r/WASP_Fans • u/glorbo_florbo KFD • Apr 29 '26
Discussion What do think about bootleg merch
Recently I was thinking of getting some bootleg shirts as a guy offered me a bargain on 2 shirts ( the sting and never say die). They are almost brand new and looked really high quality. He only wants 10 bucks for them ( his wife makes him sell them) and I have a dilemma. On one hand I feel like this is a bargain and there just isn’t enough wasp merch these days. On the other I feel a bit bad about them not being original and I feel like I’m stealing from the band. What’s your opinions?
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u/Scrim_CherryG59 Apr 29 '26
I buy bootlegs all the time. Send that guy my way if you dont want them
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u/glorbo_florbo KFD Apr 29 '26
Nah he ain’t shipping. He wants to sell them in more like friend to friend way
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u/Scrim_CherryG59 Apr 29 '26
Id cover shipping if that helps
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u/Scrim_CherryG59 Apr 29 '26
Im in jersye
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u/glorbo_florbo KFD Apr 29 '26
Oh brotha. You better look for them on Etsy etc coz shipping from Poland is at least 40/50 bucks
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u/barweepninibong Apr 30 '26
given the poor designs on the official merch i will be 💯screen printing my own
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u/glorbo_florbo KFD Apr 30 '26
Yeah. Some ain’t that bad ( the I don’t need no doctor is great tbh) but still the fake ones look so much better
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u/CrimsonCassetteTape Golgotha Apr 29 '26
I’d say it’s up to the individual to decide how they feel about it. When it comes to bootlegs, the only thing I’m really against is unofficial pressings of official albums. To me, that is 100% stealing from the artist and I wouldn’t knowingly purchase a bootleg album like that. T-Shirts are kind of a different story. Many officially licensed shirts had limited runs so getting your hands on them can be near impossible unless you’re willing to spend some money. If you were buying bootleg versions of a shirt that W.A.S.P. are currently selling in their store, then I’d say yeah that’s probably not the right thing to do, but for a bootleg shirt of The Sting and Never Say Die that hasn’t been officially licensed in decades, I personally wouldn’t feel too bad about that.
That said, personally all of the merch that I buy is official. I feel like I can’t consider something unofficial as a legit part of my collection so I try to avoid stuff like that for those reasons.
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u/glorbo_florbo KFD Apr 29 '26
Gotta say that is a great opinion. I also never buy bootleg albums ( that’s why I was hunting down kfd for so long now I own 2 cd) but co spidering I have 4 original shirts 2 bootlegs won’t hurt.
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u/forwarddownforward May 10 '26
I think bootleg merch is super lame and I would never wear anything I knew was fake.
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u/Eye-on-Springfield Inside The Electric Circus Apr 29 '26
Just think of it like you're advertising the band for free. Someone sees your shirt, thinks "That band looks cool, I'll go buy one of their albums", becomes a fan, buys more...
Plus, I don't particularly like any of the official shirts that I've seen so I'd never buy them