Do you like bonus merchandise?

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Let me elaborate:
There was topic started "worst/disappointments of 2013". I don't think this is disappointment really. And not of 2013. But lets say, getting box of LP's with wrong size shirt I didn't need in first place, but most likely added 5-15euro to retail value of box.
Getting LP, cd or tape with not only one, but multiple pins, patches or such.

This question is for merchandise what comes WITH the release. Especially when it's not optional.
This does NOT involve stuff like shirts, patches, pins etc what you buy separately because you want some.

So basically, "forced" material goods that adds very little, if anything to the experience beyond pop-culture collectibles.

[Urban Noise]

A patch or pin is ok, more than that seems wrong to me. I'm buying music not clothes.

[martialgodmask]

If there is an option to buy with or without then fine, if you want a tshirt then fill your boots and pay the extra for it.

If it is a single edition only with a non-optional inclusion which pushes up the price then it is a bit shit.



As a related aside, I seem to remember "Die hard" editions in metal circles coming under a lot of fire for creating a very commercial product out of a non-commercial culture (talking doom, DM and BM specifically) but generally they at least seemed to provide a no-frills equivalent too with representative price - I don't follow new metal releases so closely any more so could be off the mark here.

[ironfistofthesun]

I have the DOME box set. A fantastic release but included within the set is a Dome matchbox containing black confetti! It ends up getting everywhere and i have to vacume after every play . The cost of the bespoke matchbox production seems a silly conseptual extra that I could of lived without!
http://editionsmego.com/release/DOME12345

[martialgodmask]

I have the DOME box set. A fantastic release but included within the set is a Dome matchbox containing black confetti! It ends up getting everywhere and i have to vacume after every play . The cost of the bespoke matchbox production seems a silly conseptual extra that I could of lived without!
http://editionsmego.com/release/DOME12345

Extras that make a mess are the worst kind!

[Duncan]

I've been suckered into throwing a few extra notes at an edition of some release simply because it comes with something a bit extra and often I don't go for that stuff now.

But as for...unsolicited freebies? I like that a lot.  For me it remains one of the most amazing things about noise which initially struck me as making the 'genre' so fresh when I was a teenager discovering it.  I would do a trade/purchase and get lots more than I asked for.  To me, this is the benchmark of how to actually conduct your trades and purchases when possible! (though such things aren't practical for people more active than me in issuing/trading music). 

Sometimes you get things you don't care about which wind up in the bin...but it's worth it for the occasional keeper: that serendipitous moment when you buy one thing then get a sticker/badge/whatever of an artist you also really love that was unrelated to your order. I guess it would get annoying if I had loads of shirts I'd never wear coming through...but generally I am massively in favour of this.

Bonus points also for ephemeral junk and bizarre articles or artworks. Easily my favourite thing to find in a package.  Nothing quite like expecting a flimsy CDR and ending up with a war film on VHS you can't/wont ever play and a data disc of occult rituals. YEAH!

I suppose I like it all for the side that feels reflective of a tape trading/mail art community approach I wasn't old enough to have been a part of.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

If there is an option to buy with or without then fine, if you want a tshirt then fill your boots and pay the extra for it.

If it is a single edition only with a non-optional inclusion which pushes up the price then it is a bit shit.

Another case that felt little annoying was upcoming Wertham/Grey Wolves/Survical Instinct LP. LP itself could have been just fine, but in situation where one would like to hear complete session, there is a limited bonus tape in set that consist LP, tape, shirt and was it 3 pins? Price tag 45 euro + shipping. Obviously it's customer choice, do you want to pay 20+ euro more for tape with extra tracks and get shirts and other bonus you don't necessarily need.

I'll be quite curious waiting for results of voting. I have never talked with anyone who are in favor of "pop culture goodies" forced sale.

I must clarify that merchandise means "commercial goods" (such as shirts, pins, patches, kitchen magnet, stickers, etc). I don't include handmade packaging, crucial artwork (booklets, prints,...) that are integral parts of packaging. For example, Blood Axis/LJDLP 10" box set with absinth spoon is there on fine level. It is indeed just additional thing in box, but still elemental part of thematic / experience of box. If there was handful of mundane absinth fan memorabilia, I certainly wouldn't need those. So, topic not about special packages, but about mundane pop culture merch.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Ah, and I realize poll options #2 and 3 appear pretty much the same...
Lets consider "I like".. to be more partially favorable for free merch, while "I don't.." like option is skeptical although not totally against. ;)

[Johann]

I dont mind when labels and artist throw free shit in, sometimes you get some pretty interesting records/etc. sometimes you are given shit you already own, which at that point i just give it away to third parties that are unfamiliar with noise/industrial music. I dont mind random shit in the package either, such as trash, download cards, flyers, t-shirt fragments etc, i think it all adds to the uniqueness of the overall experience. if its annoying or messy i just throw it out.

Maybe living in the US i'm unfamiliar with it effecting the overall postage rate? or declaration tax?

i generally steer clear of label packages that are bundles though, i kinda find it to be a real turn off, like Southern Lord for example having six editions with either hoodies, shirts and other crap. dont need any of that, and dont order stuff like that. the price of music has already risen so drastically in the last 15 years due to inflation etc, i have neither the money for that kind of junk or the space to store it.

Also I am not a collector per-say, so i do not need to own multiple editions of the same thing, i think thats just the label gouging their loyal fan base to try to make extra money off completionist and it reflects poorly on the label/artist overall IMHO

[vorago]

No, I do not like bonus merchandise. I think it is wrong kind of "salesman attitude". For me patches and pins are worth nothing, and I am not interested most of t-shirts, so this kind of offer have to be very high-quality & interesting.

[Ritual]

Pointless stuff that makes a tape or record difficult to store with the rest is nothing but a nuisance to me. That also extends to various types of special packaging. It's fine if you put on a metal plate to your record cover or put your tape in a mesh cage or something. But, anything that protrudes and make the item impossible to place on a shelf next to other stuff (screws and nuts, barbed wire etc.) is just annoying and means I have to make a special place for the item. I'm running out of special places by now...

[tiny_tove]

I like it, but it must fit... I tend to be disappointed when I get extra editions and additional sound material is just scraps and leftovers

[Zeno Marx]

No thank you on pins, patches, posters, record mats, shirts, kazoos, whirly hats, framed signatures, and all the other useless, rock-bleeding business ploys to spend an extra $2 to manufacture so they can charge another $25 on the limited edition.  I don't feel it is much of an issue if that bonus junk edition doesn't also include additional music.  It's an ugly look for a label, but if they want to sell and bundle paraphernalia, I don't judge them too harshly for taking advantage of their customer base.  I've picked up a patch or two because I'm a sucker for patches, but I don't like when they're attached to a music item.  If the music material is going to be released, release it with all of the editions.

[Ashmonger]

I like the way for example NWN deals with it: you want the backpatch, patch, tape, flag, I don't know what, you buy the die-hard edition; you don't need it, you buy the normal edition, that works for me. Mostly I buy the normal edition, but have bought a couple die-hard editions, because I was interested in having a patch of the band.
I don't mind stickers or posters, not that I use them, but in some cases it's nice to have an extra big version of the cover art, and they don't take much extra place in the shelf. Only poster which I thought was really retarded was the one that comes with the Acid Witch - Stoned album, it's just the square cover art stretched to fit a rectangular poster, so that you have an oval moon...
In some cases I'd even wish they made the merch available separately, for example in these cases:
http://www.discogs.com/Ordo-Rosarius-Equilibrio-Four/release/3564288
http://www.discogs.com/Sonne-Hagal-Only-Echoes-Remain/release/3384230
I'd really like the ORE patch and pin and the Sonne Hagal patch (I'm having a thing for band patches which are more a symbol than just a band logo lately, such as the Satanic Warmaster - Werwolf patch, Clandestine Blaze symbol, Vemod abraxas symbol patch...)...

[indifferentwitness]

i don't care much for t-shirts, pins and patches, but i like posters if they have some good artwork. would never pay extra because of a thing like that, though.