I want to get some band shirts, hoodies etc. and on the internet it seems to be around £12-15 for shirts, £15-20 for longsleeves and £30 for hoodies. Then there is often postage to pay for as well.
I have yet to attend any gigs or festivals so I don't know what the prices and range of goods are like (and there aren't any good ones coming up soon where I live) does stuff tend to be cheaper at festivals? and is it enough to be worthwhile, I would like to avoid spending £30 on a hoody when a plain one would only cost about £15

I'll buy it online if I'm positive that the band won't be touring for a while. Otherwise, I'll just buy it at the show to support them, unless it's an absolutely ridiculous price. The merchandise at shows tends to be much more expensive than online, but the shipping and handling costs will often make both about the same price. Also, if anyone could post a link to where I might find a Primordial shirt, I'd be very grateful...

always write to bands and ask
even if it's expensive remember direct support is the BEST support
plus bands will send you free shit all the time like stickers or sometimes rehearsal recordings when you buy direct.

shows are iffy around here for stuff i like. i try to buy directly from the bands.

I prefer to get my merch and CDs at shows because it's directly supporting the band, I don't have to deal with paying on the internet, and there's stuff I won't anywhere else. I usually save up a lot of money for buying merch at shows. Also, some bands only sell their merch at shows, such as Bolt Thrower and Immolation. I'll only buy shirts from the internet if I know I'm not going to see the band ever (Death, Dissection, Emperor, Nasum, etc.).

From the internet, you can find almost anything on Rockabilia, because I guess they stock up with shirts from JSR Direct, Relapse Records, and more. I found some nice shirts of Morbid Angel, Emperor, Enslaved, and Death from Razamataz and Plastichead, both European stores. Also, check record labels and the bands.

The only problem is Rockabilia's prices and shipping rates are insanely expensive. $28 for a "Import" shirt! Without shipping!

I always buy it online. Shit at shows is always bumped up like 10 bucks and I've already usually paid about 10-20 bucks for a ticket so it really doesn't seem worth it even if it's a tour shirt or something like that you likely won't be able to buy anywhere other than the tour.

I just buy merch online for that reason and I usually try order it through the band's website or their label or distro. Every once in a while if I can't find or navigate their site (weird languages, etc.) I might get it from some of those independent people who makes shirts and sell them on Ebay Stores or whatever. Some of those are actually even higher quality than what you can get from the bands at times, and even if it's not directly supporting the band with cash, you're supporting them by basically advertising their name on your shirt. Either way you're supporting them.

I usually buy online since I rarely get a chance to go to shows and a few I like (such as Arghoslent) don't even tour. On the subject does anyone know where Immolation merch is available?

when buying stuff at gigs it depends. If you go to see a well known band on the likes of iron maiden, slayer etc merch is always around $30-40 a shirt. When you go see a more well known underground band like say opeth, etc t-shirts can also get pricey as well. However there are also bands with dirt cheap merch. I missed out on toxic holocaust and municipal waste playing in my area, but i gave my girlfriend some cash to buy me a couple shirts, she got them for $10-15 a piece if i recall right. Then some lesser known bands have sold me shirts as cheap as $5-10 a piece. It depends on the band.

I buy shirts online and at gigs, it depends on the shirt, the band, and how badly i want it, as well as price. I sometimes find some shirts online for pretty cheap. As for supporting bands and such, GO TO THEIR SHOWS AND/OR BUY THEIR MERCH. Thing is, you can download all you want since bands usually get the raw end of the deal with album sales and next to no cash for those, however when it comes to ticket sales at shows they get a decent slice of the pie, and most official band t-shirts, the money goes directly to them since they do that themselves. the bands survive off merch.

I go online mostly because of the selection/prices and because of how often I see shows and who I get to see. As much as I love buying at shows, I can get what I want when I want when it comes to the internet.
Plus, sometimes it's so loud, merch convsersations are like:

Me: DO YOU HAVE THAT IN A SMALL!?
Guy: WHAT!?
Me: SMALL! DO YOU HAVE THAT IN SMALL!?
Guy: NO, I WON'T SHAVE YOUR BALLS!

Here's your answer:

I usually have the tendency to get at least one shirt per show. Usually the prices of the shirts are around 12-15$, which beats out the online prices which tack on shipping charges. If the band doesn't tour the the US too often, I'll just spring for online merch.

Little bit of both. Went to my one (and probably only) Norther gig in Canada but just couldn't fork over 40+ eurosfor a hoodie. I know the band has to pay their way but DAMN.

Where in the UK do you live? I only ask because gigs in the UK are pretty well spread out - even places like Peterborough get Dark Tranquillity (wtf)

You're looking at at least £15 for a shirt and £30 for a hoodie at shows anyway (only Opeth and Iron Maiden charge £30 for a fucking shirt), so you might as well buy at the show and save on postage/debit card charges/waiting time etc, besides supporting the band directly. Most support bands charge on average £5 cheaper, so you might be looking at £10-12 for a shirt. I buy all my merch at shows, especially the tour shirts with dates on the back - have never bought anything other than CDs online.

Thanks for the help, I found a couple of sites that don't even charge for postage, but do most big merchandise shops give the band a cut of the profits (the site I'm currently looking at buying from is "loudclothing.com")

And I live in Oxfordshire, mostly my problem is finding the right combination of band, location, date, cost and people to go with, the friend I would be most likely to go with only really goes to festivals and larger gigs, not any of the Carling Academy venues etc. Annoyingly Opeth were playing in Bristol a couple of weeks ago but I didn't go due to not having anyone else to go with, then last week I found that actually one of my friends does like Opeth. And a lot of the things that people I know go to have a large presence of bands that I don't like, for example, Unholy Alliance, I like Amon Amarth, I'm not bothered about Slayer and I don't like Mastodon or Trivium. This weekend they are going to see slipknot and whoever else is playing in Birmingham, which I don't want to waste my time or money on.
I'm just hoping some better bands get announced for Bloodstock or Wacken, the last couple of announcements for Wacken have been disappointing to day the least.

If possible online, greater selection, good prices. But, shipping prices are absurd, and web site usually show everything but what's in stock is completely different.
Shows have higher prices, less selection, less sizes, etc. But I agree it's a good way to support the band.

Yeah, a lot of sites seem to list a whole load of stuff but half of it isn't in stock

(Does anyone have an answer to this: "do most big merchandise shops give the band a cut of the profits (the site I'm currently looking at buying from is "loudclothing.com") " I checked the sites FAQ's but it doesn't mention it, if they don't I'll have to wait until the Official band stores get the stuff I want in stock (I don't buy CDs so I should at least let them get the money for their merch)

I will always buy at least one shirt when I go to a show. Usually it will be the tour shirt of the band that I'm going to see. If an opening band really blows me away I will either grab a shirt or cd from them. As for ordering online, it's your best option for bands that are split-up or never tour...and unfortunately many bands fall into this category. Most online orders do rape you on the postage as other posters have mentioned, so when placing an order always buy in bulk!

The lineup for Bloodstock is consistently awesome (depending on what you like of course), it's a pity that the food and booze is expensive and the sound is shit. Other than that, it's a brilliant festival and is only bound to get bigger and bigger.

Edit: I was just at the Damnation fest in Leeds two weekends ago, and it's also amazing, if smaller. A lineup of Carcass, Sigh, Napalm Death, My Dying Bride, Benediction and Cathedral deserves honourable mention. Other pure metal festivals (ie other than Download, Leeds and Reading) in the UK are Hard Rock Hell and Hammerfest in Wales, and if you're lucky, Progpower, which was cancelled this year. There are also smaller, "specialist" fests in London regularly like Paganfest, Deathfest and No Mercy Fest.

Oxfordshire is a wee bit far out to get to London on a regular basis, but if you're serious about gigs, London is the place to be. Next up is Birmingham/Dudley, Manchester and I hear Bristol gets a couple of good bands once in a while. In conclusion, get your arse over to London

OT, I'm pretty sure the band makes money from online stores, but obviously the middle man takes a cut, whereas if you buy direct at shows, the money goes straight to the band. And I've read from several accounts that merch is usually the highest grosser for bands on the road - not ticket sales or CD sales.

The only shirt that I own from a Metal show is Psycroptic. I've also boughten a Leftover Crack shirt and various patches at other Punk shows. Most of my shirts/ other merchandise come from online stores though.

ive only just recently started buying merch online.
usually if i see a band and i dont have the cash then i'll find something online i like. i tend to see better shirts and stuff online as opposed to the merch they have available at shows. the only problem is i dont have a credit card so i have to give money to my brother so he can do it but he will osmetimes forget. he was supposed to order me a hoodie 2 weeks ago and i remind him every other day.