Bluesky profits from t-shirt sales over custom domains

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber made headlines at the SXSW event last week. She wore a t-shirt that playfully mocked Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta. Many people loved the shirt, and users encouraged Bluesky to sell it. The response was huge. According to Rose Wang, Bluesky’s COO, the company earned more money from one day of t-shirt sales than from two years of selling custom domains. The t-shirts are priced at $40 each. They are a clever response to a shirt designed by Zuckerberg that read, "Aut Zuck aut nihil," which translates to “Zuck or nothing.” This phrase references a famous Latin quote about Julius Caesar. Graber’s shirt claims, "Mundus sine Caesaribus," meaning “a world without Caesars.” This is a nod to Zuckerberg’s interest in the Roman Empire. Some see Zuckerberg as powerful but also controversial, similar to Caesar himself. The shirt quickly sold out after its release. On Tuesday, Bluesky reopened its online store for more orders, which will be available for a week. While these shirt sales are impressive, Wang noted that Bluesky’s domain sales were not heavily promoted and were never integrated into their app. If other monetization efforts fail, T-shirt sales might become a new focus for Bluesky.