T-Shirt Orgy – Bear Basics

A bit on the pricier end.
I bought a Cal tank for $ 18 and the material wasn’t the best. I agree with the general consensus of the store that it’s pricy.
Check out Joy’s for their merchandise! They always have great prices.

The T-​Shirt orgy always has amazing t-​shorts. Only thing I don’t like, is the lack of Madonna t-​shirts. But the selection of Cartoon/​Comic Book t-​shirts are endless. There is an Archie Shirt that says «original playa» that I had my eye on. Keep up the great work here!

The ground and top floors are dedicated to UC Berkley CAL swag and gear, then downstairs is where the general and niche T-​Shirts and apparel are located for unique pop culture novelty shirts, suitable for those under 30 yrs old or fun folks with a good sense of humor of any age.
There’s an entire area dedicated to BAY AREA shirts with unique logos, so if you have SF and Nor Cal pride, it’s a great place to shop.
If you are from So Cal or love Stanford, maybe not so much.
Also, when you enter, they don’t tell you, but if they see you, you’ll need to «CHECK YOUR BAG AT THE GROUND FLOOR FRONT COUNTER»
Parking is tough, but not impossible in the area, and it’s close to the UCB campus and public transit and the heart of the main strip with all of the retailers, a corner location too, easy to find.

Can we talk about overpriced. You can find the same exact items in the gear stores near BART for way cheaper. They don’t really carry much Nike Cal gear, you’d have to find that in the actual Berkeley Student Store. So if you’re looking for Under Armor, Nike, or Adidas, you won’t find it here. Most of the stuff is Cal logos printed on Hanes shirts/​sweaters. Same with the shirts that rep the Bay Area. Cool logos printed on cheap fabric. I suggest going online and creating your own T, its the same thing.
3 stars for cool gear, but bad quality.

Great shirts, awful customer service. She charged me $ 20 for a $ 12 sweater and called another worker to refund it, when he was refunding my sweater he punched it and started swearing, getting super angry. Like dude, chill…

I wish I could give this place no stars. The customer service is obnoxious. All of the employees had a smug attitude about them. I had my three year old with me, and this chick Diana yelled at him for touching a t shirt. When I told her not to talk to my son that way, I was confronted by some guy who started screaming that he «didnt give a fuck about my son». I walked out of that place in tears. WILL NOT BE BACK.

Whenever I’m in Berkeley, I always have to make a stop by T-​Shirt Orgy to see if there’s anything awesome to be picked up. At this point, it’s almost tradition.
~ Customer Service:
I do agree with other reviewers that sometimes they can have really strict rules. For instance, I get really uncomfortable when they ask me to leave my purse with them (even though you can take your wallet out with you). I do understand that they’re paranoid about thieving, but aren’t there a lot more efficient systems in place for that sort of thing?
~ Variety:
They have 3 floors of clothing, not just catered to Cal students. I always end up finding a hilarious t-​shirt that I want to buy, and all for affordable prices. Plus, as a Bay Area born-​and-​raised woman, I do have to love the shirts that are specifically catered to Bay Area residents.
Around 5 years ago, I picked up a shirt with a speech bubble saying «Hella» and it’s still in great quality. Most of the shirts I’ve found use a soft cotton that is not only long lasting but really comfortable as well.
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Most of the negative reviews on here is regarding the customer service, which is something I do understand. However, given that the store itself is amazing, I can’t deny that I’m a fan. Just try to keep interaction with the staff to a minimum.

Starting this review off saying it’s not about the policy or the shirts, it’s solely about the terrible customer service.
I walked in with a drink in my hand. Sorry I didn’t read all the signage posted in the window upon entering. Apparently they have a no food/​drink policy which is totally understandable given their clientele and location. However, I was greeted at the door by a very rude young man. I tried to leave my drink on the counter && they said no. I said «well I know exactly what I want. Can you just go get it for me so I can buy it?» No. Apparently the people from downstairs can’t come upstairs and vice versa. So now I’m just standing awkwardly in this store at a standstill practically getting yelled at by this rude ass employee. Then he goes «you’re still here and your hella mad. Your options are throwing away your drink or leaving» whoa. So now I’m getting kicked out the store for just having a drink? My smoothie is worth your hourly rate; I’m not throwing it away sir. Then I asked him if I can just put in my bag. I had no intention of drinking it on the sales floor. He said no. I work retail too so I understand rules && douche bag customers but I just needed one specific thing. I offered alternate solutions && was refused.
In the end, I sucked down my drink hella fast went in, && got out. I am not a young Cal student so I expected to be treated like a normal patron. But fuck them. Because although I was unknowingly breaking a rule, I was still greeted rudely, offered no alternate solutions && instructed to leave the store for no reason.
Other than that, great shirts. Especially if you’re looking for novelty. But don’t walk in with a drink or you’ll be put out. Rudely.

Fun place to visit and laugh at the tshirts … they are out of many of them, though — which is actually a good thing if you’ve got a consumerist 9-​year-​old who wants two of everything.

I grew up in Berkeley and the rude service both as a teenager and adult is deplorable.
I’m 30. I came here to spend my money. Please don’t speak to me like a child.
Nothing here I can’t order online elsewhere.

I’ve been here a few times, and usually they have the same type of stuff. The prices are okay, but the staff leaves more to be desired. I came in looking for a UC Berkeley Mom shirt to replace one that my mother-​in-​law had lost. Hers was nice and embroidered, we got it here a few years ago. When I went in today, I could only find embroider dad shirts, all of the mom shirts were crappy iron-​ons. I asked one employee, and he couldn’t look away from his cell phone for more than two seconds to tell me that what they had was what they had. Never mind the fact that he didn’t even know where I was looking. I would hope that a store in Berkeley would not have such sexist undertones, but what can you do. I guess it’s run by the man.

Customer service is non existent. rude employees that make me want to take my business elsewhere :(

All I can say is RUDE. The employees are obviously young and students, but a little customer service is not that difficult. The moment you walk in they look you up and down to obviously see if your suspicious or not. Apparently we were, got followed thru all 3 stories, but whatever I had no bad intentions anyways. The prices are pretty expensive, especially discovering after paying 50 $ for 2 items they don’t validate parking… Seriously??? They have a lot of cool stuff but I’d rather spend money else where. Customer service = sh*t. Won’t be back

3 floor orgy? Challenge accepted.
T-​Shirt Orgy is 3 floors of shirts, clothing and assorted gear– mainly shirts. It’s a pretty cool store, perfect for a Bay Area wearable souvenir.
Basement floor has damn-​near every graphic tee you could want: funny shirts, tv/​movie shirts, animal shirts, band/​music shirts… it’s like a Spencer’s factory exploded down there. (Drawbacks: it’s all mens shirts.)
Main floor is men’s, it looked like mostly like Bay Area-​specific apparel, and gear for the local college.
2^nd floor is the same but for women and kids, with a small corner of graphic tee goodness for the ladies. Seriously, bring more of that basement floor stuff to the 2^nd floor! I would’ve bought tons of shirts if they had them in my size.

Wished they had more more more of a Bay Area selection. I know this place is in the East Bay, but maybe some South Bay love?
Anyway… came here cause I had a groupon… didn’t read the fine print at first and thought I could buy online, nope… so made a day out of it and came up.
Got shirts for my kids, that’s about it. I would come back next time I was in Berkeley.

Great, cheap variety of locals-​only east bay type shirts as well as larger selection of Cal Bears apparel, and an entire downstairs w/​any kind of band or pop cultural shirt you could possibly imagine. 3 stories of HUGE selection and priced toward broke college students which is why I find myself ending here a lot when looking for new clothing. Some of the stuff you can find downstairs is downright hilarious and unlike t-​shirt selections I’ve seen anywhere else.
My only issue with this place is that despite their cheap pricing, I constantly find myself spending $ 100+ just because I find so many awesome, bizarre, and ridiculous shirts. Great place to get gifts for people too as their selection is pretty much unrivaled — you can find literally almost anything on a t-​shirt.

This store has a lot of selection. They have tons of Cal items, oakland, bay area, random t-​shirts, hats, accessories.
Today I found a cute Cal sweatshirt (since the student store never has a style I like.)
I browsed the guys t-​shirts as a gift for a friend, but they were sold out of the 4 styles… I have no clue why they still have the display shirts up if they’re completely out of stock.
The girl upstairs who let me in the dressing room was nice. The cashier guy was lame. Out of the few visits, service has been lame, so don’t have high expectations.
Some prices are ok, like $ 4 guy t-​shirts. But a lot of items are too pricey IMHO.
Worth a visit if the student store doesn’t satisfy you. And then some :)

Bear basics aka t shirt orgy is a common Cal gear store to visit. This store has all the gear you are looking for and I personally like it better than the student store. There are much more selections (men’s on the bottom
Floor and women’s on the top). Prices for cal wear is decently priced in comparison to the store’s competitors. I also like how they have regular non cal gear clothing (women’s on the top floor and men’s in the basement). I would recommend this place if you want to get cal gear! This is my go to store! Always get something when I’m here. Remember that of you come in the store with a large bag you will have to check it in at the front desk. Also employees that I have encountered are nice and friendly!

Well, I’ll start by saying I would give at least 4, if not 5 stars just for the store and the merchandise itself. I’ll begin there. I do enjoy coming here whenever I’m in Berkeley. I only ever go to the basement level (T-​Shirt Orgy) and it’s definitely fun. Huge selection of every kind of tshirt you could want. This is where I get ALLLLL of my metal band shirts :) I do wish they came in women’s sizes, but whatever, I can rock a men’s small. Plus, when I’m wearing my heavy metal shirts I’m hardly going for a super girly look, haha.
Prices are average, I would say, for any similar store/website.about $ 20 a shirt. But definitely raid the clearance racks. Surprisingly good selection on those, I’ve found some awesome tshirts of obscure bands on em.
So, it’s a fun place, cool atmosphere, awesome music, great selection, why only 2 stars. The cashiers are beyond rude. I don’t mean just once. I’ve shopped there a ton of times and they are consistently impolite and unfriendly, every time, no matter who the checker is. It doesn’t matter how friendly, warm and polite you are to them. You will get no response in kind. I’ve come to believe they train their cashiers to be cold and unwelcoming. However, I will note that the cool people working the downstairs are always nice. It’s just the checkers on the main level.

I think Bear Basics is awesome. I’ve been coming here for years since I went to undergrad at UCB and graduated in 2007. I’ve found that the staff is really helpful and nice, and more than anything, I love their selection of t-​shirts!
I found an awesome one that said «I hella love Berkeley’ which I have posted as a photo here, and I just think their tshirts overall are hilarious! You should definitely check it out — it’s reasonably priced/​affordable.
I usually come back once a year to get something or the other from here. Love it!