Can’t get enough Taylor Swift? Thousands of fans line up bright and early to buy branded merchandise

Taylor Swift doesn’t take the stage at Levi’s Stadium until Friday night, but you’d never know it from the thousand or so devoted Swifties lined up in the parking lot at the crack of dawn Thursday morning — just to buy official shirts and other merchandise emblazoned with their idol’s image or song lyrics — some of which you can only find in-person.

Some hardy fans started arriving after midnight for the sale held from merchandise trucks and tents shortly after 10 a.m. Julie Sandoval, 18, arrived at the stadium around 4 a.m., and by 4:30 had formed a line with about 20 other people.

Sandoval, who came down from Burlingame with a few friends, said she had been waiting for months for the concert and the accompanying merchandise. She ended up getting a beige Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” shirt and two of the coveted blue crewnecks, one for her and one for a friend.

Athena Fabiola, 29, drove two hours to get to Levi’s Stadium — and she came prepared. The Watsonville resident brought water bottles and snacks for those standing in line.

“I definitely believe in karma,” Fabiola said. “Random acts of kindness go a long way.” Fabiola was looking to get a few shirts, but wasn’t gunning for any specific item. “Just anything I can get my hands on.”

Paige Arnett, 24, and Emily Crowder, 26, came all the way down from Sacramento and both got in line for the merch truck at 10:48 a.m.

“Oh, you’re far!” Redwood City resident Tiffany Quinton said, overhearing the two Sacramento Swifties. Like other Swifties, Arnett and Crowder had one item that they for sure knew they wanted to get: the blue crewneck —  which had sold out within a few hours. They were also considering the quarter zip, but didn’t seem as sure. When asked about why the blue crewneck was so popular, the fans speculated that it was a combination of the crewneck not being available online and the sweatshirt’s blue-gray vintage look.

Quinton, who was just ahead of Arnett and Crowder, wasn’t specifically determined to score a crewneck like others. But she was doing her friends a favor by standing in line to get items both for them and herself.

“They were originally going to hire a TaskRabbit to do it and I was like, ‘Guys, I’ll just do it,’” she said.

Although stadium officials didn’t seem to mind Swifties camping out in the parking lot ahead of the merchandise sale Thursday, they have said that tailgating would not be allowed at Levi’s during the concerts Friday and Saturday, and warned that fans without a ticket would not get entry to the lots.