The price of being a fan in fandom.

[rogueslayer452]

++ I just found out that ThinkGeek closed its online store recently and have relocated by integrating with GameStop instead (which is kind of a downgrade imho, aesthetically and functionally). I have always looked on the ThinkGeek site for anything new and interesting with fandom/geeky merch, and have bought things from time to time, but I do agree with some of the criticisms that some of the stuff was a bit too overpriced and they didn't really update a whole lot in recent years. I'm just sad I missed their "moving out" sale since I was dealing with health issues during the time it happened, I could have gotten great deals on things I had always wanted to get.

++ Wil Wheaton is suing Geek & Sundry over profits of a webseries he created. Although I had watched G&S since it debuted, I've been hearing some unfavorable things ever since it was sold to Legendary (LDN) years ago and the changes they'd started making once they took over and the clashing between them and the staffers/creators. So yeah, I hope he wins.

++ Tumblr has been bought by the owner of Wordpress for less than 3 million dollars, which is significantly less than what it was originally bought for by Yahoo years ago. It's kind of hilarious seeing big corporations who clearly never understood the platforms they were buying (Yahoo legitimately thought that Tumblr was "the next generation PDF" which...what?) and thinking they could profit off of ending up with a massive financial loss for fucking it up big time, but it does leave the question of what this means for the site now. The ban on adult content and the shitty algorithm is still up unfortunately, which won't win people back that either left or were forced out, and despite claims that nothing will change we've all heard that song and dance before. The fate and longevity of the site is still up in the air, and many, especially those among the fandomsphere, are worried what this means. Tumblr might not have been originally created to be for fandom use, but fandom did migrate there and it became one of the biggest platforms to host fannish content and it's what caused its rise in popularity. But without it, where would people go? There is no other site that is comparable to it. I've said this before, but ideally we need a solution that is similar to that of AO3/OTW where a non-profit fandom platform is created by fans for fans, but realistically I know it isn't that simple. So for right now, it's just a big question mark of what the future holds.

Comments

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was always my problem with ThinkGeek. There would be something I wanted but it would be sold out, and it would take forever for it to be restocked, if it ever did. And yet they just kept the "sold out" picture there whenever I kept coming back to check. And things I kept holding off of because they were too pricey, but anytime there was a sale happening it would instantly be sold out. So I think they weren't that great with keeping up with that, which is probably one of the reasons for this move from their own site to join with GameStop. It also seems that they are downsizing their merch over there for only the popular stuff, which also sucks because I did like finding the more obscure random things.

Wondering how much longer Tumblr has for this world...

It will either disappear or fade into obscurity, much like LJ because fandom moved from LJ long ago (for valid reasons at the time) and yet we're still here. It just really depends....

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Gamestop had bought them a few years ago...perhaps this was always the plan? Too bad though, I think the name "Think Geek" is way more fun than "Gamestop".

And I'm going to miss Timmy and his outfits.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

ThinkGeek will still exist, if I'm reading into this correcting. They still have physical stores around in certain areas, at least for the time being, it's just their online store that has integrated into GameStop which is why I think ThinkGeek will still remain their own brand and be around even if they're doing this. Although it makes me wonder how well their online business actually was in sales if they had to go this direction. I agree, though, that ThinkGeek is a better name as a whole, since it is incorporating all things geeky and nerdy for everyone. And their site was better to operate too, lol oop.

Yeah, every time I bought something from them I would get the Timmy sticker in the package with my purchase. I don't think they'll be doing that now that they're combined with GameStop.