Bootlegs, Reprints, drop shipping and online sellers.
I'm genuinely curious about everybody's opinion on "unofficial" Reprints. (I hear this term getting tossed around, but in my opinion, that is a bootleg)
Also what would be the difference between an unofficial reprint and a bootleg then?
I know theres a few trusted site for "offical" "reprint" sites like rockabillia. Which has exclusive merch as well. (Feel free to list any sites like this). I feel like they still kind of "bootleg" designs due to popular demand. I don't know if I trust the validity especially for bands that aren't together from smaller record labels.
Iv notice many band tees from my teenage years poping up online often. From random ebay/etsy/and other self seller sites with all sizes in stock that are coming from chinese sites. It screems suspicious. I think it's is pretty bad. While the shirts are rare and people are over changing. I wish there was a more accessible way for others to get them. Buying from sellers like that (drop shippers) isn't the answer. Those are 100% bootlegs right?
As for just reprints. I don't mind as long as the band produced them. What's your thoughts?
Also what do you guys consider a bootleg? I only have 1 that was confiscated at work by a seller outside during a motley crue concert. I actually like the design. (Please vote bootleg on it. I want a shirt with the highest number of bootleg votes). That's kind of my standard of bootleg.
I see many myspace metalcore shirts poping up everywhere and i'm constantly questioning the validity of them all because of the ebay and other sellers. Most user photos have no tags pictured, no idea where they came from. Some of the graphics look off, and are mixing up graphics for bands (like bad photoshop designs). The whole era of those band shirts are using photos from real sellers and few old social media post to bootleg them. Like rockabillia only having those already mass bootleged shirts on sale recently.
It's wild. I'm sure this isn't the first time this has happened. It's just a PSA and I want to read others inputs.
(I have screenshots of what im talking about. Can post for anybody confused or if I need to reiterate.) Some of them are pretty funny but i'm sure many are already like "duh we know". I just want other people's input, bootleg findings, and thoughts.
Edit: I have no problem with fan made bootlegs, & sites like rockabillia. I have a problem with shien, aliexpress and people taking advantage of those who want these shirts and greedy sellers/dropshippers.
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Superfly on
i have no problem with people reprinting designs - these shirts were meant to be worn, not hoarded & collected!!! people who charge shit loads of money for rare shirts are only inviting the behavior of reprinting rare shirts to pass off as original (for the sake of making money/scamming people). Keep metal merch affordable for all, and accessible for all, we all like this music & want to represent our passion with shirts & patches.
Some bands just refuse to reprint old designs for one reason or another - so getting an official reprint is rare, maiden reprints, which is great!
To me, there is no difference between a bootleg & a unofficial reprint, its the same thing worded differently. Bootlegs have been apart of metal culture since the start, so anybody giving bootlegs a bad name dosent know their history. Sure, in a perfect world, all merch of a band would be produced by them & they get all the money, but that has never been the case. Support bands you like if they make something you like, but also buy a bootleg if you think it looks cool.
What i do have a problem with is scalpers & drop shippers looking to make money off our hobby & passion. fuck you & your money, listen to the music instead.
Newclearfallout on
100% agree.
it's the dropshippers, aliexpress, shein, designs I have an issue with. Etsy sellers doing it for the love of the game with their own screen print gear is respectable.
slamdown95 on
I think bootlegs are mostly made from people who can´t really afford the usual official prices from the band themselves, mostly because with each passing year official merch gets more expensive due to materials for fabric which are also getting more expensive, we are at a point where even bootleg stuff are also ridiculously high in some sites where you can personalize your own clothing. Im talking from my perspective where the stuff on the south of Chile is quite expensive in general. Also the exclusivity of these products, which are often very far away from Latinamerican countries, makes the bootleg option way more convenient. Its cheaper if you want to avoid the high shipping prices, and also a nice feeling to having something from that obscure band that you want to show your pride about or even inspire other people to listen to that band. Well, theres also always the posibility to buy a digital album from that band to actually support them directly and thats a huge option if you want to demonstrate your appreciation to that group.
In other note, i think ebay resellers are abusing the obscurity of some of these bands, following the ideology of "more rare=more cash" where in reality these bands didn't even thought about selling their stuff about 50+ bucks. It also plays a huge part the age of the product, i guess that is something that i can understand but the fact that they are reselling these shirts for about 200+ bucks is something stupid and it just shows how blind the consumption for these shirts can be. I mean, the older shirts do have a nicer quality and aesthetic, the mere fact that clothing from the 90's/00's is still looking nice and intact just shows the good quality of the product, but again, selling these shirts for those prices is just ridiculous.
Its just the constant abusive growth of explotation in fabrics that make everything more expensive with sometimes cheaper quality that makes bootleg a nice option to the more external public.
Newclearfallout on
Valid. To be honest foreign bootlegs have always intrigued me. I have a wierd obsession with fan made bootleg stuff. One offs or small batch.
It's exploitation that bothers me. (Chinese sellers, and ebay sellers who charge to much). Glad to see many agree and aren't supporting that.
slamdown95 on
I can assure you that bootlegs here on Chile are top quality, but there is little variety here on the south of the country, mostly the big bands of always like Metallica or Slayer, which is not bad but it does gets a little boring after a while. Also, the smaller shops are kind of hidden and they sell mostly when there are local shows. There used to be a metal shop in my city but it closed after Covid. Theres a lot of stuff on Santiago and Concepcion which are some of the biggest cities here on my country if you want more specific bands.
Yeah and also screw the ebay sellers like Violence Studios for example. They sell shit for like 400 fucking dollars! Just make a reprint at this point lol
bad_american1992 on
Funny you say this.... my brother was just in Chile and told me "You'd love it here dude everyone is dressed like they're headed to a Slayer concert" hahaha. I need to visit!
thshirts on
I do like bootlegs that stay true to the band, their identity and the time period it suppose to represent.
Bootlegs really became a thing since 2008, before that there where no companies you could send your design to.
Screenprinting was rare in the 80's and 90's and few people could do it. Also there was no youtube to learn how to screenprint.
I don't like DTF printed bootlegs (since 2020). It looks like a plastic print on a shirt. DTF can be great when done correctly but 99% of these sellers don't have the knowledge.
GhastlyDrain on
It depends. Im not a fan of reprints, because I think old shirts have some history and are "battle-hardened". There is a difference of owning an 90s tour shirt which survived that much time and been at a lot concerts than new shirt without soul, not mentioning that current quality of them is way worse than was in the 90s/00s.