Shirt.Woot

alazzar wrote:There really should be a warning on this shirt's page about how the product won't match the picture. I'd long admired this shirt (though had never purchased anything on Woot), and I finally decided to get it a few weeks ago when Nevermore was close to being reckoned.

I was sad to find that it's pretty much just a grey shirt. If you squint and the lighting is *just right*, you might be able to tell that there's a bird on it, but you've got virtually no chance of reading the text.

The contrast is awful (or, rather, nonexistent), which is a shame, because the design is incredible.

Kinda sucks that this was my first Woot purchase; it makes me hesitant to try again in the future.

This was my first woot shirt purchase as well. I spent a long time considering to get it because I was afraid of the contrast issue, but since I could read every word on the design image, I decided to go for it. Sure enough as the previous poster mentioned, I am basically wearing a grey shirt which in the right light may have a raven on it. I know it's there so I am still wearing it, but I confess to being disappointed as well. Is this a recent issue with design fade after so many years or did they change shirt color? I looked back and didn't see many complaints until recently so I wonder if something has changed in this batch.

hannahzinn wrote:... I am basically wearing a grey shirt which in the right light may have a raven on it. I know it's there so I am still wearing it, but I confess to being disappointed as well. Is this a recent issue with design fade after so many years or did they change shirt color?

They changed suppliers (from American Apparel, made in the USA to Anvil, made in Honduras or Nicaragua), so the "asphalt" shirts nowadays are actually charcoal. Here's a comparison against my old worn one ...



Not that the old ones were issue free, as you can see ... the printing faded on them, so after a few washes, it too looked just a gray shirt.

I'll probably end up running the new shirt through little bleach in the wash ... DIY "slate" shirt, if you will.

Narfcake wrote:They changed suppliers (from American Apparel, made in the USA to Anvil, made in Honduras or Nicaragua), so the "asphalt" shirts nowadays are actually charcoal. Here's a comparison against my old worn one ...



Not that the old ones were issue free, as you can see ... the printing faded on them, so after a few washes, it too looked just a gray shirt.

I'll probably end up running the new shirt through little bleach in the wash ... DIY "slate" shirt, if you will.

Thanks for the picture--I figured something like that had happened.

But I'd still be thrilled if my new shirt looked like yours. Even on your dark shirt you can read the print. The breast area of my bird is just a blur. If I tilt it repeatedly until the light catches I can kind of read ghost and few other words, but you have to focus on each word to get it. Like I said, I love the concept and will continue to wear it, I was just hoping it would be more of a conversation starter than it will be.

good luck on your DIY project--hope it is successful.

REALY!!!!! THATS SO COOL!

Myztri wrote:I wanted this one so bad... I am happy I get it. Then again, I am a lit geek who has The Raven momorized. Yeah, the whole thing.

Narfcake wrote:They changed suppliers (from American Apparel, made in the USA to Anvil, made in Honduras or Nicaragua), so the "asphalt" shirts nowadays are actually charcoal. Here's a comparison against my old worn one ...

Thanks for the before/after, Narfcake. It looks like they changed the preview image on the site, too.

I confess I'm a little disappointed that they didn't put Nevermore on slate grey after the brand change. On my monitors, the difference is quite noticeable, and I'd probably have had second thoughts about black text on the current asphalt. That said, I really think Woot is doing their best to be fair, even going beyond their usual tongue-in-cheek, "we make the rules" attitude. They've boldened the text here and already changed the color scheme for the tote bag and hoodies. A staff member even told me they were specifically evaluating Nevermore on the new asphalt. Plus, who knows what else the art directors have on their plates with the site redesign? After seeing the shirt in real life, I was pleasantly surprised, though my expectations were low.

For now, I think the best solution is to keep Nevermore in the Reckoning until the next brand change, and hopefully that asphalt will be lighter than them all

haxrox,

I agree with you about Woot really trying to get this one right. I contacted them about my shirt issues (I truly think it was quality issue vs design) and they are very kindly working with me. I love the shirt and hope that it remains around for a very long time.

I bought this shirt because I love the poem so much! I noticed today they have put it on a coffee mug but what I'd LOVE to have it on would be a tote bag! Any chance that will happen?

nycatdmt wrote:I bought this shirt because I love the poem so much! I noticed today they have put it on a coffee mug but what I'd LOVE to have it on would be a tote bag! Any chance that will happen?

Woot has offered it on a tote before; cross your fingers they will offer it again in the future.

haxrox wrote:Thanks for the before/after, Narfcake. It looks like they changed the preview image on the site, too.

I confess I'm a little disappointed that they didn't put Nevermore on slate grey after the brand change. On my monitors, the difference is quite noticeable, and I'd probably have had second thoughts about black text on the current asphalt. That said, I really think Woot is doing their best to be fair, even going beyond their usual tongue-in-cheek, "we make the rules" attitude. They've boldened the text here and already changed the color scheme for the tote bag and hoodies. A staff member even told me they were specifically evaluating Nevermore on the new asphalt. Plus, who knows what else the art directors have on their plates with the site redesign? After seeing the shirt in real life, I was pleasantly surprised, though my expectations were low.

For now, I think the best solution is to keep Nevermore in the Reckoning until the next brand change, and hopefully that asphalt will be lighter than them all

There's hoodies/tote bags available?

Also, free tip for anyone with graphic tees: Turn them inside out when washing/drying them, it'll protect the art on the outside better.

I'll have had my nevermore for 3 years in October, and it still looks new

Narfcake wrote:Woot has offered it on a tote before; cross your fingers they will offer it again in the future.

Argh! On Black too! Fingers crossed it comes back on a tote again and this time I won't let it pass me by! Thanks for the info!

I just got this shirt among those I ordered for the Random Shirt day, and it is pretty cool. The letters are quite legible, and it is even on the A.A. blank. I had always kind-of liked it when I saw it online, but in person it is much better.

Great design, but the grey is so dark the raven hardly shows up on it, which is a bit disappointing.

i still have my Nevermore shirt from April 5, 2008. Debating buying another one, but i haven't ordered any shirts since woot upped their prices and ditched American Apparel... have they sorted out the "way too dark" issue?

Congradulations to ddwilson27, proud owner of Nevermore #50,000!!

geoffreysteinman wrote:i still have my Nevermore shirt from April 5, 2008. Debating buying another one, but i haven't ordered any shirts since woot upped their prices and ditched American Apparel... have they sorted out the "way too dark" issue?

Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten worse in an attempt to make it better. The color of the "blank" shirt is darker than the original blank, and it appears that woot made the font "thicker" (I apologize, I don't know the right term, but the lines are literally thicker than they used to be), with the result that the bolded elements of the poem (which suggested the beak, eye, etc.) no longer stand out from the non-bolded parts. This is based on comparing a brand-new Anvil print to a "first-generation" (early) AA print (washed-and-worn; completely faded) to a middle-generation AA print (washed-and-worn; looks great).

Just to be clear - I really like this design and deliberately purchased a second copy before it transitioned from AA to Anvil; I'd never bought a "back-up copy" of a shirt before (although I bought a second copy of Binge at the same time), so I hope that says something about how fond of it I am - but I think woot tried to make it more legible in the transition from AA to Anvil, but unfortunately, I feel like it lost some of the overall effect.

Congrats Haxrox & Nevermore on hitting 50,000! I kept watching the numbers go up. It was like seeing the odometer turn over!

great shirt but it looks faded.. so i'm unsure how long the text will last.

Yatta! I was hoping to post earlier but was away from internets: ddwilson27, you just won yourself a Raven mug, if you want it!

Edit: Um, how do I pm someone if they haven't posted anything? ddwilson27, if you happen to see this, pm me! (click the envelope next to my username)

Got the shirt. I love the idea, but be forewarned, in real life the black of the text doesn't stand out much at all from the color of the background. From a distance you can't even tell that it has text on it. A slightly lighter background color would work better.

I love this shirt. I have purchased 2 and am seriously thinking about getting another... all for myself. Then there will be a statistic in the "bought 3" category. When you see that, you will know it was me! :-)

Another one writing in to express extreme disappointment at this shirt The shirt is way too dark and the text isn't very heavily printed or well defined or something. You have to be quite close to even seen if there's anything on the shirt, never mind you all but have to be wearing it to read it.

Excellent concept, really disappointing print quality and shirt combination, that's not reflected in the example picture on the page at all

I'm having the same problem as many of you, but unfortunately, it appears to prevail across ALL asphalt shirts that have any black printing on them. WOOT, TAKE HEED! Today, I received both "Nevermore" and "Trying To Sing," and neither of them are even close to wearable. You simply cannot see the black parts of the designs. Here's what they look like:

Nevermore = A dark grey t-shirt

Trying To Sing = A puddle of musical symbols with one unexplainable floating treble clef

I'm bummed, because I bought Nevermore for a buddy a couple years ago, and it looked great. As a huge fan of Woot, it's hard for me to make this recommendation, but alas: DO NOT buy any of Woot's asphalt shirts until they get either their screen printing process or their shirt supplier figured out. In the meantime, I'll have to return these and hope that at least Nevermore manages to stay in the Reckoning.

Ditto. Just bought my first Woot shirt, having loved this poem since I was 14; I'm now 56. [I know what you're thinking. "Hey, Gramps, what's an OLD guy like you even do'in on here!" But I digress.] Although the image on the site did not have the greatest contrast to begin with, I took a chance and ordered it. Unfortunately I'm sorry to say that when it arrived in the mail today, the shirt has even less. The text is barely readable, so obviously I'm bummed. As a Graphic Designer, I can't believe this shirt is not available in lighter colors, which would make the design really pop! Even white would be better. Wonder if Haxrox has a say in it or it's strictly up to the Art Directors at Woot? If they are reading this, PLEASE bring this back in lighter colors. The design deserves it.

When can I get this in a long sleeve??? I keep holding out on buying and praying I'll get a chane. Maybe a special run for Poe's birthday or Halloween?

mikemat0616 wrote:...As a Graphic Designer, I can't believe this shirt is not available in lighter colors, which would make the design really pop! Even white would be better. Wonder if Haxrox has a say in it or it's strictly up to the Art Directors at Woot? If they are reading this, PLEASE bring this back in lighter colors. The design deserves it.

See my post, like 20 or so above yours

Note to anyone looking to buy this shirt. While awesome, the pictured design has more contrast than what is actually on the shirt. The shirt color is a bit darker grey than the computerized image shown, so it's harder to see the design than you'd think when ordering.

Crap. I didn't even think to check here before ordering. There's definitely still an issue with the color of the shirts. I can't read my brand new Nevermore shirt at all. Either the shirt needs to be lighter or the text does because it doesn't look at all like the sample image. Woot, I love you guys, but you might want to either pull/hold these shirts or change the image to reflect what the shirts actually look like right now. I waited ages before purchasing and now I'm pretty disappointed with the results. That's never happened before.

auntiesuze wrote:Crap. I didn't even think to check here before ordering. There's definitely still an issue with the color of the shirts. I can't read my brand new Nevermore shirt at all. Either the shirt needs to be lighter or the text does because it doesn't look at all like the sample image. Woot, I love you guys, but you might want to either pull/hold these shirts or change the image to reflect what the shirts actually look like right now. I waited ages before purchasing and now I'm pretty disappointed with the results. That's never happened before.

Hi there, if you send a picture to service@woot.com, see what they say and if they're able to help out.

Does anyone have a picture of the new, darker Nevermore shirt? I am trying to decide whether or not to buy one, but don't want to get it and not be able to read it. Thanks!

I saw this shirt a while ago and liked the poem on it. I have only memorized about 1/3 of the poem (which is much longer than what is shown on this shirt).
Up to "open here I flung the shutter".

I had considered buying this shirt several times, but the font looks too small for a t-shirt, and several people stated that it fades.

You can add my name to the list of people who are disappointed with this shirt. I love the design, but the execution is lacking. Unless you knew that there was something on the front of the shirt, you would never notice the design.

jtwigg wrote:You can add my name to the list of people who are disappointed with this shirt. I love the design, but the execution is lacking. Unless you knew that there was something on the front of the shirt, you would never notice the design.

Mine as well. I picked up the shirt today and had to look for the tag to see what was the front. I highly recommend that Woot put this design on a silver shirt.

Can I get this as a hoodie?? Please for the love of Poe?!!

This was one of my very first woots, several years ago now, and I still wear this shirt in a weekly rotation. I love it so much I have the graphic as a background on my laptop as well. I don't know who made the shirts before versus now, but even after numerous washings (some where it wasn't turned inside out since my girlfriend doesn't share all of my OCD habits) it still looks great.

plane and simple. I must have this shirt i must i tell you i must!

jlgish wrote:I saw this shirt when a friend purchased it, and I have to say I was disappointed. It seems there is a much higher contrast ratio on my computer than on the actual shirt. The bird is hard to make out and the words are too. I liked the concept, but not the shirt, once I saw it in person.

I should have read the comments better before purchasing this shirt. I agree with you, I liked the concept but the actual product leaves much to be desired.

angryartichoke89 wrote:I should have read the comments better before purchasing this shirt. I agree with you, I liked the concept but the actual product leaves much to be desired.

agreed. sad.

"The one who wiggled like a whore."

This phrase alone makes this the best writeup Woot has ever produced and had the balls to put online.