Importance of Merchandise

[WhyTravisFelt]

I just got back from the RAW show here in Tampa (which was one of the best WWe shows I've seen live in a long time). My friend and I were both ready to throw down some cash for T-shirts and were in agreement that one of us would get a Daniel Bryan shirt, the other would get a Ziggler, however no stand we encountered sold either. Just Cena shirts, CM Punk shirts, even Big Show shirts (who wasn't even there), and other stuff we weren't particularly interested in, so neither of us bought anything (except for non-WWe-trademarked beer).

I'm curious as to how important this stuff genuinely is. I'm constantly reminded of how "Cena won't turn heel because of his merchandising" or how "so-and-so doesn't sell enough merch" and I'm just left exasperated at this seeming catch-22. So Cena will never turn heel because of all his merch sales, but I can't find a single stand that sells a t-shirt for a wrestler I like? The event was great, but WWe could've made more money out of me if they sold some merch for some wrestlers I like (alright, I like CM Punk, but not enough to drop 25 bucks on a shirt for).

I suppose I'm partially just annoyed that there's this much-to-do about Cena's merch sales when it seems like there aren't too many more options of stuff to buy at the vendors, and I know I'm even more annoyed now that I went to a nice live event and couldn't find a single souvenir worth buying to appreciate the moment with. I know there's the internet, but that defeats the idea of the magic of enjoying a live event. But, really, what is so darn special about how much merch a superstar brings in when you only offer merch for a handful of superstars anyway? It seems to be another facade in a business that already has enough facades.

 

[IWChampion]

Importance of Merchandise sales?! Are you kidding me? Merchandise sales is probably the second most important thing in determining how good a wrestler is. The first thing obviously is twitter and facebook followers. I mean do you really want to see the belt around a superstar who can't even sell t shirts or get people to follow him on twitter. The reason that the stands didn't have Daniel Bryan shirts or Ziggler shirts is because they are mid-carders. They don't have the skill, talent or ability to sell shirts at stands in the arena and have to rely on mid card methods such as stores and online sales. Quite frankly I don't know why you would even want to get a Ziggler or Bryan shirt. They aren't trending world wide at the moment. They aren't main even material yet. Perhaps if they were to stop wasting time on their "in-ring" work and focus more on their merch and twitter they would become main event material. Sorry you didn't get the shirts you wanted...but did you ever consider that maybe you're cheering for the wrong superstars?

 

[Olnumber59]

I had a similar experience when RAW was in Boston a few weeks back. I don't understand it either. How much would it hurt to put a couple more selections out there. You're getting $30 a shirt! Maybe it's a TV thing? Maybe they don't want a sea of Ziggler shirts showing up on camera just yet for example? I'm sure they have plans for guys like Ziggler and Bryan in the very near future, but aren't pushing them to be over just yet on TV... The IWC loves these guys and we all have a feeling something big is coming but WWE isn't ready to have them be another Zack Ryder just yet.

 

[IWChampion]

I actually responded to this before I realized that you're just a troll. Get a life, buddy.

I apologize if I came off as a troll. I was sarcastically criticizing the way things work now in WWE. They manipulate what fans can buy at an arena to help promote their superstars. Cena and CM Punk shirts seen all throughout the crowd boosts the "credibility" of those performers and I think what they are doing is a cheap way of pushing their talent. I forgot that a lot of posters do think merch sales and social media are relevent to wrestling(not saying you're one of them) and might not get where I was going with my first more satirical post. Again I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to spam or anything. I was telling my view of the OP in a less direct way by letting readers read between the lines and get an idea of my feelings on the OP.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

They don't stock those shirts unless there is a demand for it. It's not some conspiracy "stock up on cena shirts to make him look more popular" that's fuckin stupid because if people don't want to buy it, the won't.

You guys forget that 1) you're the minority and 2) this is a business. If I run a restaurant, and 90% of my customers like steak, and 1% like sushi, am I bad at what I do because one night I get a table of 12 that all wants sushi? No, just bad luck and I made an otherwise sound decision in not having a ton of sushi stocked. It costs money to have cases of shirts.

WWE does research. They probably had people telling them who is more popular in what town and to stock which shirts. Show, I'm pretty sure, is from the Tampa area and WCW did a lot of shows there. He has a lot of fans and roots there in all likelihood. DB I'm honestly surprised because they're pushing him, but Ziggler is a heel, you usually don't see many heel shirts unless it's a net darling's shirt.

It's a business thing. It's not a catch 22, your tastes just aren't the same as everyone else's. I'd love for the radio to play something other than the same tired autotuned poprap shit. However, I'm in the minority and they don't. So I don't really bitch, I just find other avenues to get my fix because I understand what's going on.

IWChampion don't be stupid, it's not "how WWE is done nowadays" it's how it's always been. Vince has ALWAYS ran it as a business and not a mark. That's why he's worth several hundred million dollars and other guys are getting 2,000 to do some shitty shoot video or radio show.

 

[Foshinzo]

I apologize if I came off as a troll. I was sarcastically criticizing the way things work now in WWE. They manipulate what fans can buy at an arena to help promote their superstars. Cena and CM Punk shirts seen all throughout the crowd boosts the "credibility" of those performers and I think what they are doing is a cheap way of pushing their talent. I forgot that a lot of posters do think merch sales and social media are relevent to wrestling(not saying you're one of them) and might not get where I was going with my first more satirical post. Again I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to spam or anything. I was telling my view of the OP in a less direct way by letting readers read between the lines and get an idea of my feelings on the OP.

No, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I guess it's kind of hard nowadays to tell the difference between sarcasm and trolling, so I'm really sorry for being defensive. I've seen my fair share of trolls on this very website, so I just assumed. But, hey...you know what they say happens when you assume, right? Really, it's my bad and I feel pretty foolish. No harm meant.

Just to clear the air, I do agree with your sarcasm. It seems that really is the mentality of the WWE front office, and I'm with you in the angst left from it. To me, t-shirt sales mean nothing except who gets noticed by VKM first, though there are also a million other ways to get noticed. Also, many variables can determine how well your merch does, like design, style, etc. For example, Dolph is great right now, but maybe his shirt looks like crap so no one buys it, or maybe it's just because he's a heel. Who knows? It's dumb to base any level of greatness off of a statistic that is unrelated to the in-ring product.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

No, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I guess it's kind of hard nowadays to tell the difference between sarcasm and trolling, so I'm really sorry for being defensive. I've seen my fair share of trolls on this very website, so I just assumed. But, hey...you know what they say happens when you assume, right? Really, it's my bad and I feel pretty foolish. No harm meant.

Just to clear the air, I do agree with your sarcasm. It seems that really is the mentality of the WWE front office, and I'm with you in the angst left from it. To me, t-shirt sales mean nothing except who gets noticed by VKM first, though there are also a million other ways to get noticed. Also, many variables can determine how well your merch does, like design, style, etc. For example, Dolph is great right now, but maybe his shirt looks like crap so no one buys it, or maybe it's just because he's a heel. Who knows? It's dumb to base any level of greatness off of a statistic that is unrelated to the in-ring product.

You have any idea how crazy you sound?

Vince likes to make money right? So, if a guy had enough interest to sell enough t-shirts to cover the overhead of bringing in the extra boxes and/or not carry as much of someone else's shirt, he's surely stock up with them right?

Second, VKM doesn't magically sell shirts. People don't go "well fuck there isn't a Morrison shirt, just this old ratty Brookly Brawler shirt, I guess I'll buy it". Vince stocks up on what will sell. It's not different than who gets pushed. Vince doesn't have a magic wand that says who gets over. You get pushed, if you get more over, you get pushed more. If he could get anyone he wanted over, his job would be a hell of a lot easier.

To say that T-shirt sales mean nothing is like saying the number of downloads an artist gets has nothing to do with their popularity. The job of a pro wrestler is to entertain the fans and put asses in the seats and do so in a safe way. It's not to do a million moves. It never has been. It's ALWAYS been about getting asses in the seats. From the late 1800s carnivals where you have a plant pretend to be the local boy going against the unbeatable ******** that everyone bets on, to being Harley Race as a believable ass kicker, to being Hulk Hogan saying your prayers, training, and taking your "vitamins" to Stone Cold pretending he hates a guy who pays him 7M/year, to John Cena pretending the fat guys who say he can't wrestle don't piss him off, it's ALWAYS ABOUT PUTTING ASSES IN SEATS.

So, if there is a demand for shirts, Vince will stock the shirts. He's not going to go "well you know, I could make money, but fuck it, I want to piss off these guys on the internet". Also, if there is a demand for a shirt, that means there is an interest in a wrestler. If there is interest in a wrestler, IT MEANS HE'S GOOD AT HIS JOB.

It's not "so and so is 5/5 on the mic and 5/5 in the ring, he's good" that's subjective. Vince doesn't work in the subjective. Acting like a mark is exactly how you DON'T run a company. Coke executives don't say "you know, Coke and Diet Coke are our cash cows, but I'm sick of them, let's push dogshit flavored soda instead because that'd be edgy". Just like Vince doesn't go "I'm a fan of this guy, push him". Vince says "this guy might get over" if he doesn't, fuck him and move on to the next guy.

There is no conspiracy. This isn't some underhanded modern thing. It's ALWAYS been going on. It's just a little more sophisticated now. Making people believe you could outwrestle them doesn't get you over anymore, you have to do a lot more work. No matter how technically sound you are (or how sound the IWC thinks they are, you know a bunch of people who don't know how to do ANY moves but think they know what is technically correct), NOBODY in the normal audience is going to go "I bet that guy is a legit toughguy". Everyone is skeptical. They all think pro wrestling is fake and easy and that none of them could hang with UFC fighters in a real fight. So you can't go that avenue unless you're a big guy. That's why they're entertainers. They have always been entertainers, it's just that being more of a brand is what makes you more money now.

Unless you're pissed at Vince for trying to make money. In which case, be pissed all you want and go watch 5 meth addicts cut each other up with light tubes and weed wackers in CZW, they don't give a shit about making money and do it "for the passion man".

 

[Headman]

I just got back from the RAW show here in Tampa (which was one of the best WWe shows I've seen live in a long time). My friend and I were both ready to throw down some cash for T-shirts and were in agreement that one of us would get a Daniel Bryan shirt, the other would get a Ziggler, however no stand we encountered sold either. Just Cena shirts, CM Punk shirts, even Big Show shirts (who wasn't even there), and other stuff we weren't particularly interested in, so neither of us bought anything (except for non-WWe-trademarked beer).

I'm curious as to how important this stuff genuinely is. I'm constantly reminded of how "Cena won't turn heel because of his merchandising" or how "so-and-so doesn't sell enough merch" and I'm just left exasperated at this seeming catch-22. So Cena will never turn heel because of all his merch sales, but I can't find a single stand that sells a t-shirt for a wrestler I like? The event was great, but WWe could've made more money out of me if they sold some merch for some wrestlers I like (alright, I like CM Punk, but not enough to drop 25 bucks on a shirt for).

I suppose I'm partially just annoyed that there's this much-to-do about Cena's merch sales when it seems like there aren't too many more options of stuff to buy at the vendors, and I know I'm even more annoyed now that I went to a nice live event and couldn't find a single souvenir worth buying to appreciate the moment with. I know there's the internet, but that defeats the idea of the magic of enjoying a live event. But, really, what is so darn special about how much merch a superstar brings in when you only offer merch for a handful of superstars anyway? It seems to be another facade in a business that already has enough facades.

Atually you're reading into this wrong. The reason you only saw Cena and Punk shirts is because the vendors only bring what sells. Space is limited on the road. They can't carry everybody's stuff and don't want to bring crap that isn't going to sell so they go by the numbers from WWEshopzone and then see Cena and Punk are huge sellers so they bring their merch. So it's not the WWE trying to force you to buy merch. It's vendors not wanting to haul around junk from town to town taking up space that could be filled by merch that actually sells.

 

[IWChampion]

No, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I guess it's kind of hard nowadays to tell the difference between sarcasm and trolling, so I'm really sorry for being defensive. I've seen my fair share of trolls on this very website, so I just assumed. But, hey...you know what they say happens when you assume, right? Really, it's my bad and I feel pretty foolish. No harm meant.

Just to clear the air, I do agree with your sarcasm. It seems that really is the mentality of the WWE front office, and I'm with you in the angst left from it. To me, t-shirt sales mean nothing except who gets noticed by VKM first, though there are also a million other ways to get noticed. Also, many variables can determine how well your merch does, like design, style, etc. For example, Dolph is great right now, but maybe his shirt looks like crap so no one buys it, or maybe it's just because he's a heel. Who knows? It's dumb to base any level of greatness off of a statistic that is unrelated to the in-ring product.

No harm done. I can understand how you thought that. I'm glad someone agrees. It seems that too much focus is put on merch and social media. I can't watch Raw without hearing or reading about merch and twitter followers. I'm a fan of wrestling and storylines. I don't care if the entire crowd wears a particular superstars shirt. It won't make me like him any more. Fans used to be able to buy and wear whatever merch they wanted whether it be that of a heel, face, main eventer, mid carder, etc.

IWChampion don't be stupid, it's not "how WWE is done nowadays" it's how it's always been. Vince has ALWAYS ran it as a business and not a mark. That's why he's worth several hundred million dollars and other guys are getting 2,000 to do some shitty shoot video or radio show.

I'm not being stupid...I know how supply and demand works and that would certainly explain why a retailer would have limited if any of a low-demand item. Unfortunately, for your case, WWE is the distributor and the supply still exists(unless you believe the shirts are made to order). If the demand is low for a product, then the distributor will be left with an abundance of said product(because retailers will order less or none) and would try to get rid of it with the least amount of loss(ie selling directly/at a discounted rate etc). This brings us to the question. Is the WWE selling what they want the audience wearing on their show? Or is the WWE leaving their product in the warehouse waiting for people to seek a retailer or spend extra money in shipping on an allegedly low-demand product?

I have been a fan of wrestling for most of my life and I'm aware of the business aspect of it. I know that Vince is worth several hundreds of millions of dollars. As a matter of fact I'm willing to bet that every person on this forum knows that. But thanks for that contribution. While Vince is still running it as a business, it is being run differently now. Focus has shifted from entertainment to merchandise sales and free advertising through social media. These are both great for business, however, in this business these are short term factors. The entertainment value has gone down, loyal fans are being pushed away, viewership is decreasing, former superstars(Nash, Rock, SCSA, Piper etc) from a prosperous time are needed just to hype up an event. WWE might be bringing in plenty of money now but whose merchandise will they sell once people have lost interest completely? More and more people are questioning the credibility of main event performers and title holder. That's not to say they don't have enough potential, it means that you can't use merchandise and social media to build a solid character that people will continue to watch for years.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

No harm done. I can understand how you thought that. I'm glad someone agrees. It seems that too much focus is put on merch and social media. I can't watch Raw without hearing or reading about merch and twitter followers. I'm a fan of wrestling and storylines. I don't care if the entire crowd wears a particular superstars shirt. It won't make me like him any more. Fans used to be able to buy and wear whatever merch they wanted whether it be that of a heel, face, main eventer, mid carder, etc.




I'm not being stupid...I know how supply and demand works and that would certainly explain why a retailer would have limited if any of a low-demand item. Unfortunately, for your case, WWE is the distributor and the supply still exists(unless you believe the shirts are made to order). If the demand is low for a product, then the distributor will be left with an abundance of said product(because retailers will order less or none) and would try to get rid of it with the least amount of loss(ie selling directly/at a discounted rate etc). This brings us to the question. Is the WWE selling what they want the audience wearing on their show? Or is the WWE leaving their product in the warehouse waiting for people to seek a retailer or spend extra money in shipping on an allegedly low-demand product?

I have been a fan of wrestling for most of my life and I'm aware of the business aspect of it. I know that Vince is worth several hundreds of millions of dollars. As a matter of fact I'm willing to bet that every person on this forum knows that. But thanks for that contribution. While Vince is still running it as a business, it is being run differently now. Focus has shifted from entertainment to merchandise sales and free advertising through social media. These are both great for business, however, in this business these are short term factors. The entertainment value has gone down, loyal fans are being pushed away, viewership is decreasing, former superstars(Nash, Rock, SCSA, Piper etc) from a prosperous time are needed just to hype up an event. WWE might be bringing in plenty of money now but whose merchandise will they sell once people have lost interest completely? More and more people are questioning the credibility of main event performers and title holder. That's not to say they don't have enough potential, it means that you can't use merchandise and social media to build a solid character that people will continue to watch for years.

Yes, WWE is a supplier, but the stadiums are essentially retailers. You don't want to spend money shipping boxes (in limited space, so there is the opportunity cost of not having enough supply of another guys' shirt) across the country. The same terms apply.

Okay, so you look fondly on the attitude era, but then say stuff about shortcomings? The Attitude Era KILLED pro wrestling for a ton of fans. It turned it from family-friendly entertainment into trash TV. It's lunacy to think your fanbase will ever be the same. There were parental groups organized to destroy the WWF for Christ's sake. Don't you think they lost a lot of interest with that? Harley race's indy promotion in 1999 had the slogan "shut up and wrestle" and he said he wanted it to "get back to the roots of a wrestling show you aren't afraid to bring your kids to". So now the opposite is happening. A bunch of white trash hicks who want to see blood, boobs, and beer are upset that WWE looks more like Toy Story than an episode of Jerry Springer. Big deal, it happens.

I'm not saying you only use merch sales to build a guy, however, it is one gauge. Also, the viewership isn't going to die off. Jesus Christ why do so many posters on here go with the Fox News style doomsday analysis of everything?

Viewership isn't down that much. It really isn't when you adjust for more people watching on the internet, more streaming capabilities, how the actual number for ratings shouldn't be looked at so much as the ranking, etc.

You have it backwards again at the end. People don't go "what a cool shirt, I like this guy" they go "what a cool guy, I want his shirt".

Also, WWE isn't "selling what they want the audience to wear". They don't force ayone to wear anything. If people are wearing a Cena shirt...get this...it's because they want to. WWE can't force people to think anything. It's demand-driven.

One thing you did say that may hold merit is that WWE can likely charge more for a DB shirt because his fans are very passionate and would likely pay more for his shirt, if his demand curve is fairly inelastic.

 

[IWChampion]

Okay, so you look fondly on the attitude era, but then say stuff about shortcomings? The Attitude Era KILLED pro wrestling for a ton of fans. It turned it from family-friendly entertainment into trash TV. It's lunacy to think your fanbase will ever be the same. There were parental groups organized to destroy the WWF for Christ's sake. Don't you think they lost a lot of interest with that? Harley race's indy promotion in 1999 had the slogan "shut up and wrestle" and he said he wanted it to "get back to the roots of a wrestling show you aren't afraid to bring your kids to". So now the opposite is happening. A bunch of white trash hicks who want to see blood, boobs, and beer are upset that WWE looks more like Toy Story than an episode of Jerry Springer. Big deal, it happens.

I agree with you hear except for the white trash part. I'm not racist. But I don't like attitude era for boobs, blood, or beer. I like it for it's unpredictability, it's characters, and it's storylines. They involved more members of the roster in storylines and each episode didn't seem like a rerun.

I'm not saying you only use merch sales to build a guy, however, it is one gauge. Also, the viewership isn't going to die off. Jesus Christ why do so many posters on here go with the Fox News style doomsday analysis of everything?

Yes it is a gauge. So are ratings. So is crowd reaction...Viewship may not completely die but it does take a big hit. When there were two promotions on Monday stealing fans from each other, they still each drew more viewers than WWE does now.

You have it backwards again at the end. People don't go "what a cool shirt, I like this guy" they go "what a cool guy, I want his shirt".

I agree. But what happens in the case of the OP where you say, "what a cool guy, I want his shirt." but then you only find the shirts for the company's faces? And you're absolutely right they don't force you to wear anything. What dumbass said that? Oh wait no one. They are controlling what you can buy by offering what they want fans to wear for their show. You are also right about the people who wear the Cena shirts because they want to. But by not selling other people's merch, it makes the crowd seem very Cena supportive(which half of it is). Also let's say my favorite superstar is Ziggler, my second favorite is Bryan, and my third is Cena. Well guess which shirt I'm going to buy when the first two aren't available. The Cena shirt. WWE knows that. I'm not saying everyone bought their Cena shirt as a consolation prize but I'm saying it can affect the amount of which shirt we see in the audience most. "WWE can't force people to think anything". You're absolutely correct again. But they can manipulate. Let's not pretend that the WWE isn't marketing to kids. They need kids because kids have to bring their parents(extra tickets) to the show and often their friends(same), kids want their parents to buy them something whenever they go somewhere, and kids will not understand that concession stand prices are high so they will be expecting to be fed. What happens when a kid sees a bunch of other kids wearing a Cena shirt. They want theirs too. Kids will cheer for who they see other people cheering for/ They are very impressionable and it doesn't take much to get them to like something by making it seem exciting to them.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I agree with you hear except for the white trash part. I'm not racist. But I don't like attitude era for boobs, blood, or beer. I like it for it's unpredictability, it's characters, and it's storylines. They involved more members of the roster in storylines and each episode didn't seem like a rerun.



Yes it is a gauge. So are ratings. So is crowd reaction...Viewship may not completely die but it does take a big hit. When there were two promotions on Monday stealing fans from each other, they still each drew more viewers than WWE does now.



I agree. But what happens in the case of the OP where you say, "what a cool guy, I want his shirt." but then you only find the shirts for the company's faces? And you're absolutely right they don't force you to wear anything. What dumbass said that? Oh wait no one. They are controlling what you can buy by offering what they want fans to wear for their show. You are also right about the people who wear the Cena shirts because they want to. But by not selling other people's merch, it makes the crowd seem very Cena supportive(which half of it is). Also let's say my favorite superstar is Ziggler, my second favorite is Bryan, and my third is Cena. Well guess which shirt I'm going to buy when the first two aren't available. The Cena shirt. WWE knows that. I'm not saying everyone bought their Cena shirt as a consolation prize but I'm saying it can affect the amount of which shirt we see in the audience most. "WWE can't force people to think anything". You're absolutely correct again. But they can manipulate. Let's not pretend that the WWE isn't marketing to kids. They need kids because kids have to bring their parents(extra tickets) to the show and often their friends(same), kids want their parents to buy them something whenever they go somewhere, and kids will not understand that concession stand prices are high so they will be expecting to be fed. What happens when a kid sees a bunch of other kids wearing a Cena shirt. They want theirs too. Kids will cheer for who they see other people cheering for/ They are very impressionable and it doesn't take much to get them to like something by making it seem exciting to them.

White trash is more of an income and/or intelligence thing. Not all poor people are white trash. It's kind of just being a dumb motherfucker typically from the trailer park but then again, Paris Hilton is pretty white trash.

It drew higher numbers sure, but everything was doing better business then. WWE is more set up for the long term with what they have. As has been proven, the trash tv style isn't a long term style. I mean, Jersey Shore draws, do you want WWE to try that?

he said "what they want you to wear" my point is that the WWE isn't trying to do anything, they're a reaction to the demand. WWE isn't pulling some conspiracy bullshit to make Cena or anyone look better. They look at the numbers, see "this year in the Tampa area, based on ZIP codes on billing addresses from WWEshop, we should stock the arean with this, this, and this".

No shit they're marketing towards kids. You don't think that the WWE was marketing towards dumb white trash males in the attitude era? That's all that shit was. Look at the demographics, it's not racist or even offensive or even false to think that a large portion of the attitude era fans were white trash rednecks.

You act like kids are different from anyone else. The WWE "manipulated" (some call it...marketing) people the same way in the attitude era.

Seriously, what the fuck's the difference between having a charater that is like Woody from Toy story who caters to kids but has underlying characteristics that adults will draw conclusions from and having a character that reflects the drunken redneck blue collar guy? Nothing, the only difference is your own personal preference.

 

[IWChampion]

I'm not saying to go back to the "trash-style" tv. I'm saying develop their characters(Like the Rock was always in character and avoided referring to himself in the first person). Then involve mid carders in storylines. And I mean a story. Make it interesting not just a bad guy says he can beat someone because he's better. Focus on those two things and not talk so much about merch on tv and make merch such an important part of the show. Merch is not at all an important part of the show. It's an important part of the company. Just like the show is a separate important part of the company. Sell the merch, hell promote it on the show. But don't have commentary to use it try to build up a superstar. SCSA sold a lot of merch. I had at least 4 different Austin shirts but I don't recall Ross or Cole or King talking about how many more shirts Austin sold over Rock. I want to see a great show not hear about who sells shirts. I'm a fan of wrestling.

As for the subject of controlling what they sell at the arena I still stand by that. It's not like when they leave one arena to go to the next they ship the merch, they just bring it with them. Doesn't cost more. The fact of the matter is that I stand by my view and you stand by yours and we aren't going to convince each other otherwise. I appreciate your logic and I agree that a business is run on the principles of supply and demand and that low demand items shouldn't be stocked. I understand and concur there, but I think WWE isn't doing it quite that way and is trying to control the merch fans buy at the arena for their TV appearance. Neither of us(I don't think) works for WWE, we can't provide actual proof of their intentions.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Yes, it's unlikely that WWE is sending boatloads of merchandise on the road without a major call for it - on the website there is a better selection.

NO, I do not think that WWE purposely overstocks Cena items at house shows just to make him look more popular. First and foremost Vince wants to make money and if WWE were unidated with requests for Cody Rhodes items you would see more of them at house shows.


Finally, fan favorites typically move more merchandise than heels, rarely do heels, unless they are someone perceived as "cool" like the NWO or maybe Randy Orton, move merchandise like shirts and posters in the same numbers as fan favorites.

Merchandise really breaks into two categories ... items for kids & teens (shirts, posters, action figures) and items for adults (DVD's, special collector's item action figures). This is why someone like Cena may move T-shirts out the @#$% while older stars like Undertaker, or a few years ago HBK & Flair dont move as many shirts but sell boatloads of retrospective DVD's.

Ultimately, merchandise sales are a huge boon for WWE botom line (it doesnt cost much to produce those T-shirts & posters, and those retrospective DVD's are cheap to produce because they have so little new material on them), plus wrestlers typically get a percentage of sales from those items, so HBK & Flair made a lot of extra money in years past thanks to the Greatest Hits videos while I'm sure Cena is making nice change from his T-shirts. The whole thing is important to both the wrestlers and the company.

 

[The Champ]

Why would they bother to stock merchandise at the shows that not that many people are going to buy?

If there were no Ziggler or Daniel Bryan shirts there, it's because *gasp* they don't sell that well. If they did, they would be there, because they'd know that fans would buy them. You know what shirts ARE there? The best selling ones, like John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock (on shows that he's on), and Randy Orton. You know who get the biggest pushes, angles, and matches in WWE? John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock (on shows that he's on), and Randy Orton.

So, it's really quite simple. If Bryan gets over and sells more merch on the website, they'll stock his merch at the shows and he'll get pushed harder. You not getting your Ziggler shirt has nothing to do with Cena and why he's pushed.

 

[Canadian_SXE]

IMO merchandise means absolutely nothing. Case in point. 2005 Christian began calling himself Captain Charisma and Captain Charisma shirts were everywhere. He was one of the top tshirt sellers and he was a heel. Then Vince decided that he was going to be a little bitch and decided to cancel the shirts because Vince didn't own the Captain Charisma name, it was something Christian just came up with that Vince decided to put on a shirt and sell until he realized he didn't want to make money of something he himself didn't create. So Christian push he was beginning to receive was cut off and he eventually left a few months later. Oh and the whole thing about heels not selling shirts is bogus. Stone Cold and the NWO are to instances where heels sold a shit load of shirts. When Eddie began his Latino Heat gimmick he was a heel and there were a whole bunch of Eddie shirts. So it is funny how they do use the excuse that so and so doesn't sell merch yet you have to search all over the place just to find a shirt.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

IMO merchandise means absolutely nothing. Case in point. 2005 Christian began calling himself Captain Charisma and Captain Charisma shirts were everywhere. He was one of the top tshirt sellers and he was a heel. Then Vince decided that he was going to be a little bitch and decided to cancel the shirts because Vince didn't own the Captain Charisma name, it was something Christian just came up with that Vince decided to put on a shirt and sell until he realized he didn't want to make money of something he himself didn't create. So Christian push he was beginning to receive was cut off and he eventually left a few months later. Oh and the whole thing about heels not selling shirts is bogus. Stone Cold and the NWO are to instances where heels sold a shit load of shirts. When Eddie began his Latino Heat gimmick he was a heel and there were a whole bunch of Eddie shirts. So it is funny how they do use the excuse that so and so doesn't sell merch yet you have to search all over the place just to find a shirt.

First off, you contradict yourself. You state that merch doesn't mean anything (stupid statement anyways). Then you go on to say that there were Captain Charisma shirts everywhere. If they didn't matter, why do you even care about that?

Second, no, heels don't sell a lot. Ever heard of an outlier? If you were to chart the amounts of shirts sold, babyfaces win by a landslide.

Also, most of the examples you used were in the attitude era. Austin and the nWo were more anti-heroes, which is what got over then. Don't be ignorant and think that just because someone does bad things that they're a heel. What makes you a heel is all about the audience's perception.

The reason you have to search to find someone's shirt is because they aren't that popular. There is no conspiracy. Vince wants to make money. You sound uneducated when you use outliers as the example, contradict yourself, then imply conspiracy theories when the explanation is very clearly business-driven objectivity.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Merchandise is extremely important to organizations like WWE. We all are going to have different lists of who we like or dislike, but some guys are generally going to be more popular than others. Look at John Cena. He is the biggest star wrestling has seen since the Attitude Era. Haters can't deny the success he has had and how mainstream he has become. There is a reason there is so much Cena merchandise compared to everyone else.

Supply and Demand. People might like Bryan or Ziggler more than Cena but when it comes down to it, Cena is more popular. There is a larger amount of demand for Cena, Orton, and Punk's merchandise right now, therefore the WWE will supply more of it. It's not a way of keeping Cena on top, it is simply WWE trying to make more money by pleasing the majority of the fanbase who will still spend hard earned money on Cena merchandise. The more popular other guys get, the easier it will become to find their merchandise at WWE events or even at stores.

 

[Canadian_SXE]

First off, you contradict yourself. You state that merch doesn't mean anything (stupid statement anyways). Then you go on to say that there were Captain Charisma shirts everywhere. If they didn't matter, why do you even care about that?

Second, no, heels don't sell a lot. Ever heard of an outlier? If you were to chart the amounts of shirts sold, babyfaces win by a landslide.

Also, most of the examples you used were in the attitude era. Austin and the nWo were more anti-heroes, which is what got over then. Don't be ignorant and think that just because someone does bad things that they're a heel. What makes you a heel is all about the audience's perception.

The reason you have to search to find someone's shirt is because they aren't that popular. There is no conspiracy. Vince wants to make money. You sound uneducated when you use outliers as the example, contradict yourself, then imply conspiracy theories when the explanation is very clearly business-driven objectivity.

No i was just giving an example of a guy selling a bunch of tshirts implying that guy is over with the fans and it being for nothing when they stop selling the shirts because of a lame excuse of copyrights. Christian was a heel yet was selling more shirts then a lot of the faces then was cut short since Vince didn't wanna make money on something he didn't come up with. And Austin was selling more than anybody in the WWE in 1996 when he was still a full fledged heel, he didn't officially turn until 1997. The fans have no implication on if a wrestler is heel or face because if that were true the WWE would have turned Cena a long time ago. Yes Vince wants to make money, but how does he know what will sell if he doesn't even give the option to buy a shirt. And if so and so is not over enough to sell tshirts than why bother making a shirt for him or her in the first place. If the guy is not over and your not going to sell his shirt at the arenas in the first place don't bother making a shirt in the first place. I have seen it first hand where you go to the arena and there were at least 5 fucking Cena shirts and a few shirts of Edge, Taker Dx and other top name guys but when I wanted a new John Morrison shirt they didn't even have it there. So if they werent trying to force fans to buy from only the top guys then explain why they had every single Cena merchandise known to man to buy and only one item of everybody else.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

No i was just giving an example of a guy selling a bunch of tshirts implying that guy is over with the fans and it being for nothing when they stop selling the shirts because of a lame excuse of copyrights. Christian was a heel yet was selling more shirts then a lot of the faces then was cut short since Vince didn't wanna make money on something he didn't come up with. And Austin was selling more than anybody in the WWE in 1996 when he was still a full fledged heel, he didn't officially turn until 1997. The fans have no implication on if a wrestler is heel or face because if that were true the WWE would have turned Cena a long time ago. Yes Vince wants to make money, but how does he know what will sell if he doesn't even give the option to buy a shirt. And if so and so is not over enough to sell tshirts than why bother making a shirt for him or her in the first place. If the guy is not over and your not going to sell his shirt at the arenas in the first place don't bother making a shirt in the first place. I have seen it first hand where you go to the arena and there were at least 5 fucking Cena shirts and a few shirts of Edge, Taker Dx and other top name guys but when I wanted a new John Morrison shirt they didn't even have it there. So if they werent trying to force fans to buy from only the top guys then explain why they had every single Cena merchandise known to man to buy and only one item of everybody else.

How is it a lame excuse? My point was that Vince is business-driven. If it's not copywrited, he can't make as much money. If anything, that only proves my point that Vince isn't some conspiracy-making mark, but a pure businessman.

Vince has made lots of money on stuff he didn't come up with, your redneck conservative level of conspiracy theory pushing is ridiculous. Vince wants to make money. If he doesn't have it copywrited, he won't make as much money, pretty simple.

Austin was ACTING like a heel. Heel and face is perception. If you kick a puppy and shit on a grandma, but the fans cheer you, you're a babyface. Stop looking at things in black and white.

No, WWE hasn't turned Cena heel because then he would get cheered by smarks and booed by kids and sell less merch. An inverse reaction. Again, heel and face is perception. Cheating and saying ******** things makes you a babyface to smarks.

Not only that but, once again, you're using an outlier. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlier as the example. Saying "well in these 2 instances heels sold a lot proves that faces don't sell more" is like saying "Venis Williams is a better athlete than most men, thus, most men aren't better athletes than women". It's dumb.

What's your background? I have a minor in economics and am a semester away from a business degree. The reason you saw "first hand" (as if that fucking matters, I hypothesized what you said because it makes business sense) that there were more Cena shirts IS BECAUSE THEY FUCKING SELL MORE.

Think of it like this smart guy, there are several soda vending machines that have two slots a piece for Coke and Diet Coke, but just 1 slot a piece for Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and Root Beer. Is that because Coke is secretly trying to push Coke? No, it's because Coke sells more, so they have more stock.







Finally, the idea of "forcing fans to buy" is absolutely stupidy. I'm trying really REALLY hard not to flame right now. It defies all logic that you think that. Unless you are from North Korea or something, that's not how it works here. It's DEMAND DRIVEN. If all I had to do to increase sales was to stock up on one product, it would be a lot easier. You would see nothing but ferraris for sale. That's not true though, people don't go "well I don't want to buy this but it's teh only one so I guess I'll buy it anyways". If they had 5 Cena shirts, it's probably because the demand was there. Vince has been on top for basically 30 years. It's not because he's a dumbass, it's because he understands business. If sooooo many people want Morrison and DB shirts and not many want Cena shirts, then WWE would be out of business. That's not true, instead (surprise surprise) the stars, you know, the guys who are the most over (most popular), sell the most merchandise and have the most demand. It's not rocket science, it's not a conspiracy, it's BASIC economics. Do I need to draw you a supply and demand model for you to understand this?

 

[Remix]

It's not rocket science, it's not a conspiracy, it's BASIC economics.

Word life, this is basic economics...

With that bit of childish humour out of the way, let's get onto the topic at hand. Merchandice is damn important for two reasons. The first is obviously money. If a T-Shirt sells well then it makes the wrestler and the company money, this might cause the company to put the wrestler (and by extension their merchandice for that wrestler) into a higher profile spot. That's common sence. However, the second reason is almost as important. Every wrestler in WWE is essentially a brand, a "Rise Above Hate" T-Shirt is to John Cena what a can of Coke is to Coca Cola. As every wrestler is more or less in buisness for themselves (as Jim Cornette put it, every pro wrestler is in the "Me Buisness") it behooves them to make that brand as recognisable and large as possible while fitting their character (or in another way, Cena's T-Shirts these days wouldn't fit his rapper gimmick and vise versa and it wouldn't make sence for the Undertaker to put his face on a bottle of eau de Toilette). Image is damn important and merchandice is a damn important part of that image.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Merchandise is quite important. The WWE would only design a specific type of shirt or wrestling gear for a wrestler if that wrestler starts gaining popularity in the first place. Then the sale of that merch would depend on mainly on the popularity of the wrestler and partially on the design of the merch as well. If a certain type of merch sustains a good sales record for quite a long time, then that could reflect the ability of a wrestler to draw in newer fans. For the people involved in the business, it is yet another sphere to make some money. And making money is what this business is all about.

And I'm sorry that you did not get the merch of your favorite wrestler, but like I said the WWE would only put a wrestler's merch on the stands if people actually start demanding for a particular guy's merch. You wanted a Bryan shirt. Maybe if people with similar tastes start attending the show, you may just get the shirt the next time you go to one.