The Ground and Pound 7.04.08: Petition to Get Affliction to Lower Their Prices!
Posted by John Curry on 07.04.2008
On the 4th of July, The Ground and Pound takes a look at the ridiculous cost of MMA clothing, namely Affliction clothes and Starts a Petition to Lower Afflictions Prices.
There is no better time to be a fan of MMA than today at least that is what Dana White keeps telling us. I hate to agree with him but it is the truth. With the increased sales, various organizations, and more of the fights we have been looking forward to for years, the sport of MMA is fast becoming on par with the more "household" sports such as the NFL and MLB. With this increased popularity also comes one of the largest portions of any sports revenue, merchandising. Now I am not going to go into great detail about all of the specialty merchandise or the actual gear that fighters wear. What I want to focus on is the one thing that most fans want to purchase when they go to an event, the lowly t-shirt. Anymore the cost of attending a major MMA show is astronomical without the purchase of a t-shirt for a souvenir. Why you ask am I devoting an entire column to complaining about t-shirts? Well it's really simple. I received a post the other day on my myspace account from Affliction clothing, that basically stated that there were some new designs available. Now I loved the designs and figured I'll go check it out and see what they cost. This was my response to that post to the owners of Affliction Clothing:
Why don't they make Affliction clothes affordable to purchase? I mean WTF? 66 bucks for a damn shirt. HA! I just found my new Column for next week.
John Curry
The Deaf MMA Columnist
411mania. com
To be honest with you I really didn't expect anyone to respond to me. Much to my surprise I did receive a response. Here it is courtesy of the Affliction Clothing company.
I'm not sure why I am answering the message except for the fact that you have a misunderstanding of our product and I would like to clear it up. I am not sure of your background or if you know anything about the clothing industry, but there is a lot that goes into our shirts. All our shirts go through 3 washes. 1 for a color treatment and 2 for softening. Other shirts, none. Some of the other technical aspects, Foils, stitching, appliqués, rhinestuds, self patches, embroidery, discharge inks, flocking, gels, belt printing, sublimation to name a few. Some of our shirts have as many as 6 hits on them. Paying athletes and musicians royalties for signature series garments. Paying our artists who come up with some of the best art in the world. Comparing our shirts to some other tees out there is like comparing apples and oranges. We are not trying to piss people of by charging high prices, we are just trying to produce the best product on the planet. It's a tall order, but we are trying.
Thanks for your comment though. It gave me a chance think it though instead of being pissed that another person is talking shit.
Take care.
At first I was pretty happy with this response. I thought to myself hell maybe I don't understand the clothing world or anything in it and the amount of work that goes in to creating these shirts. I felt like an ass for a minute that I just chewed this guy about the high prices of his T-shirts. Wait a minute! Why the hell am I feeling sorry for telling this guy that $66 is too damn high for a t-shirt? I am not sorry. I understand enough about clothing to know what is milking the system. Look I wear size 13 shoes, I know that there are many selections out there in the world that I can choose from. What I do know is that there is not that much difference between two shoes with the only difference being Lebron's image except about 40 bucks. The whole point is that just because you have famous people wearing your stuff doesn't mean that it should cost an arm and a leg for your fans to show their support. Hell I am ten seconds away from spray painting Affliction on a blank T-shirt just to fit in. I realized however that I would be missing the most integral part of an Affliction shirt…the skulls. This seems to be the most prevalent thing in the world of Affliction.
Now while it isn't really fair for me to make assumptions on the cost of a company's clothing based on the price of one shirt so I decided to browse through the remainder of Affliction's t-shirt line to figure out how much their stuff actually costs. Well I was right. Affliction's shirts range in price from 30 bucks for a blank shirt with just a small Affliction name on the shoulder to 78 dollars for a bamboo t-shirt. The majority of their t-shirts are 50 dollars or more and all tend to have the same focus on skulls or graveyard statues.
Now while I understand the world of marketing and how including a famous name on the shirt will help it sell, the shirts seem to have nothing special about them for that particular fighter. Take for instance the Fedor shirt below. Skulls, some more skulls, and his name on the back. Nothing special at all. This shirt will set you back $58 on the Affliction website.
Fedor Shirt $58
Where is the love for the fans who fork over the 50-150 dollars for a ticket to your show? Fans should be able to buy your clothing if they want to without feeling poor. The whole thing is if the price of Affliction's clothing was cheaper, they would be able to sell more and make more money.
One of the biggest things I want to do is show you exactly why I say there isn't that much difference between what people say about their clothes and what everyday people will see. If I paid $66 for this t-shirt most people would not know about all of the different processing that goes on to make a shirt as the gentleman from Affliction stated and I for one do not want to stand there and explain to them about it.
First up is Tapout. Tapout is probably the most recognizable names in MMA behind the UFC. Is their merchandise "shit" compared to Affliction. Let's take a look at my favorite shirt and see if it is as nice as the Affliction shirt for less than $66.
Tapout Shirt $24
This shirt is $24 at the Tapout website. Now if this shirt has worse artistry or if the people over at Tapout don't work hard or as hard as the guys at Affliction please feel free to let me know but I think they are probably working a little harder than Affliction. If you don't believe me let me know how many Tapout logos you see at the Affliction event.
Next up is Warrior Wear. Let's check out what you can buy over there for less than $66 bucks
.
Warrior Wear Kingdom Shirt $29.99
Wow it looks like this is one half ass done shirt doesn't it. No. I think a lot of work went in to making this shirt and some great artists are behind the design. This is my favorite shirt at Warrior Wear. Oh and I found it ironic that when I did go to the Warrior Wear site I noticed Tim Sylvia and the Affliction: Banned logo on the page. This is really quite interesting to me.
Now let's take a look at the last one, Critical Fight Gear. Now many of you may not have heard of Critical Fight Gear but it is one of the up and coming lines that focuses around the saying Malon Labe which means "Come and Take It" and focuses on Spartan Influences. Now while my favorite shirt doesn't have the traditional Spartan influences it has that Punk Ramones Look to it that I enjoy. But let's look at a smaller company and see what you can get for less than $30.
Critical Fight Gear $24.99
Looks pretty good and very fresh to me. Maybe if they worked a little harder according to Affliction they would be able to make more money and charge more. I think that they are doing just fine right now.
Affliction's attempts to justify the cost of their clothing line is nothing more than a bad excuse for charging people to wear what they see their favorite fighter's wearing. This is no different than the professional sports of today such as the NFL, MLB, NBA or others. There is no way that you can tell me or any of the fans out there that we can afford to buy $66 shirts. A part of this anger is me not being able to afford one, but that was just the start of what actually turned into a logical thought. It's just the fact that by telling me that your shirt is the greatest in the world as a justification for that kind of price is not only offensive to other respected makers of MMA focused clothing but also insulting to the intelligence of the fans of the sport.
We understand the difference between a Timex and a Rolex but we are talking about a damn t-shirt not an investment, not something that is going to hold its value. We are talking about a piece of cloth that I can't wear to teach in, that I am going let my pits sweat up, and when I am out partying I may just throw up on. The clothes are going to fade and shrink over time. And guess where I am going to be. I am going to be out almost $70 for a damn t-shirt. If it was a suit or something I would understand but it isn't. I can't say it enough, it's a DAMN T-SHIRT.
I am sure there are going to be those of you out there who will jump up and down about your ability to afford the shirts and more. I know there will be the whole I am talking shit about a company just because I can't afford the shirts myself. Oh well. The reality is I wrote this article to argue the principle of relating to your fans and their backgrounds. If Affliction is to ever become a great organization with the same fan base as the UFC they are going to have to start to pay attention to the make-up of their audience.
I started this column to hopefully get people to sign my petition to get Affliction to lower their prices. IF YOU THINK AFFLICTION SHOULD LOWER THEIR PRICES FOR MMA CLOTHES PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! I will email them the petition when one week from now.
BE SURE TO JOIN MY GROUND AND POUND ARMY AT John Curry's Myspace. NO ONE IS DENIED!!
"Hell I am ten seconds away from spray painting Affliction on a blank T-shirt just to fit in." To fit in with what? TUF noobs who pay to much because they think it makes them look badass?
Posted By: Vic (Guest) on July 03, 2008 at 12:27 AM
Hey there are enough Affliction shirts out there, so why have more?
I think $60+ will keep these shirts as premium bad add shirts, of which there arent many out there.
Also, if for paying $60 a shirt you get a company to promote MMA and bring Fedor to the US then those extra $20 are totally worth it!
Posted By: vago (Guest) on July 03, 2008 at 03:40 PM
OK I am not poor, for example My total bills for the month are $2500.00 and my take home cash is $5000.00 so I guess you could say taht I could afford a $66.00 shirt. but I just can't justify spending that much for a shirt. and that 2500 includes my payper views and gas money. Then again me making what I make compaired to my dad who makes twice as much a month as me only has about 500 a month after he pays all his bills so its all about the budget. if you like to live poor then blow your hard earned cash for over priced shit, but if your smart with your money then stay away from the high priced shit.
Posted By: Guest#4159 (Guest) on July 04, 2008 at 02:48 AM
Wearing Affliction is a good way to get yourself seen as a douche, because meathead douches wear Affliction.
Pfft, how about lowering the prices of jiu-jitsu gis? $200 is a lot to spend for a known brand like Atama or Koral.
Posted By: konron (Guest) on July 04, 2008 at 09:44 AM
$66 bucks buys a whole lot of T-Shirts, there is nothing that makes you look cooler than wearing clothes that the 14 years olds are wearing......
Posted By: Bob (Guest) on July 04, 2008 at 11:12 AM
I work in the clothing industry. I own a t-shirt line that sells fairly well in Canada and have had celebrities wear my stuff as well as some MMA fighters.
Affliction and Ed Hardy are the top 2 brands in North America right now. And to stay at the top, you have to constantly update your product. If you look at an Affliction from a few years ago, you clearly see more effort is put in the work now.
You cannot make judgements on t-shirts based on photos like you did. First off, a TAPOUT t-shirt doesn't use the same cotton material as an Affliction. Affliction uses softer, lighter cotton, and they make their own materials. TAPOUT, however, purchases inexpensive pre-made shirts from a warehouse.
Second, Affliction puts their stuff through washes. That also costs a lot to do. The washes give the staining effects on their shirts. None of the other brands you mentionned have that.
Also, when they mention "hits", that means number of times the shirt has to be rotated on the printin machine in order to print on the shirt. The amount of work on 1 shirt is insane.
ALSO, Affliction applies FOIL on some shirts. Its not only the fact that foil costs more, but also the time it takes. Before applying foil on a shirt, all the other "layers" must be completely dry of the shirts. Then foil is applied and then it goes back on an automatic dryer.
All the others brands you talk about here, TAPOUT etc.. do not use the same inks neither. Affliction uses a softer, water based ink, which costs a hell of a lot more than plastisol, which TAPOUT uses.
If Affliction were to produce 1 single t-shirt here in North America, it would cost them more than 15$ ! That is the cost of producing a shirt.
From 15, they sell to retail stores at 30 for example, and then the retailer has to make a decent margain so he also sells it to the public at 60. That is why an Affliction costs more than a TAPOUT, which costs less than half to make.
Another thing.. Affliction has become a household name because they have put an INSANE amount of money into promotion and MMA fighter endorsements and liscensing fees. NONE OF THAT IS FREE.
60$ for a t-shirt is extremely reasonable when you take into account the amount of money the company puts in. You compare an Affliction to a 200$ Christian Audigier, and Affliction is the better bargain!
I applaud the dude from Affliction to have written back to you. I'm surprised he even went into detail with his response. But I totally understand him. I go through the same thing all the time.
Most of us reading here are WRESTLING fans also. This is the equivalent of someone telling us that Wrestling is fake. Then we have to always go back on the defensive.
Feedback is appreciated!
Posted By: Charles Q. (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 07:56 AM
Charles... while all what you say there is well and good, if you show me any other business where you can make 350% profit margin, as in your example, I'll be glad to invest in it.
As for the article, I can hardly justify spend $6 for a t-shirt at Wal-Mart. Not because I can't afford it, but because IT'S A FUCKING TSHIRT! Anyone who buys an Affliction shirt, or any other branded shirt is one of the mindless drones that buy what society says they should by to look cool. Plus, you can't tell me that a shirt with all of that foil and screen print crap is comfortable...
Posted By: Jason (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Hey Jason,
Where do you see the 350% ? It costs affliction 15$ to make 1 tee and they sell it to retailers at 30$. Whatever the retailer does after has nothing to do with Affliction. So its 100% profit margain.
Well, Affliction shirts are comfortable. The shirts are lightweight and snug :) You don't feel their ink since its waterbased and the foil isnt hard in the least.
Anyhoo, if you got more Qs, feel free to ask!
Posted By: Charles Q. (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 06:24 PM
Thanks for providing a little more background Charles. However, I could agree with you a little more but the fact that just a basic white shirt with nothing on it but a little logo of Affliction on the shoulder is still over 30 bucks. While Affliction could attempt to justify the 60 cost of their higher fashions the fact that a basic shirt still proves the point that they are milking the system.
Posted By: John Curry (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 09:18 PM
Hey John,
The point was that Affliction is not just a basic white shirt with nothing on it but a little logo. Even their white shirts are from their own yarn, and are still washed. Just because the shirt is white doesn't mean it is cheaper. In most cases, white shirts require more careful washing in order not to stain them. If it gets washed the wrong way, it turns either grey or beige.
Also, the sleeves on Affliction tees are destroyed. I'm not going to devulge how its done, however I can tell you that it is made manually and takes a long time to produce. I have done similar work on about 900 shirts and has taken me over 2 weeks of work.
If you wanna talk about milking the system, you should go after huge chains like GAP and OLD NAVY (same company). A t-shirt of their made in China would cost them 1$ MAX. And they seel it for 10 to 15$. Thats up to 1500% profit margain since they are manufacturer and reseller.
Posted By: Charles Q (Guest) on July 07, 2008 at 06:23 PM
Wow, Affliction was right. You really don't understand the product. Or simply the concept of supply and demand. You don't get to dictate to a business how much they are allowed to sell their product for. They will sell it for what they feel they can get for it based on all the variables involved. The idea that a petition is going to lower their prices is absurd. If you don't feel they are providing a good value for your money, DON'T BUY THEIR DAMN SHIRT! It's just that simple. If others agree and don't buy it either, they will have no choice but to lower prices because they won't be making any money. It's just that simple. The other shirts (Tapout, Throwdown, etc.) are not even close to matching Affliction's quality and artistry. And I can guarantee you if they did lower their prices for whatever reason, the quality of the shirts would be proportionally lower. If you can find a way to make COMPARABLE shirts for less $$$ than you probably have a great business opportunity. If not, then stop complaining and start filling up your piggy bank.
Posted By: D (Guest) on July 16, 2008 at 07:51 AM
I totally disagree with this guy I don't make anywhere near the money to afford an affliction T shirt, BUT , how dare you compare, this may sound contradicting to what I just said But I own a few Affliction T's and I must say I didn't even realize that Affliction had anything to do with MMA or any of those organizations I just liked the shirt and I will tell you right now its the most comfortable shirt I have. I agree that 66 dollars is a little high but I have always been told "cheap is good but good isn't always cheap" so quit your bitchin take it like a man and buckle down buy one and hang it on a wall or something so it doesn't "lose its value" or "fade" if you wanna save it forever.....be my guest but if you really think that tapout and all those other companies compare YOUR CRAZY
Posted By: ME (Guest) on July 21, 2008 at 12:12 PM
I dont see why people are buying affliction clothing. if it was $20 a shirt I still would not buy or wear affliction. in my opinion the shirts look cheap and it takes a while to understand whats on the shirt. I think a lot of guys are trying to look like MMA fighters and are your typical steroids guys. they love these shirts because they think they look tough and resemble mma fighters just because they want to feel important or try to impress women. now I dont have a problem spending $50 on a ralph lauren polo shirt because they are nice and always in style. I have spent $150+ on nike shoes. so the whole thing about it being expensive is not the issue as much as someone would even wear that stuff. how many of these steroid freaks in affliction shirts do you see with women? there are a lot better mma companies who have good quality shirts with neat looking designs and nobody knows about them. these companies I am talking about will make you look more like a MMA fighter than affliction. people who wear affliction have the same cookie cutter clothing everyone else has. get other companies that are nice shirts but are not afflcition. you can still wear your mma clothing and still be in style but look a little better. tapout to me is afflcition on a budget. I dont wear tapout because everyone has tapout and you look like every other guys who thinks he is an mma fighter.
Posted By: dude (Guest) on May 17, 2009 at 05:27 PM
