5SOS Released New Merch And Some Fans Are OUTRAGED At The Prices
1 August 2018, 16:31
"Merch doesn't represent your fans at all because with these prices most people can't afford the merch," said one fan.
It's not always easy being a young music fan. Between the price of new music, concert tickets and merch, the cost of supporting a favourite artist can leave many teenage fans' bank accounts feeling a little stretched.
Some 5SOS fans are feeling that stretch after a price list for the band's newest pop up shop in Tokyo made its way online.
Ashton Irwin tweeted about the new pop up shop merch and, while many fans were excited, other fans felt the need to keep it đź’Ż about the reported prices.
One of the things I love most about being in @5sos is being apart of creating extensions of our music. Like merchandise that represents our fans and band. Today is an amazing day for us, we are launching our first pop up store here in TOKYO pic.twitter.com/wsdplPHOOd
— Ashton Irwin (@Ashton5SOS) August 1, 2018
Fans have been especially excited for the Youngblood bomber jacket but a merch list being circulated by the fandom shows some pretty eye watering prices.
It appears that fans who were able to visit the Tokyo pop up have recorded and shared the prices for others.
The highly coveted bomber jacket is reportedly priced at 253 AUD (161 Euro, 143 GBP, 188 USD) and fans have reacted with both disappointment and little bit of humour.
A few fans have also commented on the fact that the reported cost of the bomber jacket is actually more than tickets to a show. For reference, a general admission ticket for 5SOS' October 27 Manchester, UK show is currently being priced at ÂŁ76.
Some people found humour in the fact that the merch would be QUITE expensive for them to purchase.
Other fans pointed out that the price was to be expected and fans who don't want to spend that much just shouldn't buy the merch.
This is a reasonable point.
Of course, there are many factors that go into the pricing of merchandise and this is, more than likely, not the fault of the band itself. That being said, teenage fans can often find prices like these frustrating as money can be quite tight when you're young.
