Who the hell uses the word "poser" anyway?

You some kind of a hipster, boy?

 

Just buy what you want. Sometimes I buy shirts just cause I like the artwork and I have no idea who or what it is. I never gave a crap what anybody says. It's your money do what you want with it. Oh....and welcome to the boards fellow mass-hole  

 

There's your answer right there, life is full of too many people looking to tear others down. You'll never be happy if you worry about what total strangers think.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

I just hate how Hot Topic is basically the only place to get anything nowadays, maybe besides Zuminez. All the old music shops have closed up and if I want to get something cool, its either there or the internet. Heck even the Hot Topics are phasing out CDs and records! But honestly, I'd rather Hot Topic return to how it was 10 years ago, it just isn't the same anymore.

 

they're working on going back to how they were...

 

Well, Hot Topic is a major chain store trying to market itself as "niche" or "undergound" or "friendly to subculture", and this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, even if they are for many teens the easiest place for them to get merch relating to those subcultures. I've heard complaints about hiring practices and employee treatments, but this is anecdotal, and thus really not worth going into.

My biggest issue is probably their use of certain internet memes in their exclusive merchandise, which to me seems like a company profiting off the work of an artist without any sort of reimbursement, though I concede there is likely a debate to be had regarding artistic property and the public domain regarding the issue. So if this counts as "merch I don't like", then yeah, kind of, though I couldn't care less if they sell invader zim belt buckles and owl city t-shirts and true blood lunchboxes or whatever.

 

Yet their stores are in the most anti-subculture place possible.. the mall  

 

Haha, thanks.

 

It's best to consider it a "subculture training wheels" kind of place for those without a driver's license or credit card. Hopefully it can lead young people to refine their taste for independent expression, and when they can, seek out places that aren't accessible until they can get a bus pass or their own bank account.

 

You're 14, aren't you? Yeah, there's always going to be an older, crummier bum who could easily call you an inexperienced "poser". Just the way of the world.
Besides, don't you want revenue for a franchise which you love so much?

 

Sorta agree with this...

Considering that they're consistently in the TOP 100 for best places to work, I'll call bs on this.

Considering that Hot Topic doesn't MAKE it's own merchandise, it's probably something they bought off another company who was already making it. Hot Topic doesn't sell unlicensed merchandise, so if a meme creator feels "ripped off" he/she should take it up with the manufacturer....

 

I say go for it dude! If you like it, buy it! Who cares where you're getting it from.

 

I buy novelty shirts all the time. In fact, they consist of my entire wardrobe. For example, I am currently wearing a Tootsie pop shirt with the kid asking Mr. Owl "How many licks does it take?" I'd easily buy that shirt if I saw it anywhere.

 

The whole internet memes thing is the one of the reasons I don't like them. It's also a reason I find the whole Race guy debacle so funny.

 

 

There are prerequisites to wearing a goddamn t-shirt now?

 

Yep.

For example, I'd love to be able to pull off the whole "I'm not gay but my boyfriend is", but sadly something like that is only funny when actually worn by a gay person. Same goes for most racist jokes.

 

Like I said, anecdotal stories, so it might not be true of all stores. Can you post this list they made, I tried checking Forbes' for this year and they weren't on it, though Hasbro was.

As for the memes thing, the meme in question is this one (NSFW):

Rage Guy (fffuuuu) | Know Your Meme

And frankly, it doesn't matter to me if they're making their own shirts or buying off someone else's. If they produce a shirt with art they don't own or have rights to, it's a pretty dick move. It's difficult for the originator to step forward, due to the anonymity of the internet, but IIRC someone did claim to be the originator with a compelling story, and he was not in favor of hot topic profiting off his work. Like I said, there's a debate in there about public domain, but internet art getting stolen and made into t-shirts without reimbursing the creator has happened other times before, such as with Shmorky and the "God Kitten" shirt by David & Goliath clothing.

You might not think it much, and you're free to have your own opinion about the company, but it's been enough to sour me on them, especially when I've had such great experiences with online vendors and dealers like mtctoys, stylin online, and 80stees.

 

Yeah, and even DA jumped on the bandwagon with the trollface business.

You know a meme has gone old when it's mainstream. That's why the "itty bitty boat" meme is one of my favourites, I thought it was funny and it NEVER caught on.

 

I got my beloved Transformers messenger bag from Hot topic. It's 4 years old and there's still not a seam out of place.