Category: News

Have you figured out the cure to Acid Rot (aka Dry Rot)? If you can be the first to prove it to the community, you’ll win $1000! We want to definitively know if a t-shirt that has been damaged by Acid Rot can be restored back to a state that will survive regular wear and washes. Remember, curing Acid Rot is not about just neutralizing the shirt against further decay, it’s about strengthening the cotton fibers. The Rules: The entry fee is $25. This isn’t for us to profit and we’ll refund it if you win. Keep in mind, we’ll have ... Read more

First Sale Doctrine: The three words you’ve likely never heard that allow you be in this business. Chances are, you’ve never really questioned the legality of selling vintage t-shirts. Find shirt, sell shirt, buy more shirts. It’s not until you’re challenged by a very official-sounding message that you’re forced to even think about it. Maybe it’s Ebay’s VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) program that removed your item, or Etsy pulling a tee for Intellectual Property Infringement. Maybe it’s someone with an actual connection to what’s on the shirt (I’ve been bullied twice this way, once by the previous owner of an 80s ... Read more

Dearest Users of Defunkd; Sadly, we’re closing the marketplace portion of our operation. There’s a combination of things that have led to this decision. During the marketplace’s first few years inventory and sales continued to rise. The couple of years that followed the platform plateaued. And in recent years we’ve seen a gradual decline. The changing landscape of how items are sold online, the massive growth in the vintage inventory across the web, and fluctuations in search engine traffic have all had an impact on our little labor of love. That coupled with the fact that our seven-year-old custom platform ... Read more

In legendary vintage t-shirt artist news, Greg Link aka Bad Otis, suffered a series of strokes due to undetected hypertension. Sadly, he now has very limited mobility. In the weeks that followed, he’s made promising progress and it looks as though he’ll eventually regain full mobility! But that will take a lot of time – and for an artist that makes a living creating and selling art – it puts him in a bit of a financial pickle. If you’re not super familiar with the name, you’ll surely be familiar with many of his designs that have become seriously sought ... Read more

Wooo whoooo! Back on July 27 we penned an open letter to Etsy inviting them to participate in our ban of Washington NFL merch. Then we reached out to our community to help spread the message through social. Many of you went beyond the call of duty, messaging them directly to share our letter and for that we thank you! Our efforts caught the attention of numerous American Indian based social accounts who appreciated our policy and put their social weight behind the ban. Well, we just got a heads-up from SkippyHaha that earlier today Etsy emailed their shop owners ... Read more