The last thing I bought KISS was a tshirt from their so called first farewell tour and i bought it outside from the brothas not KISS, take that Gene- HA!

'i like they add more female clothes..'

so do i and i am male, i can remember vividly when i went on the site and first saw women clothes. it was a very cool equal feeling.

cos there are out there,u dont have to buy them..

right, i am just saying as a comparison, i can never respect KISS after they whored all that merchandise and whenever I listen to any of their songs it is just a empty cold feeling. i grew up listening to them and then when i got old enough to see they cared more about money and selling shit than making good music, i had to turn away and face the truth. I never thought I could lose any more respect for them until Gene Simmons said publicly Kiss was never about the music, it was about the show. Gimme a fuckin' break. That is what I am saying. Can you imaging a PJ member ever saying that? No
Now there are allot of people who know KISS is about the show and their music is lackluster but if you grew up on them you thought their music was awesome until you got that sudden awakening later in life.
Some people demand a specific displayed moral from the bands they listen to (even if it is a strange moral that kind of fits their own philosophy), the majority i don't think are like that, i am. i must say the older i get the more choosier i am with my music no being able to listen to anything and everything i can get my hands on.
I just think my angle is misunderstood, no big deal because that is the story of my life.

dimitrispearljam

thankyousally wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

i dont see it this way..there no band out there than no sell their work...
same as merch..what is much or less is a big conversation..
no one force us to buy anything...all are our choices...
i like there are alot to choose,i like they add more female clothes..
cos there are out there,u dont have to buy them..

'there is no band out there than no sell their work'

i am not saying they shouldn't sell anything, re-read

'what is much or less is a big conversation..'

of course but can you honestly say that there is less when it comes to PJ merch?

'no one force us to buy anything...all are our choices...
i like there are alot to choose,'

i am not against that, not against choice. i cant think of anyone that is.. well the religious and authority . WOW look at that just thought of 2 instantly off the top of my head, must be something to that.
Of course there are people who like and buy KISS merch.
The last thing I bought KISS was a tshirt from their so called first farewell tour and i bought it outside from the brothas not KISS, take that Gene- HA!

'i like they add more female clothes..'

so do i and i am male, i can remember vividly when i went on the site and first saw women clothes. it was a very cool equal feeling.

cos there are out there,u dont have to buy them..

right, i am just saying as a comparison, i can never respect KISS after they whored all that merchandise and whenever I listen to any of their songs it is just a empty cold feeling. i grew up listening to them and then when i got old enough to see they cared more about money and selling shit than making good music, i had to turn away and face the truth. I never thought I could lose any more respect for them until Gene Simmons said publicly Kiss was never about the music, it was about the show. Gimme a fuckin' break. That is what I am saying. Can you imaging a PJ member ever saying that? No
Now there are allot of people who know KISS is about the show and their music is lackluster but if you grew up on them you thought their music was awesome until you got that sudden awakening later in life.
Some people demand a specific displayed moral from the bands they listen to (even if it is a strange moral that kind of fits their own philosophy), the majority i don't think are like that, i am. i must say the older i get the more choosier i am with my music no being able to listen to anything and everything i can get my hands on.
I just think my angle is misunderstood, no big deal because that is the story of my life.

dont worry about that..thats why we do a conversation..no one misunderstood u..
alot of times i dont even understand myself..
i get what u saying...
but..when pj are on stage,they give us what we want an the resons we love them..
they still making music,they still doing amazing shows..merch is a side of business..trust me they can make away more money from merch...they could easily make more pj20 deluxe and pj20 backbags...we are talking alot of money..they didnt,,,who knows why they think about it..its their music,their business..
we are fans,doesnt mean we need or have to buy everything..

thankyousally

dont worry about that..thats why we do a conversation..no one misunderstood u..
alot of times i dont even understand myself..
i get what u saying...
but..when pj are on stage,they give us what we want an the resons we love them..
they still making music,they still doing amazing shows..merch is a side of business..trust me they can make away more money from merch...they could easily make more pj20 deluxe and pj20 backbags...we are talking alot of money..they didnt,,,who knows why they think about it..its their music,their business..
we are fans,doesnt mean we need or have to buy everything..[/quote]


PEACE

BinFrog

If times are tough, then don't spend your money on a band's merchandise. Buy what you want/can, and avoid the urge to impulse buy things when you cannot afford them. Simple.

LloydXmas

Dr. Delight wrote:

Hopefully with the passing of the PJ20 "celebration", the merchandise train will come to a slowdown.

It was starting to look like Yogurt from Spaceballs there for awhile.

Pizza the Hut