And at last I can answer this frequently asked question: no problem, go ahead and buy.
https://2018.navalny.com/shop/
We’ve launched a fundraising online store with official campaign merchandise.
It turned into an absolutely epic saga. In principle, launching an online store isn’t that hard. There are plenty of services and ready-made solutions for everything from the website to logistics.
But this is Russia in 2017, where everything works like this:
— Oh, great, we’d be delighted to work with you, and we support you anyway!! (two days later) — We’re very sorry, but we won’t be able to work together. Someone paid a visit to management, and now the boss has ordered us to terminate the contract without any explanation.
At one point, everything was completely ready, and the products had even been delivered to the warehouse of the country’s largest e-commerce logistics company.
Some people showed up there and made an offer that couldn’t be refused.
So the day before launch, we had to take everything back and haul the boxes to our office.
Anyway, you can read the details of the launch in Volkov’s post, but long story short, we had to do everything ourselves, from storage to packing.
But we did it, and we’re proud to present: https://2018.navalny.com/shop/
All the clothing and bags are made in Russia. All proceeds, minus the cost of production, will go to the campaign fund. All the prints were designed by good people. And all the models work at campaign headquarters too (well, except for Vika Navalnaya, who is modeling items featuring her husband’s prints).
Let me answer the question “Why is it so expensive?” right away.
The main reason is quality. We could make T-shirts for 300 rubles and sell them for 700 rubles. But you want your T-shirt or hoodie to last longer than just a couple of washes, right?
That’s why we order high-quality items from a good manufacturer.
Another reason is money. This is a fundraising store, after all. In effect, you’re making a donation to the campaign. And the campaign is happening right now—we’re not a commercial project that can spend a couple of years building momentum and making money on sales volume with a minimal markup.
For those who are curious, we’ll later open up the financial and production behind-the-scenes details—we do have the most transparent campaign, after all. And maybe it will be useful to someone.
Will there be new kinds of products? Absolutely. Of course. What you see now is the bare minimum needed for launch.
So yes, we’re going to keep developing the store and channeling money from it to the campaign. And all of this will work if you buy.