Why would a gift shop exist at all? Is there an allowable class of items which can be given as gifts, and those can't be found in regular shops? Shouldn't the gift be something meaningful, rather than glamorous?
And, I bet gift shops don't carry proper gifts at all: rare books, vintage wine, and homemade stuff (as in "and I made this for you"). To buy any of them, you'd have to go elsewhere and start early (in the homemade case). So, let's assume the gift shops are a convenience - for those who don't have the time and don't think in advance.
Alas, it's not even that. Gift shops are not the place where you buy gifts at all. They are souvenir shops. They are called so anywhere else I know. So the name is a fake - and I bet very few people give the rubbish they buy there as gifts. Why would anyone want a thing from there? (Ok, I can imagine why - there's all kinds). So why the fake name? Because it's headology - "gift" is a nice thing, and we want to be nice, it sells better.
Take collectibles then. First it was "collector's items", where you could buy rare coins, stamps, matchboxes and whatnot - for those whose collections are of the most common kind. Which was OK, there was enough people in philately and numismatics to support such merchandise. Then, there was pictures of sportsmen (called some kind of cards nowadays, but you can't swipe them anywhere), which you would stick in a book with empty frames. When I was a kid, these were sideshows to some fake chocolate we had ("šećerna tabla" - sugar board), and if you were lucky and rich enough and handy in the flipping games, you may have the whole country team.
Then in the US I saw these were sold without any chocolate at all. Well maybe our sugar board was better :). And they are sold in big packs, probably the whole collection at once, or maybe not - and I don't know which is worse. First, this defeats the whole idea of being a collector. Real collector builds his collection one piece at a time, gaining some knowledge and experience with each. Makes contacts, talks to people, travels, writes letters, reads books on his subject, learns. Buying whole packs of printed pictures doesn't make you a collector - you've spent ten seconds buying it, and maybe some minutes sorting the spoils of your hunt. And your contact has extended one second of barcode scan to your latest find. You'll brag about this feat at the next meeting of your fellow collectors but nobody will believe you.
Next, if they are really selling whole sets, then you just buy one and you're done, you're an accomplished collector. Instant gratification. Or if not, then they're just out for your money, handing you duplicates and always delaying the publishing of that #42 which nobody has - and once you find it, everybody else will have got it before you. And you'll have a dozen duplicates of #1-#22 which you can't get rid of. Your frustration, at least, won't be a fake.
The next step are other collectibles of this kind, but premeditated. Pictures of sportsmen/sportpersonae/sportcritters have appeared because somebody thought they would sell, and he risked some investment and effort and made it. Made history. But selling collectibles based on the so-called "intellectual property" (please, don't take the first word too seriously, but also don't laugh too hard) is just over the board. They make a movie (probably by rehashing some old story), then they make video game(s) based on the movie, then write novelized movie plus a few sequels which may not be shot at all - rather some short range side stories, then male and female dolls (called action figures and dolls, respectfully), bunch of school paraphernalia with the venerated IP printed all over, T-shirts, bumper stickers and whatnots. Why would anyone buy that? (OK, we elaborated that - and so did P.T. Barnum in "one born every minute"). They know there will bi mammals out there who will buy whichever things they churn (or else they wouldn't be selling). The collectors.
I may sound too serious or pompous, but I think we should draw a line. There'd be the Mammal Buying Any Crap below it, and Real Collector above. Real Collector
I once started a collection of beer openers I stole from good parties which I attended. The only acceptable method of acquisition was to keep opening beers for people and eventually forget to return the opener. I got as far as three or four openers, each unique, with a story. And the parties were good. I still have most (or some) of the collection in my drawer. The surviving specimens are fully functional, maybe a bit rusty.
And, I bet gift shops don't carry proper gifts at all: rare books, vintage wine, and homemade stuff (as in "and I made this for you"). To buy any of them, you'd have to go elsewhere and start early (in the homemade case). So, let's assume the gift shops are a convenience - for those who don't have the time and don't think in advance.
Alas, it's not even that. Gift shops are not the place where you buy gifts at all. They are souvenir shops. They are called so anywhere else I know. So the name is a fake - and I bet very few people give the rubbish they buy there as gifts. Why would anyone want a thing from there? (Ok, I can imagine why - there's all kinds). So why the fake name? Because it's headology - "gift" is a nice thing, and we want to be nice, it sells better.
Take collectibles then. First it was "collector's items", where you could buy rare coins, stamps, matchboxes and whatnot - for those whose collections are of the most common kind. Which was OK, there was enough people in philately and numismatics to support such merchandise. Then, there was pictures of sportsmen (called some kind of cards nowadays, but you can't swipe them anywhere), which you would stick in a book with empty frames. When I was a kid, these were sideshows to some fake chocolate we had ("šećerna tabla" - sugar board), and if you were lucky and rich enough and handy in the flipping games, you may have the whole country team.
Then in the US I saw these were sold without any chocolate at all. Well maybe our sugar board was better :). And they are sold in big packs, probably the whole collection at once, or maybe not - and I don't know which is worse. First, this defeats the whole idea of being a collector. Real collector builds his collection one piece at a time, gaining some knowledge and experience with each. Makes contacts, talks to people, travels, writes letters, reads books on his subject, learns. Buying whole packs of printed pictures doesn't make you a collector - you've spent ten seconds buying it, and maybe some minutes sorting the spoils of your hunt. And your contact has extended one second of barcode scan to your latest find. You'll brag about this feat at the next meeting of your fellow collectors but nobody will believe you.
Next, if they are really selling whole sets, then you just buy one and you're done, you're an accomplished collector. Instant gratification. Or if not, then they're just out for your money, handing you duplicates and always delaying the publishing of that #42 which nobody has - and once you find it, everybody else will have got it before you. And you'll have a dozen duplicates of #1-#22 which you can't get rid of. Your frustration, at least, won't be a fake.
The next step are other collectibles of this kind, but premeditated. Pictures of sportsmen/sportpersonae/sportcritters have appeared because somebody thought they would sell, and he risked some investment and effort and made it. Made history. But selling collectibles based on the so-called "intellectual property" (please, don't take the first word too seriously, but also don't laugh too hard) is just over the board. They make a movie (probably by rehashing some old story), then they make video game(s) based on the movie, then write novelized movie plus a few sequels which may not be shot at all - rather some short range side stories, then male and female dolls (called action figures and dolls, respectfully), bunch of school paraphernalia with the venerated IP printed all over, T-shirts, bumper stickers and whatnots. Why would anyone buy that? (OK, we elaborated that - and so did P.T. Barnum in "one born every minute"). They know there will bi mammals out there who will buy whichever things they churn (or else they wouldn't be selling). The collectors.
I may sound too serious or pompous, but I think we should draw a line. There'd be the Mammal Buying Any Crap below it, and Real Collector above. Real Collector
- doesn't collect collectors' items which are sold as such; he finds his own
- builds the collection one item at a time and has a story about each specimen
- doesn't buy his items in chain shops, only in obscure little forgotten shops, or directly from the previous owner
- made a sizable part of the collection from people bringing the items to him for free, just to exchange the story (which implies people have heard about him)
- doesn't have a plan or a goal, doesn't know when will the collection be complete; there's only the short term goal to acquire the few interesting pieces he recently heard of
- never ever allows into the collection anything that was made for the collection.
I once started a collection of beer openers I stole from good parties which I attended. The only acceptable method of acquisition was to keep opening beers for people and eventually forget to return the opener. I got as far as three or four openers, each unique, with a story. And the parties were good. I still have most (or some) of the collection in my drawer. The surviving specimens are fully functional, maybe a bit rusty.
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