TAYKES FOREVER
Merch orders often very late or damaged: Swifties
A growing number of Taylor Swift fans gripe that they’ve been “scammed” by the pop star’s online merchandise store — with many pointing the finger at her record label Universal Music Group over chronic mismanagement of the site.
Store.TaylorSwift.com — which sells gifts, CDs and vinyl as well as T-shirts and sweaters from her record-breaking Eras Tour — has been dogged with complaints on social media of goods that have arrived either late, or damaged, or not at all.
The Post spoke with multiple customers who say they waited months for goods from the site — which promises many items “ship in 1 week” — with little to no response from UMG’s customer service. Ditto for refund requests.
Grace Green, a 32-yearold Swiftie living in Arizona who has been a fan since Swift’s 2006 debut album, placed orders for 22 items last year, collectively totaling $1,044.75, she told The Post.
The splurge was “a desperate, mad attempt to get everything at once,” Green said, noting that products on the site quickly sell out.
“Your adrenaline races, your palms sweat, you add an item to the cart and by the time you click ‘check out,’ the site tells you that the item is no longer in stock.” What’s worse, however, is when “the items don’t arrive in time, or they arrive broken or in tatters,” said Green, who shared pictures of a “1989” cardigan that arrived with yarn unraveling.
A tide of customer complaints has inspired an X account with nearly 2,000 followers, @TayMerchProbs. In one poll by the group, 60% of the buyers of Swift’s $70 “Lover” snow globes said they “still haven’t received” them while another roughly 25% said they came either “broken” or “dinged up.”
Jacqueline Jordan, a 39year-old Swift fan, told The Post she launched the X account last month to “hold UMG accountable for their actions and activate change” after she “read horror stories of UMG via Reddit and ultimately fell victim.”
Jordan said she ordered a “1989” cardigan in November. It didn’t show up until this month after she emailed UMG’s fulfillment center, Artist Endeavor.
“Why the heck are they using a ‘small business’ to manage logistics for the world’s largest artist out of one small warehouse?” Jordan said of Artist Endeavor. “My guess is because UMG is too cheap to do the right the thing.”
Despite all the rancor directed at UMG, a record label spokesperson declined to comment. Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, also declined to comment. Instead, they directed queries to a spokesperson for Bravado, UMG’s official merchandise subsidiary.
Excuses & apology
“We have a global network of different suppliers and fulfillment centers. Ultimately, these all fall under the direction of Bravado because we are responsible for all order fulfillment,” the spokesperson said, noting “a combination of massive, unprecedented consumer demand and seasonal shipping issues” caused delays.
The spokesperson added that Bravado will issue a full refund on items listed to ship by Dec. 15 that didn’t arrive by Christmas and ship those items free.
“This is unacceptable and we are truly sorry,” the Bravado spokesperson added. “Please allow 7-10 business days for the refund transaction to process. You should have received a separate email with tracking information and will begin seeing movement after Dec. 26.”
When asked about customers on social media still awaiting merchandise, Bravado’s spokesperson said they should “reach out directly to customer service, so that we can prioritize their order fulfillment.”
Representatives from Artist Endeavor did not respond to a request for comment.