I am always shocked when I see the prices for "merch". Why does a hooded sweatshirt, that might cost 10-20 USD at Uniqlo, cost 55 USD as "merch" with a 2-5 USD silkscreen print. I agree: It is absolutely "exploiting the parasocial relationship your victims have with you".

No regular price hoodie sweatshirt costs $10-$20 at Uniqlo. They start at $40 for adults, most are $50. They start at $30 for kids. https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/men/tops/sweatshirts-and-hoodie...

Uniqlo's core business is apparel. They buy in massive bulk. Mr Beast buys in maybe tens of thousands.

Those are pretty high prices. Are they manufacturing those sweatshirts in the US or other Western country, or are they just positioning themselves as premium brand and selling with 400%+ markup?

Or has the clothing market in the US hollowed out in the middle completely? That's what I'm worried about where I live (Poland, EU) - I feel like the middle tier, of normally priced, regular quality clothes for regular people, is all but gone now, leaving us with the choice between a) second-hand stores and bazaars selling counterfeits imported from the East, and b) lifestyle brands selling rags at ridiculous prices.

I guess the prices for Uniqlo are massively marked up in the United States. In Japan, pull-over sweatshirt costs 1,290 yen, or about 9.50 USD.

Ref: https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/ja/products/E458468-000/00?colorDi...

No they don't. That is the sale price and none are available.

https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/ja/men/tops/sweatshirts-and-hoodie... 2990 yen and up for regular price.

> 2990 yen and up for regular price.

That's still only about $20 and up, so right there is a factor of 2x between Japan and the US.