Amazing Reproductions/ Re-Issues and Customs

[Bill]

The quality of reissues and reproductions that are available today are amazing, and the pricing makes it so that just about anyone can have as much as they want. I remember Cotswold GI Joe figures and uniforms in the early 90's and the high prices that they commanded, and of course the late 90's custom figures from Flatt.
I've been collecting skateboards for the past five years and now dabble more in vinyl and T-shirts, again, the repros and reissues are so amazing now that unless you really, really study the item you can't even tell that it's not original.

So my question is, if there's so much quality stuff out there at low prices, why the hell are we still buying the old stuff? I just won a T-shirt from an old Sub Pop band, The Dwarves, and scored what I thought was a great deal at $46 for a used shirt. Modern, completely legit Sub Pop Dwarves shirts are $16-$19. I know collecting is the farthest thing from logical, but it just struck me as kinda odd, as I was placing a bid on a vintage, sweat-stained, Nirvana shirt, which is also available new for under $20. I lost the auction, it went for $81. I've be pondering a seriously over-priced Rollins shirt, but can't bring myself to fork over $75 for an old shirt, yet...

[wyldpny]

Nothing replaces an original over a repro.
A repro is good for example if your current funds don't afford you the ability to own an original. But once the real deal comes along and you can afford it, the joy and thrill of owning and knowing it is a real original just can't be replaced by a reproduction.

[kingdom warrior]

I like repros when the original is impossible to get. I like the Captain Action Suits and rather get the repros to customize rather than spending a lot for the original.

[Brazoo]

Nothing replaces an original over a repro.
A repro is good for example if your current funds don't afford you the ability to own an original. But once the real deal comes along and you can afford it, the joy and thrill of owning and knowing it is a real original just can't be replaced by a reproduction.

I can see that in some cases, but for a T-shirt? I can't see how a t-shirt printed now would be any different.

I have basically stopped collecting old comics. The cost of getting one is the same as getting a collection of reprints in a hardcover. The quality of collections use to be terrible, but now they're getting better and better. The new DC Kirby Omnibus books look great, for instance. There really is nothing like holding the real thing in your hands, but they're a pain to store and read. Now whenever I want to read a classic comic I can just pull a whole collection off my bookshelf. No digging through boxes and dealing with bags and tape - no worrying about ruining the book while I read.

[huedell]

I spend the least money possible for the things I want...

thank goodness for my wallet that "wanting something
merely because it is from an original run of product" isn't an issue for me.

As it is I spend a good chunk of dough on comissioned customs---so I guess
my wallet gets a good "sock in the gut" just a different kind...

...that reminds me---can someone put together a passable
Mego WONDER GIRL replica so I can be done with nabbing her already?? :)

[Bill]

Nothing replaces an original over a repro.
A repro is good for example if your current funds don't afford you the ability to own an original. But once the real deal comes along and you can afford it, the joy and thrill of owning and knowing it is a real original just can't be replaced by a reproduction.

Right, but WHY? I mean if it's nearly identical why are we spending ten times the amount to have an "original?"
I honestly can't figure it out, it's fascinating.
Of course there is the hunt for something old, and having the knowledge to identify original from reproduction, but when it comes down to it original for me holds a much higher person value for some reason that I just can't figure out.

[LonnieFisher]

I have basically stopped collecting old comics. The cost of getting one is the same as getting a collection of reprints in a hardcover. The quality of collections use to be terrible, but now they're getting better and better. The new DC Kirby Omnibus books look great, for instance. There really is nothing like holding the real thing in your hands, but they're a pain to store and read. Now whenever I want to read a classic comic I can just pull a whole collection off my bookshelf. No digging through boxes and dealing with bags and tape - no worrying about ruining the book while I read.

I download them off the internet and store them on my 'puter. Saves a lot of space...And finding them is easy!

[4NDR01D]

Right, but WHY? I mean if it's nearly identical why are we spending ten times the amount to have an "original?"
I honestly can't figure it out, it's fascinating.
Of course there is the hunt for something old, and having the knowledge to identify original from reproduction, but when it comes down to it original for me holds a much higher person value for some reason that I just can't figure out.

I hate reproduction t-shirts. To me, having an original tee means that you "were there". Meaning you supported that band and watched them in a ****ty bar somewhere, and supported them.
An original concert tee looks like an original concert tee, a tee bought at a mall kiosk looks just that. It's a matter of "elitist" pride maybe?

An example of awesome.

Me- Cool nirvana t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Hell, I've had this since I caught them opening for Big Chief back in the day.

An example of lame.

Me- cool Tad t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Um, the mall.

[jimbutsu]

Right, but WHY? I mean if it's nearly identical why are we spending ten times the amount to have an "original?"
I honestly can't figure it out, it's fascinating.


Because you want to put *something* more than 10-12 years old against your body...

[toys2cool]

I stay away from repro's unless i really really need it fast

[Bill]

I hate reproduction t-shirts. To me, having an original tee means that you "were there". Meaning you supported that band and watched them in a ****ty bar somewhere, and supported them.
An original concert tee looks like an original concert tee, a tee bought at a mall kiosk looks just that. It's a matter of "elitist" pride maybe?

An example of awesome.

Me- Cool nirvana t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Hell, I've had this since I caught them opening for Big Chief back in the day.

An example of lame.

Me- cool Tad t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Um, the mall.

I guess even the best kept 20 year old shirt, album, toy, car, etc... still shows some aging. Proof that it was from that time and not just a modern, well done reproduction. Maybe the age is as important as the image...
Philosophical collector discussion. Ha!

I picked up a cool Tad shirt with Peter Bagge graphics last year, and the seller even included a well used Tad "Salt Lick" shirt as a free gift.

[Brazoo]

I hate reproduction t-shirts. To me, having an original tee means that you "were there". Meaning you supported that band and watched them in a ****ty bar somewhere, and supported them.
An original concert tee looks like an original concert tee, a tee bought at a mall kiosk looks just that. It's a matter of "elitist" pride maybe?

An example of awesome.

Me- Cool nirvana t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Hell, I've had this since I caught them opening for Big Chief back in the day.

An example of lame.

Me- cool Tad t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Um, the mall.


Personally I don't own any concert shirts that I didn't originally buy at the actual show. I like band shirts as a memento, but if I wasn't there there's no value to me at all.

We're saying you don't own the original already. You never saw Nirvana live but you wanted a Nirvana t-shirt now, would you spend $100 on an original one or $15 on a reprint? I'm not in the market to buy either, but to me cotton is cotton and screenprints are screenprints.

[Brazoo]

I download them off the internet and store them on my 'puter. Saves a lot of space...And finding them is easy!

I do that too - but personally don't enjoy reading on the computer as much. A lot of the scans look terrible, and moiré patterns are irritating to look at.

If only crappy and overpriced reprints are available, or if it's a book I'm not crazy about but I still want to read I'll download.

[Bill]

Personally I don't own any concert shirts that I didn't originally buy at the actual show. I like band shirts as a memento, but if I wasn't there there's no value to me at all.

We're saying you don't own the original already. You never saw Nirvana live but you wanted a Nirvana t-shirt now, would you spend $100 on an original one or $15 on a reprint? I'm not in the market to buy either, but to me cotton is cotton and screenprints are screenprints.

You nailed it! I never saw Nirvana in '89, BUT I had the shirt for the Bleach album in '89 from the record store. At that point East Coast tours were few and far between for the initial round of Seattle bands. I recall Mudhoney coming through and playing a rather bland show, but it wasn't until the likes of the SuperSuckers and Dwarves until the big nationwide tours were common.
All of my original shirts are long gone, most lost their sleeves for use as headbands pretty early on. I'd kill for Circle Jerks Return of Elvis or VI tour shirts, or Die Kreuzen Ed Gein memorial tour, but some things just didn't survive.

[SeattleEd]

and here my ex got rid of all her band t-shirts. Her best friend is Nils Bernstein from old Sub Pop so she(we) got a lot of rare old stuff that was tossed. I've seen all this old stuff just be tossed and trashed. Funny how much it's worth now. At least I got her rare vinyl. Even have the first pressing of Bleach on white vinyl. Not the reissue or bootleg from the UK, but the actual small run they did when it came out. And a bunch of rare 7" stuff.

Ed

[Brazoo]

Ah - okay - so you're replacing shirts you use to own. I guess I can see how you'd want them to be exactly the same.

When it comes down to it - if you can afford it and it makes you happy go for it!

[Joe90]

You nailed it! I never saw Nirvana in '89, BUT I had the shirt for the Bleach album in '89 from the record store.
I saw Nirvana at a small Club here in Edmonton back in March, 1991. Nevermind hadn't been released to explode onto the charts yet, and there weren't more than 30 people there. The band didn't seem to care, and they played as if they were at a practice session -- at one point, mid-song, Cobain bummed a cigarette from someone in the crowd. Like I said, it was like they were just hanging out, jamming. They did a mix of songs from Bleach and songs from the album they were working on... I can't remember which songs they played from Nevermind, but it's one of those moments where I wish I had smuggled in a video-recorder.

Oh, to have had the foresight...

[Bill]

and here my ex got rid of all her band t-shirts. Her best friend is Nils Bernstein from old Sub Pop so she(we) got a lot of rare old stuff that was tossed. I've seen all this old stuff just be tossed and trashed. Funny how much it's worth now. At least I got her rare vinyl. Even have the first pressing of Bleach on white vinyl. Not the reissue or bootleg from the UK, but the actual small run they did when it came out. And a bunch of rare 7" stuff.

Ed

It's not worth a damn but still hard as hell to find, but if you happen to have Steven Jesse Bernstein "Prison" on vinyl I'd gladly send you some Megos. Bernstein was the last of the beat poets and the music mixed into the background really makes the album. I've heard his spoken word, but without the music his grating voice is, well, grating...

I tried to pick up 7"s again; after a few I quickly remembered how annoying they were, having to go back to the turntable after three minutes.

[Bill]

Ah - okay - so you're replacing shirts you use to own. I guess I can see how you'd want them to be exactly the same.

When it comes down to it - if you can afford it and it makes you happy go for it!

I can justify my own stupidity, that comes very easily. I honestly just don't know why it has to be a certain way with us collectors, no matter what it is we collect. There's the easy, inexpensive out that should be enough, but for some reason we have to buy the old stuff, even though it takes more time and money. That's the part that interests me, the why.

[cjefferys]

An example of awesome.

Me- Cool nirvana t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Hell, I've had this since I caught them opening for Big Chief back in the day.

An example of lame.

Me- cool Tad t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- Um, the mall.

It's been touched on, but how would you rate:

Me- Cool Melvins t-shirt, where'd ya get it?
You- I bought it on ebay for $60. It's vintage though.

In between, but somewhat closer to the "awesome" end of the graph, right? :smiley1:

I definitely get the whole wanting vintage deal, toys, t-shirts, whatever. I don't care how close the repros look to original, they just leave me cold. There's nothing "special" about them to me.

[goldenryan]

The quality of reissues and reproductions that are available today are amazing, and the pricing makes it so that just about anyone can have as much as they want. I remember Cotswold GI Joe figures and uniforms in the early 90's and the high prices that they commanded, and of course the late 90's custom figures from Flatt.
I've been collecting skateboards for the past five years and now dabble more in vinyl and T-shirts, again, the repros and reissues are so amazing now that unless you really, really study the item you can't even tell that it's not original.

So my question is, if there's so much quality stuff out there at low prices, why the hell are we still buying the old stuff? I just won a T-shirt from an old Sub Pop band, The Dwarves, and scored what I thought was a great deal at $46 for a used shirt. Modern, completely legit Sub Pop Dwarves shirts are $16-$19. I know collecting is the farthest thing from logical, but it just struck me as kinda odd, as I was placing a bid on a vintage, sweat-stained, Nirvana shirt, which is also available new for under $20. I lost the auction, it went for $81. I've be pondering a seriously over-priced Rollins shirt, but can't bring myself to fork over $75 for an old shirt, yet...

i never understood paying $80 for an old shirt and wearing it. 80's shirts do have a cool feel to them tho, a lighter fabric and tighter fitting.

[SeattleEd]

In regards to repo tees, they are NOT like the originals at all. Most of the them are printed overseas with low quality.
Most of the tees that were made by local bands here back in the day were from local american made materials. Remember those days? Materials are much different and most were silk screened as well in the garages. You CAN'T repo those and I've seen a lot of the originals first hand. Even some of the people I've hung out, met and played with at shows showed their merch to us, me. Great DIY stuff back when it wasn't so hip. It was the only way to make money for booze, food, rent, drugs, gear and recording time.
Now all the repo stuff does not benefit the band one bit. Stuff you see hanging on the walls of your local Hot Topic goes to bootlegging companies since they THINK the bands are no longer around.

On the flip side, it's good they have these tees of old bands since it expose younger generations to bands that they never experienced, like I did when I went to my first record back on Hollywood Blvd in L.A. PEACHES. I saw the tees and posters of bands that were intriguing and made me want to check them out. Glad I did

This also applies to other areas like toys, vehicles, foods or entertainment. Technology as well. Turntables, 8 track and cassettes are en vouge.
I'm glad they reissued some albums again that have been remastered. Grant it it may not be pure analog since the multi-tracks have been digitized at high resolution and remastered back to analog to burn to vinyl. Like the first Doors album in mono with the words not being edited out. Still good to hear on DVD and vinyl. Or the Beatles catalog that was just remastered and will be issued on high gram vinyl.

I say just perpetuate the legacy and if you feel elitist about your philosophical views on the original vs repo then so be it. As long as it's still breeding the legacy.

Just like the neu megos, some people hate it because they aren't like the old, but at least they are back and as someone put it on another thread, in the time of advance toy making with all the high details, it's good to see the basics still exist and cast attention to those that appreciate it.

..and yet I still wear all my original band tees from back in the 80's and 90's. Even my daughter wears the small ones now.

[Brazoo]

It's not worth a damn but still hard as hell to find, but if you happen to have Steven Jesse Bernstein "Prison" on vinyl I'd gladly send you some Megos. Bernstein was the last of the beat poets and the music mixed into the background really makes the album. I've heard his spoken word, but without the music his grating voice is, well, grating...

I tried to pick up 7"s again; after a few I quickly remembered how annoying they were, having to go back to the turntable after three minutes.

That album is still mind blowing now! If I ever find one I'll let you know.

Yeah, I love my 45s, but I only bother with them once in a couple of years. To be honest I can't be bothered even listening to my LPs anymore - I'm just too lazy and my ipod is too convenient.

[Bill]

I say just perpetuate the legacy and if you feel elitist about your philosophical views on the original vs repo then so be it. As long as it's still breeding the legacy.

I like this.



Had to pop in my Prison CD, a little coffee and SJB in the morning. My dog Barko is currently looking at the speaker, growling and barking. Even he is offended by Bernstein's voice.

I've picked up a few modern albums, but the price of originals is cheaper than the reissues, so most of the time I'll just buy stuff off of eBay. The Hot Topic in the mall carries a small amount of vinyl, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Dischord still sells their albums for next to nothing. $7.99 for Minor Threat and Fugazi, pretty cool score for a mall store. I bought the double album re-release of Nirvana's Bleach and wasn't really all that impressed with the quality. Reminded me of early Caroline records.

[Bill]

That first step is a doozy...
Now the Henry Rollins shirt is on sale for a mere $67, doesn't seem that bad all of a sudden. I need help...


SUPER RARE VINTAGE 1989 NIRVANA SUB POP PROMO T-SHIRT - eBay (item 390132035512 end time Dec-19-09 09:39:59 PST) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390132035512&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT)

[Thor]

I've bought reproduction accessories for some of my old 3.75 inch GI joes. I just can't afforf to pay 5 or more dollars for small parts. That goes for figure vehicle parts and Transformer accessories also.

[TrueDave]

Its an actual piece of history. It took me al LONG time to finish the ENTIRE run of Captain AMerica and the Hulk. But When I opened one It was a piece of history. that book was at a drug store years before we landed on the moon or I was born. And the ads! Kiss Army! KIDS! Sell Grit!
You get to see ads for Spiderman bike horns. The NEW Towering Inferno movie.

You get to read the letters pages. And I'm telling you in the early 70s the letterpages on Captain A and the Falcon were high brow colleg thesis kinda stuff.

I like spotting an old Spagettios stain and the smell of the old pulp.

I can just appreciate the past.

What I REALLY love is sociology. I would go and start in the early 60s Tals to astonish and see the ads for what kids did and played with. The prizes for selling seeds or greeting cards.

It starts out with camping gear science kits and AM Radios and bit by bit moves up to Video games and uh . . well, more video games.

Its work to get something old and you alweays wonder what its past was.
Right after I filled in the last of the Hulk the DVD Rom came out with the whole series . Im told that it reprints everything but I dont trust political correctness. PC just cant resist.

But think about it. Think about the HUGE impact on culture some of these characters have had. Before that book that very thing you are holding was printed they didnt exist.

I like to call reading my old comics time travelling.

Thanks for asking !!! This was fun!