Should I sell merch at shows I play? (Page 1) - General Discussion - Forums

1 Apr 14, 2012 1:30 pm

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Madison, Alabama

I live in North Alabama and have never been to a live chip show. But I'm going to be playing a show this summer, and I was wondering about merch. Do you cats that play out sell merch? I'm curious about what people might buy versus what's cost-effective. Stickers, buttons, and patches are pretty cheap (I used to go to punk shows back in the day and that's the kind of thing I always bought.)

What do you guys sell/like to buy?

nitro2k01: Made the title more clear.

Last edited by nitro2k01 (Apr 15, 2012 8:32 am)

2 Apr 14, 2012 1:59 pm

PULSELOOPER

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São Paulo, Brazil

I sell t-shirts and give stickers for free.

3 Apr 14, 2012 2:06 pm

kitsch

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matt's mind

I will be at aforementioned show this summer

i'd personally be up for a shirt...

4 Apr 14, 2012 2:15 pm

kineticturtle

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Matthew Joseph Payne

Stickers, buttoms ad patches are cheap mainstays. T-shirts are probably cheaper than you think, if you can get or make a good design.

Special edition physical album packaging is usually great too - creatively packaged CDs or flash drives with bonus material, etc - hand made stuff

Whatever you plan on making, START NOW because whether you hand make or order, it takes real time to p produce things. You've always got to think ahead.

Also, come up with a clever way to draw people's attention to your merch on a dark table in the corner of the venue. We use an NES running logoNES as a price list - people really notice it from a distance and it draws them in!

5 Apr 14, 2012 2:21 pm

Downstate

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shanghai

give away/sell diy cd s and tapes. stickers are good too. or just sell something fashionable........something like adopting an african baby maybe

6 Apr 14, 2012 2:26 pm

e.s.c.

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IL, US

i sell handmade cds (sometimes dvds), give away stickers and either sell buttons very cheap or give them away, depending on my mood

7 Apr 14, 2012 2:26 pm

Jake Allison

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Tulsa, OK

kineticturtle wrote:

Also, come up with a clever way to draw people's attention to your merch on a dark table in the corner of the venue. We use an NES running logoNES as a price list - people really notice it from a distance and it draws them in!

That is a really cool idea anytime someone approached me for a complement, I always give them unreleased tracks! It pretty much seals their fan status

Stickers and a good shirt is all you'll need shirts are cheap as long as you only use a couple print colors I have never made a shirt for my own musical promotion - only for mission trips and school functions

8 Apr 14, 2012 7:49 pm

roboctopus

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Madison, Alabama

Thanks for the responses guys. I like the idea of having stickers to give away for free. Might do some free stickers and some nicer not-free stickers. I figured shirts would be expensive but I'll look into prices.

The flash drive idea is pretty cool. I'll have to consider that.

And kineticturtle, thanks for the heads-up about drawing attention to the merch table. That's a good tip.

9 Apr 14, 2012 7:52 pm

VCMG

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California

You should just lay out the merch on your chipmusic-ing table and like, sell stuff while you're performing.

10 Apr 15, 2012 3:49 am

barbeque

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detroit

VCMG wrote:

You should just lay out the merch on your chipmusic-ing table and like, sell stuff while you're performing.

this works.

11 Apr 15, 2012 6:18 am

Matt M

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Brisbane

As a fan - I always look for a cool t shirt design. I'd be up for ordering a Roboctopus shirt.

I've seen 10k and Monodeer's t shirts on here. Anyone up for starting a thread plugging anyones t shirts they might have?

I'd like to know how to get a calm down kidder T sent down here to Australia.

12 Apr 15, 2012 1:29 pm

Pugbath

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St. Louis

I thought Cds were a dying medium, but if they look good and are resonably priced, people will buy the shit out of them. We sold out 50 extremely fast. I guess the same goes for shirts.