How much $ is to much $ to charge for stuff.

[Gillyanne]

Sometime we take a Lyfy to the outlet mall near Disney and shop at the Disney outlet there. Get the shirts that were $40 2 months ago for $15.

This, I always hit the outlets. I even try to do it first just in case something is there that I end up also seeing in park. One year I got the Tiki Room serving set at the outlet for [at least] half the price and it was still available in parks full price. If my mom is going down, I'll even watch some of the Vlogger walk through videos to scope out items. When my mom went in April I spotted and she was able to pick me up the Orange Bird dress for $25 which those Dress Shoppe dresses retail $108 or $118

 

[Indy_UK]

$60 for these so called Spitit Jerseys are way too much.

 

[Maelstrom Troll]

It’s all about perceived value to me. I wont drop $80 on a Mickey polo but I’ve bought art, Guerlain perfumes, and Dale (not chip &) Sweaters while at WDW. I feel like I’m getting quality and heritage for my money versus some cheaply made shirt I’ll never wear at home.
I dont buy a higher end souvenir every trip, (especially if it’s a land & sea trip) but I budget for vacation spending and don't feel bad about spending it.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I'm a self admitted miser; I don't like spending much on things for myself (and yes, I realize how silly that sounds when posting on a Disney forum). So I'm probably biased when i say that I agree, Disney souvenir pricea are way too high. Most of it is pretty generic items that I felt I could easily pick up at my local Hot Topix or Wal-Mart for much less. Out of the $500 I brought with me specifically for souvenirs, i only spent $100. And that was mostly on fans in the Japan pavilion to add to my collection. That said, I saw a lot of people buying souvenirs when i was there. The obly exceptions were at the pavilions in EPCOT and my resort gift shop. So for me, yes the prices are too high, but for most people it seems they're not. Which might have something to do with the "once in a lifetime trip" mentality, but it's hard to say.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

The prices are only as high as people are willing to pay. God I do love capitalism.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

...Your decision to buy less only means theres more available on the shelf for the next guy...

Which is fine with me. As long as it's not MY money that's spent, all good. What you do with yours - is your concern.

I only wish they lasted longer. The fabric they use now is much lighter/ less durable that the t's we got many years ago. I still have some from those years that still get worn.

I noticed this a few years ago when we went. It's like they went with the cheapest material they could find. Some said it was the "new trend" with T-shirts. Meh.

 

[RaveOnEd]

To echo what's been said here, it follows when I've sold toy trains over the years: as long as people will pay that price, the price will stay there or increase.

You see folks even posting YouTube videos of their merch "hauls" after their Disney trips, and those can easily reach in the thousands they've spent (and that's per trip, with them going on multiple Disney trips each year!)

To me, it's down to what you want to pay and if it's something that's special. For me, the last time we went my main purchase was the G Gauge WDWRR Train Set. It had some factors connected to it: I bought it right after I did the Magic Behind The Steam Trains Tour, and my father passed early last year (he passed in January, we went to WDW in August), and we both collected and ran trains. So for me, the $100.00 was more than fair for the train.

Apart from that, I got a WDW retro styled T Shirt (has the sunset colors with a white silhouette of the Partners statue) that I haven't seen anywhere else, and stylistically it's me. Same with my wife and daughter's selections with the shirts they got.

So to us, if the price is reasonable for what you're getting (and haven't seen it anywhere else), then we'll get it, but not go overboard on spending. We save it for one or two special things each.

 

[Hockey89]

God bless capitalism... It figures out these type of questions. You have no "right" to any consumer goods....

 

[Animaniac93-98]

A lot of these $40 shirts get sent to the outlet malls, discounted online, or sold as a bundle (get 2 for $25, what a deal!). This does not include people using Passholder or DVC discounts etc. or shoplifters (I forget what % of stock they lose every day from that).

I'd be curious to see how many of these things get sold for full price. Disney probably has the high sticker price to compensate for when they do get discounted in some form, much like the rack rates at their hotels.

 

[unmitigated disaster]

Probably quite a few. Look at all those who will: people without vehicles who won't be going to outlet stores, people who have money so price doesn't matter, people who are 2X or 3X who grab what they find so it doesn't get sold out, eBay sellers....

 

[eliza61nyc]

Probably quite a few. Look at all those who will: people without vehicles who won't be going to outlet stores, people who have money so price doesn't matter, people who are 2X or 3X who grab what they find so it doesn't get sold out, eBay sellers....

or some times it's folks like me who think in terms of "time is money". My vacation time is so limited so it's not that I have unlimited supplies of money, it's more that I think , is it worth the 30-40 minutes it would take to save 20 bucks. that's why I rarely go to outlet malls in the first place in real life. If I were buying 20 tee shirts maybe? but not going to spend the time to pick up 2 shirts.

It's the same reason why those 'mini-marts" stay open and do great business. I do weekly shopping at the grocery store but if I run out of 1 item like milk, yeah I'll pay 5 bucks for a gallon instead of having to drive to the supermarket, park, spend at least 30 minutes getting one thing and having to drive home.

In my life time is gettng to be just as important as money.

 

[larryz]

If it's unique to the resort/parks and it hits one of my "need" buttons (as in "I really need a colorful Hawai'ian shirt!"), then I'll splurge. Otherwise, meh.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Some of y’all need to understand money isn’t the same for everyone.

A $65 spirit jersey might seem crazy to you, but it’s just another thing to buy for others.

Disney has priced things on the edge of buying versus not. Enough people are buying for current prices to make sense and probably rise.

If that changes, prices will respond quickly.

 

[YorkshireT]

Disney will be hammered come a recessesion.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Disney will be hammered come a recessesion.

And that's to be expected and anticipated. No biggie. A huge part of our economy is based on consumerism and consumer confidence. When us consumer feel safe and feel our jobs are secure, we are happy campers. Disney is not stupid. When the recession hits most likely consumer confidence will go down, we will tighten our belts and the mouseworld will probably offer crazy incentives to get people into the parks.
Lol, people say that like Disney is going to panic or some how have a "going out of business" fire sale?

And truthfully with all the new bells and whistles they are adding..just my unprofessional thoughts, if the recession hits say in the next 5 years folks will still come. They might lose a small % but I doubt we'll see empty parks

 

[Patcheslee]

Disney does stock all size. Your problem is that lots of people are buying up your size of T-shirts. That's why you can' find your size. They are gone as soon as they are stocked. Even at prices that you wont pay - everyone is gobbling it up.

They kinda stock all sizes be also kinda don't. I've found the issue is going to be age appropriate clothing for DD10 this time. Technically in womens size 1/3 but the dresses I've seen on the Disney shop site are of course designed accentuating the chest, which I'd rather not have my kid in. If she were older yes but not at 10. Of course when we get to the parks in a few weeks there will be more offerings, but right now DD just knows the princess dresses will be too small for her.

 

[thomas998]

I recently got back forom a fun trip but spent a lot less $ than I thought I would. How? I voted with my $. After saving for 2 years & building up a lot of points on our Chase card we had close to $600.00 to spend on stuff for our trip. However, I saw the big price hikes & said no I'm not spending $40. for a shirt that I know used ot be $35. or $30. for one that was $25. There were some shirts a little lower but it seems the only ones I liked were only available in Small Medium or Large. Sorry I'm a guy tha t wears XL. Maybe they should have sizes for most of the people in the parks not the sizes they want people to be. Maybe just do a better job of stocking all sizes. I don't fault Disney you price what the market will get you but I do the same with my $. My wife got a few things & we got some things for the kids but we ended up spending most points on server tips & even came home with a few points. I had thought we would have gone over what we had. I guess we start saving for the next trip or Christmas. so i guess when is it too much. Will the people that decide not to buy have abn effect on those that keep buying. If crazy proces for concert tickets are any indication it's a no. I don't see myslef on the winning side of this but I also did not buy a $40. shirt I will wear only a few times.

Frankly I don't see any point in even paying 20 for a shirt if I'm not planning on wearing it more than a few times. Would you have paid 40 for a shirt if you knew you would wear the shirt on a regular basis? If so then I don't think the problem was the price as much as it was the shirt you were looking at. I've paid quite a bit for Disney shirts in the past, but only for shirts that I would wear on a regular basis... so not for t-shirt but rather for polo style shirts with a simple embroidered character discreetly placed on the left where you would normally find a logo.

As for pricing ever dropping... they won't. And I agree concert shirts have gotten out of control as not only has the prices continued to rise over the years but the heft of the fabric has declined which is very annoying as the difference in cost of a decent t-shirt versus a crappy t-shirt is probably less than 50 cents, but rather than sell something that will last for years you get a shirt that will probably not last more than a few washes.

 

[FettFan]

I recently got back forom a fun trip but spent a lot less $ than I thought I would. How? I voted with my $. After saving for 2 years & building up a lot of points on our Chase card we had close to $600.00 to spend on stuff for our trip. However, I saw the big price hikes & said no I'm not spending $40. for a shirt that I know used ot be $35. or $30. for one that was $25. There were some shirts a little lower but it seems the only ones I liked were only available in Small Medium or Large. Sorry I'm a guy tha t wears XL. Maybe they should have sizes for most of the people in the parks not the sizes they want people to be. Maybe just do a better job of stocking all sizes. I don't fault Disney you price what the market will get you but I do the same with my $. My wife got a few things & we got some things for the kids but we ended up spending most points on server tips & even came home with a few points. I had thought we would have gone over what we had. I guess we start saving for the next trip or Christmas. so i guess when is it too much. Will the people that decide not to buy have abn effect on those that keep buying. If crazy proces for concert tickets are any indication it's a no. I don't see myslef on the winning side of this but I also did not buy a $40. shirt I will wear only a few times.

Everything is dependent on Supply and Demand.

The price you see listed on merchandise is the Equilibrium Price: the price that both the producer and the consumer are satisfied with. The producer is able to sell all their stock at a steady pace without fear of surplus or shortage, as the consumer is not overly turned away by the price.

 

[FettFan]

And truthfully with all the new bells and whistles they are adding..just my unprofessional thoughts, if the recession hits say in the next 5 years folks will still come. They might lose a small % but I doubt we'll see empty parks

Worst case scenario would be fewer Disney resort hotel rooms getting booked as people look for lower rates off-property.

Case in point:
A family suite that sleeps six at the Art of Animation value resort goes for $348 per night.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/art-of-animation-resort/rates-rooms/

A family suite that sleeps ten at the Royale Parc Suites (formerly Quality Suites Maingate East) goes for an average of $138 a night.
(I listed the average price, because they charge different rates for weeknights and weekends)
https://www.royaleparcsuitesorlando.com/

For a 5-night stay, you're saving over a thousand dollars.
All you'd be giving up is WDW bus transportation, but given that the distance between these two hotels is only three miles, that's negligible.
You could rent a car for $260 for the week and still come out on top.

 

[mdcpr]

I don't see it as how much is one item, but how much are you spending in total. Each of my kids get a $100 spending budget which they can either blow off on a large ticket item or buy more and less expensive things. This way they are responsible for their purchases and learn to make good buying decisions.