How much is the price of your love for your favorite celebrity? I’ve noticed that celebrities can put unreasonably high prices for their less than average merchandise, and still sell uncharacteristically high sales. In a time when COVID benefits are ending and the holidays are coming up, celebrities are on the hunt to release the next overpriced merchandise.

Harry Styles released his new beauty line, Pleasing, which includes a $30 serum, and a pack of four nail polishes retailing at a whopping $65. On average, nail polish costs between 50 cents and a dollar to make. So it doesn’t make sense for someone who says “they care”, to price their average product for a more than average price. Nevertheless, it sold out immediately, lines formed around the block for the pop up shops. 

I don’t want to pay for a poorly copied and pasted design onto a blank sweatshirt, but I do. My friends and I can agree that we fall for the trap every time. My favorite celebrity promotes merchandise and I click the link and buy it immediately. To me this is normal but the more I think about it, the more I know it should not be.

Billie Eilish, a recently new household name, came under fire for pricing her new merchandise sweatshirts for $180. A Majority of her fan base consists of underpaid teenagers and young adults. Her new perfume, “Eilish,”  costs $68, while it only costs $1.50 to make. So what did Billie and all the celebrities do when people refuse to buy the new merchandise? Absolutely nothing, because no matter how much you say you won’t buy it, someone’s price of love unmatched yours.

Celebrities have been getting away with this abuse of the fan base for years, and unfortunately I don’t see it stopping anytime soon. As long as there are celebrities for us to love, they have merchandise for us to buy.

I have to say that not all celebrities are bad and only in it for the money, but most influencers have been taking advantage of their maturely young fanbase and making record high sales off of them. Last year Styles made around $23 million in merchandise sales and Eilish made $18 million.

While I buy my fair share of celebrity merchandise, I don’t agree with how they price things, based on the fact that they can lower the prices so much more and still meet the benchmark. I don’t want to choose between buying my favorite celebrities merch or paying for my gas that week.

 I know many people can agree that celebrities unfairly price their merchandise because they know that no matter what, people will buy it. When you pay those prices, you pay for that celebrity’s name. So at the end of the day, what’s the price for your love?