What to know
- Beyoncé celebrated her 45th birthday on Sept. 4 with a new merch drop, including a limited-edition $948.01 Bey Keeper Collector’s Box, inspired by beekeeper crates and the Beyhive.
- Only 500 boxes are being made. The collector’s item features solid pine construction, custom engraving, green velvet lining, a faux alligator strap and gold details, and is designed to hold vinyl records. The $948.01 price is a nod to Beyoncé’s birthdate, Sept. 4, 1981.
- The merch drop also celebrates the 20th anniversary of B’Day, including a $149.98 deluxe vinyl, $44.98 standard vinyl, $14.98 CD, plus T-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, a $40 candle and a $50 enamel pin set.
- The nearly $1,000 price tag has sparked debate online, with fans comparing it to much cheaper beekeeping boxes and questioning whether the collector’s design justifies the cost. Others defended the price as an exclusive Beyoncé collector’s item, while some joked that $94.81 would have been more reasonable.
Beyoncé celebrated her 45th birthday on Friday by showcasing some new merch, including a $948.01 empty beekeeper box, and fans’ reactions to the price tag have been buzzworthy.
The limited-edition “Bey Keeper Collector’s Box” is inspired by traditional beekeeper crates and is a nod to the superstar’s fanbase, the “Beyhive.”
The box is designed to house and display vinyls, including a Beyoncé vinyl collection.
Only 500 are being made, with each pine box made with a custom engraving, a green velvet lining, and a faux alligator strap with gold details.
The $948.01 price tag is also an ode to Beyoncé’s birthdate: Sept. 4, 1981.
The official store is also selling a deluxe 20th anniversary edition of B’Day on vinyl for $149.98, alongside a standard vinyl edition for $44.98 and a CD for $14.98.
A regular beekeeping box can start from $25 for a basic, frameless box on Nature’s Taste Canada, to around $83 dollars for a similar-sized premium box on Dancing Bee Equipment Canada.
For a wooden vinyl crate, the prices are around $50 on Amazon.
Beyoncé’s birthday also coincides with the 20th anniversary celebration of B’Day, her second solo studio album, making the merch drop a double celebration for devout fans in the Beyhive.
‘Exploitative,’ fans and social media users react
The unusual price of the bee-keeping vinyl box has already sparked plenty of reaction online, with fans questioning why they would pay nearly $1,000 for an empty box.
Many X users pointed out the exorbitant prices, comparing them to similar products without the superstar label in stores like Home Depot.
Another X user compared prices further with standard beekeeping boxes.
“Just to give you an idea of how exploitative this is — if you wanted to get into actual beekeeping, a beginner’s crate will run you as low as $60. More premium ones: $150-$250 range. And they come w/ the frames for the bees to make honey,” he explained. “This is an empty wooden box w/ a strap.”
Others noted that it wasn’t an actual beekeeping box, and it was actually a collector’s item.
“It’s a play on words. It’s a collector’s music/vinyl box lined with velvet inside,” they added.
Another X user said that, despite this, the price still wasn’t justified.
“Even the velvet doesn’t make it worth it,” they said.
Some X users said people shouldn’t care how much the merch is.
“A limited 500 people will buy it; who cares,” they said.
Others added that even though the price was a nod to her birthday, the decimal could have moved one to the left.
“94.81 would be more reasonable,” one X user said.
“I wonder why she didn’t go with $94.81. I think people wouldn’t think twice about it at that price point and would sell a lot more,” another agreed.
But still, some said it wasn’t that serious.
“It’s because they’re only making 500 of them that they can jack up the price under exclusivity, and of course, Beyoncé’s name,” one X user said.
“…It doesn’t even come with the vinyl that’s supposed to go in the box!” another user said.
“A friend of mine is a woodworker, and if someone commissioned a bespoke piece of this size and design, I doubt he’d even price it at $200 for custom work,” a different user said. “It’s absolutely wild.”
The box is one merch item that is part of a larger B’Day 20th anniversary drop, including T-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, a $40 candle, and a $50 five-piece enamel pin set, among other themed items.
