Why do Fans buy Merchandise? Too Much Stuff! The Rise of “You have to have it all to be a TRUE Fan.”

When is Enough, Enough?

Well, in K-pop fan culture, and certainly to the label companies who sell massive amounts of merchandise, enough is never enough.

“Do you have the album, repackaged album, five tee-shirts, hats, jean jacket, tote bag, pins, stickers, necklace, bracelet, hair ties, posters? You don’t!? Scandalous that you call yourself a fan.”

This idea that you are not a TRUE fan if you don’t have all the stuff, from all the members, from before the members were even born.

This mindset, in my opinion, needs to go off the deep end. Not only is this mindset robbing many of our younger generations of valuable resources, such as money that could be invested in their futures. But it perpetuates the idea that your worth as a person/fan is determined by others and “stuff”, not you, yourself, and I am.

This is a toxic mindset we should toss to the curb. People have enough problems finding worth in themselves, no need to add “more stuff equals better person” to the mix.

Is This Mindset Exclusive to K-pop Fans?

By the way, I am under no illusion. This mindset is not just in K-pop fan culture, it is everywhere.

That person in the mansion who is always grumpy. Yeah, they have a ton of “stuff,” but the yacht they bought last year doesn’t seem to make them any happier than the second house in Tuscany did the year before. From my experience the pursuit of “stuff” to show off to others never ends with a person being happier. Pursuing the accumulation of money just for money’s sake does little to improve you as a person. I have witnessed people who chase money because they value money more than people and themselves, the result isn't pretty.

A fan of K-pop might not be buying second residences, maybe you are, but the mindset is the same. More stuff, money, and inanimate objects that are collected increase the owner’s personal worth in the eyes of others, which somehow equals being better or a better person. I cry false!!

So, am I like you, or are you like me?

I will use myself as an example. First, I will state what you have probably by now guessed. I do not pursue purchasing/collecting “stuff” to make myself happy. In all facets of my life, I only purchase items that bring me joy. Most are purely functional. I do not contribute to the economy to inflate my image to my neighbors.

Now, permit me to list my collection of merchandise, it won’t take long.

·       Two EXO tees,

·       a SuperM hoody,

·       SuperM fanlight,

·       NCT fanlight,

·       SuperM’s first and second albums,

·       Taemin’s first solo album,

·       Jonghyun’s first solo album,

·       Taemin’s Act 1 album,

·       NCT Resonance album,

·       NCT’s dreamcatcher,

·       one NCT 127 necklace

·       NCT 127’s 2020 bracelet.

·       I added Taeyong’s five versions of Shalala when they were released.

·       Taeyong’s second solo album, “Tap”

·       Ten’s first solo album, “Nightwalker”

·        My most prized item is a picture of Taeyong, signed by him from SuperM in 2020. It took forever to get here, and I was most concerned it was going to be lost in the mail, but it finally arrived.

Now, to put this into perspective this is my collection over fifteen years. And! I am a multi-stan! I have listened to a lot of groups in the last fifteen years.

Why do I not have closets and closets full of merchandise you ask? I haven’t gorged myself on merchandise simply because I don’t like the items. Plain and simple.

Now, I have added all five versions of Taeyong’s Shalala album to my collection. Before someone shouts “hypocrite!”, allow me to expand on why and you will see I have not breached my expectation of “I only purchase items that bring me joy and I do not contribute to the economy to inflate my image to others.”

Taeyong

Taeyong is special to me. At the end of 2019, a member of my immediate family passed away. I was crippled with grief for, well, a long time. Even now, writing this is making my eyes well up. Around the same time SuperM debuted. I knew some of the members except Taeyong, Mark, Lucas, and Ten. I had listened to NCT in passing in the past, but not a lot and I didn’t know the NCT members. SuperM was something that brought a bit of happiness into my life just when I needed it most.

As I learned more about the members of NCT through SuperM, Taeyong always stood out to me. Granted, I will disclaimer that everything any fan knows about a member of an idol group can and is curated to a degree making sure it is appropriate to the image the label company wants to promote. I do not claim that I know anything personal about Taeyong more than what is publicly available and am aware what I know may not be true. However, even if Taeyong is not who I think he is, who I think he is means a lot to me.

Okay, back to my story. Ever since SuperM debuted, I have been following Taeyong and his growth as a person, leader, and artist. I honestly think he would be an interesting person to just talk with, on a variety of subjects. After observing him for several years, I can see how much depth he has as a person, and I think it is amazing that he continues to grow himself. A detail I find that speaks volumes to a person’s character is how he interacts with animals. I know he likes animals, but he is so gentle with them and respects them. That is huge in my book!

I highly respect Taeyong and he has been such a support to me over the years. When I heard he was debuting as a soloist. Called it! Taeyong or Ten were always my predictions for who would debut a solo album first. I wanted to show my support to Taeyong and to SM that Taeyong is a viable soloist and to continue supporting his solo and group activities. The choice to invest in all five albums was driven by my personal connection with Taeyong, not lording over other fans because I own more versions than them.

Honest choice or Inflated Ego?

Granted I don’t have an issue with having a fan light or two, or albums you really like. And occasionally it is okay to splurge like I did with Taeyong’s first Mini album. However, there is a significant difference between my honest choice to purchase/invest in all five versions. With the intent to show SM that Taeyong is a viable soloist and to continue supporting his solo activities. This mindset is significantly different from a fan who purchases literally every item of merchandise for a group and each member because they think the amount of merch hoarded elevates their level of fan-ness. I don’t even think that is a word!

Betrayal it is not!

Now, I can already hear the howls of “die-hard, sacrifice their firstborn” fans that I have betrayed my idols with the statement that I don’t like some of their merchandise. And those types of “fans” are the ones who have sunk probably thousands and thousands of dollars in merchandise that don’t make them any happier than the select items that I truly like.

To me, it’s quality over quantity and I only purchase items that I truly like and love. Just because I don’t like every keychain, sticker, bag, hat, or album doesn’t mean I don’t like the group anymore, nor does the amount of “stuff” impact how much of a fan I am.

Image source: https://images.app.goo.gl/VDvX1bbdUBKUChSu5

First, no one can define how much of a fan you are except yourself. Stop giving that power over yourself to others!

I know how much of a fan I am because I am a longtime fan of K-Pop in general. The music, dance, concepts, artistry, visuals, fashion, the idols themselves, and the sheer amount of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice they make to master their craft. I started this website because K-Pop and the people involved in the industry including you and me as fans is a passion of mine. K-Pop is amazing!

Wins and Opportunities

Many amazing things come from the industry, but like everything in life, there are opportunities for K-Pop and the industry as well. One is the overcommercialization of the fans. It is the job of the label companies to keep themselves in business to keep our groups creating and performing. Our job is to support and purchase responsibly.

If you have the funds to invest in every single item of a group and it makes you genuinely happy to do so and you find value in each piece you bring into your home, go ahead! However, if you are only purchasing items because a friend said I have this exclusive piece and you don’t so I “rank” higher as a fan than you and you are trying to “level up” your fan game, STOP! Think about what is driving your actions. That’s not being a fan, it is competition with your friend to own as many inanimate objects as possible with certain branding.

Items in your possession should bring you joy! Not, “ugh, what’s-her-face said I’m not a fan unless I own all versions of all the albums.”

I know which one I am, do you?

The End? Or the Beginning?

The label companies are not going to stop selling re-packaged albums with only two new songs. Thousands of random bits and bobs that at the end of the day no one really needs.

I am not a fan of consumerist culture, far from it! But I believe we can be better fans and stop judging others on this subjective scale that the more fan paraphernalia you have, the better, more of a fan you are. And someone to be aspired to and revered. This exclusivity shuts out interest from people who are new to K-pop.

Strange, to me, it sounds like the fan with all the “stuff” wants to be idolized instead of showing support to the group all the “stuff” is branded with.