Swifties Are Once Again Mad About Broken, Ill-Fitting, or Poorly Made Products

Brendan Menapace

There’s a reason Taylor Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year last year. Her influence transcends the music world, and her faithful army of “Swifties” would do darn near anything for her.

They are possibly the most passionate fanbase in the world (outside of soccer). And while their allegiance to Tay is unwavering, they are not loyal to an absolute fault, at least when they’re on the receiving end of disappointing merchandise that did not come cheap.

This is now the second time we’ve reported on Taylor Swift fans receiving underwhelming, incorrect, or even broken merchandise within the last calendar year.

In March, people were complaining that the “Eras” tour apparel wouldn’t stand up to even a single laundry cycle.

Now with another merchandise drop from Universal Music Group, customers are swarming the Artist Formerly Known as Twitter to air their grievances over unsatisfactory products.

One of the most commonly posted products is a “Lover” snow globe, with multiple customers reporting that their snow globe came shattered—sometimes fully beyond repair.

It’s gotten to the point where there’s even a Twitter account called @TayMerchProblems, which has been reposting all of the complaints over UMG’s products.

That’s the key here: Fans are quick to absolve Swift of any wrongdoing (lest they find themselves shunned by the community), and instead place the blame solely on UMG.

On the apparel side, some fans are noting that their products are different than advertised, like a pullover with noticeably longer sleeves and baggier fits.

Some are posting shoddy craftsmanship.

For a star as big as Swift, this is a bad look. Fans were posting their complaints and emails to UMG, with some getting assurances that they’d be refunded or sent new products, but the seeds of distrust have been sewn, and now UMG has made a powerful enemy.

For the record, UMG did respond to some customers with a link to send complaints, and hopefully get their money back or receive corrected merchandise.

Just like the Taylor Swift effect is real to drive sales and boost revenues, it’s also a real way to ruin your … reputation (pun absolutely intended, and I’m not even a Swift).

The lesson here for distributors is that, as we’ve said before, even if you’re not working with anyone nearly as famous as Taylor Swift, your brand’s perception relies on the quality of your product and services. Swifties (or even casual fans) are now left with a sour taste in their mouth over this merchandise, with some having spent actual thousands on products that came late, damaged, or not at all.

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