I read on GrandPrix.com that FOA has signed a deal with a firm called Kitbag to operate the merchandise section of the Formula 1 website. I’m not sure what it means for the current F1 store. But I certainly hope it means that it will start selling much better products.

Whenever I take a look at the F1 store, I am flabbergasted. This is surely the biggest mistake Bernie Ecclestone has ever made. I can’t imagine many sales are made at all.

I remember a few years back filling in a survey for Formula1.com. One of the questions asked if I would buy official Formula 1 baseball caps and the like. I said no and it asked back, why not? All I could write was, “Why would I?” I mean, why would you?

To the extent that people want merchandise, it is usually to express their support for a team or driver. The same goes for any sport. It’s not too often you see anyone walking down the street wearing an official FA Barclays Premier League t-shirt or any other generic football merchandise.

So quite what possessed Bernie Ecclestone to think that people would be prepared to pay astronomical prices for Formula 1 merchandise is beyond me. T-shirts, for instance, are £30. But that’s just the start of it.

How about £250 for a mousemat? Hell, throw caution to the wind and buy the premium version (!) — £260 for one made out of leather.

How about a £50 keyring? A £24 poster? An £85 photo frame? A £250 ringbinder (“Comes with complimentary Formula 1™ pad” — how generous!)?

The worst product, which I have featured on this blog before, is this baseball cap which features an F1 logo made out of Swarovski crystals. It looks rather chav-tastic to me. The pink one really is the sort of thing an eight year old girl would wear, rather than anyone who’d like to be taken seriously. But it will take a long time to accumulate £125 out of pocket money.

Credit where it’s due though. While the most expensive wallets are £120, Bernie does offer a reduced-price wallet… at £50.

I understand that Formula 1 likes to be seen as a cut above. And this approach does avoid the tackier Nascar products such as Nascar meat snacks (more at Boing Boing). But by asking for £250 for a ringbinder and £260 for a mousemat (not to mention the £390 watches, although they actually look rather nice), it just makes F1 look like it has its collective head up its arse.

Bernie Ecclestone’s official Formula 1 store has opened for business. The consensus from the F1 websites seems to be something like, “At last! Finally F1 has realised what MotoGP / Nascar / ChampCar / Qatari Formula Bum have known for ages.”

Well I’m sorry, but I don’t see the point of it. I answered a survey on Formula1.com last year. One of the questions asked if I would buy Formula 1 branded merchandise (if not, why not?). I answered, “No, why would I?” I would look like one of those gormless people who wear shirts that say “No. 1 Footy Fan!!!!” For me, wearing a polo shirt with ‘Formula 1′ written on it is about as pointless as it gets.

I am a fairly neutral F1 fan (if I have a favourite team at the moment it’s McLaren, but I take the piss out of them all the time so I don’t think I actually like them that much). Yet I am not particularly loyal to Formula 1 itself. I am indeed a loyal fan of top-flight Grand Prix motor racing. But I wouldn’t be shedding any tears if Formula 1 were to disappear tomorrow to be replaced by another championship that showcased the world’s best drivers in the world’s best racing cars at the world’s best circuits (as could have happened if the GPMA threat was real).

I sometimes buy the annual season review DVD, which is of course official F1 merchandise. But apart from that, if I ever buy any Formula 1 merchandise — which isn’t often — it is for a particular team or driver. In the past I have bought Jordan and Stewart badges, a Jordan baseball cap and a Ferrari t-shirt. But it would have to be a really good deal to persuade me to buy anything with Bernie’s logo on it.

Which brings us neatly on to the prices. GrandPrix.com said, “The items on offer are aimed at the high-end of the market,” which I think is the polite way of putting it. The F1 store is selling baseball caps priced at £125. Apparently the F1 logo on these caps is made up of over 300 “Swarovski® Crystals”, which I assume is meant to be a good thing. But it looks really ugly.

Carbon fibre mousemats (£250 a pop) and watches (£390) are all very nice. But for a sport that’s often criticised by some as being too much of a rich playboy’s sport, shouldn’t they be trying to sell merchandise that will appeal more to the man on the street? As F1 Fantatic points out, this is a difficult balance to strike. It could lead into the territory of Nascar Meats.