[noahm]

Agreed. I've watched in dismay as their focus has shifted over the years from "#include <beer.h>" mugs and t-shirts with Larry Wall quotes on them to almost exclusively TV and movie merchandise. From my vantage point, it's not that geek culture has gone mainstream and brought Thinkgeek with it, it's that Thinkgeek has shifted to a more mainstream focus and away from geek culture. Not surprisingly, it's been years since I've ordered anything from them.

[vacri]

Thinkgeek was always kind've pricey. Places like DealExtreme have replaced them for me, at a tenth the price. Sure, I won't have access to NameBrand(tm) branded things... but I look at the hundreds of dollars of stuff I bought at Thinkgeek... and it's all throwaway garbage anyway. The mug that faded on its first trip through the dishwasher; the heat-sensitive coloured putty that lasted all of a couple of days before failing; the usb single-can cooling fridge that doesn't work because there's no insulation and the contact point with the can is miniscule; the list of stuff that looks better on the website than in your hands just goes on and on.

[pnathan]

IMO, there has been a merging of marketable elements of geek culture into the mainstream. Merchendise is, above all, sellable, and if you can do it, sellable to a broad audience. In one perspective on the matter, it was inevitable: fans are people highly predisposed to purchase merch; business has a vested interest in boosting sales of branded merch and executing on a spinoff and toy tie-in model.

Popular culture is, quite bluntly, popular, and things like movies have a broad appeal - certainly the drama of life played out on the big screen is more broadly attractive than #include <beer.h>.

All that going to say that it's no real wonder that ThinkGeek "sold out" to double down on profitable merch. I just wish I could still get an 11" Tux to terrify the non-Linux users of my workplace & home.

[tomfakes]

I'm drinking a beer from that exact mug right now