Ebay shopping opinions.

[GQ-TKE]

What are some opinions on Ebay fashion shopping? I found a Mani Giorgio Armani suit for around $200, "mint" condition. How could this be? Any other Ebay shoppers out there?

 

[Europe's Finest]

I'm asking myself the same question. Last week I saw a nice pair of Gucci loafers, but I personally didn't feel comfortable with buying them....

 

[GQgeek]

I do a lot of ebay selling although not for clothes. It is my opinion that the items you will most likely be scammed on are watches and clothes. With clothes especially it's a bad idea to buy off of ebay since you can't try them on (not to mention they're probably fake). Even if something is authentic you don't really know what kind of shape it's in. Ebay sellers tend to exagerate the condition things are in.

 

[j]

I have bought some stuff from ebay. I don't buy things because of the label so I don't worry too much about getting inauthentic goods. If you stick with one of the more established sellers, someone with a few hundred + positive feedback, I am sure you would be safe. Be careful more of that the item will fit you as it's very hard to tell just by looking at numbers they put down for the measurements. Get a suit that fits you well and do all the measurements they use and write them down so you will know if a suit you see will even potentially fit you.

As for Mani by Armani I have checked these out at Savi, a now-out-of-business discount store near me, and $200 is pretty reasonable as they are not really very well made suits. I wouldn't buy one for anywhere near that much money, especially because you can get a Hart, Schaffner & Marx, a Burberrys, a RL Polo, etc. suit (to mention a few I have bid on) for less than $100 on ebay, and those are all of much better quality.

j.

 

[JeffsWood]

I have bought shoes of ebay with no touble. I once bought a tie that turned out to be a fake (the seller new it to as refunded me my full price and just said keep it)

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by JeffsWood

I have bought shoes of ebay with no touble. I once bought a tie that turned out to be a fake (the seller new it to as refunded me my full price and just said keep it)

This hapened with a seller that was selling Zegna Su Misura suits for $500 and when it arrived it was so obvious that it was a fake and I said as much. She refunded the purchase price plus shipping immediately and never bothered with the suit.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by GQ-TKE

What are some opinions on Ebay fashion shopping? I found a Mani Giorgio Armani suit for around $200, "mint" condition. How could this be? Any other Ebay shoppers out there?

I've bought several pairs of shoes and several Canali NWT suits and ties with no problems.

 

[Kiwi Man]

Was it easy to say to the seller who sell fake brand name items that their clothes are not authentic?

I meant they just admitted it that they sold you fake and gave you refund? That sounds way too simple, no?

 

[WhateverYouLike]

That is some impressive necropoasting.

 

[Master-Classter]

honestly, it's just a minefield of stuff regarding clothing. As mentioned, a lot about the age and condition is grossly exadurated. plus the exact label is often misrepresented.

The Armani like new sportscoat you're looking at is more then likely Mani, a low end diffusion line, from 5-10+ years ago, aquired at a thrift store for peanuts, manhandled by 50 people, has a completely unknown history of ownership (did the last guy die wearing it, sweat profusely, sleep in it, stolen/mugged, piss his pants, etc)... I mean, why take the risk? i've bought a few things like that and realized they're all duds, so really whatch out. When in doubt, skip it.


PS - oh wow, what a gravedigger that was. 8 f-in years?

 

[scurvyfreedman]

I've bought pretty exensively through ebay. I don't buy fashion brands though. I buy brands that the casual searcher wouldn't have any idea about. Drakes ties and pocket squares. A few vintage Savile Row suits where the shoulder/chest measurements were like my best fitting suits. There's really no market for counterfit Chittleborough & Morgan suits from 1990.

Buy the seller, not the item. The item comes second.

 

[celeste_pista]

my experience is that ebay purchases end in dissapointment more often than not

 

[phailing101]

Ya recently got a good deal on brand new pair of Allen Edmonds on ebay. $200 to my door.

 

[TheWGP]

Be expecting some duds - it's part of the Ebay process, honestly. But if you have the stomach for it and don't mind occasionally reselling, you can do very, very, very well on Ebay. $20 Charvet ties? yep, got that. $50 Alden shells? yep, got that. $40 Kiton shirt/Chipp blazer/J Press suit/whatever you desire? yessirree. There's plenty of stories of amazing Ebay scores on these boards. The thing is, it's all in knowing what you're doing and knowing what you're looking for, and accepting some level of risk for the great rewards possible.

Not to rant, but the most important things are, in some general order:

MEN'S CLOTHING ON EBAY, THE QUICK & DIRTY VERSION: DO YOUR HOMEWORK

1) your fit/sizing - know it, learn it, love it - don't budge from it - and this means measurements. For that matter, don't always trust the seller's measurements - use some common sense, and don't completely discount the tagged size just as a data point. Remember that sizes used to run a tad smaller than they do today, shrinkage may have occurred (especially relevant for vintage sweaters / shirts) and some brands have a built in tendency (e.g. Brooks Brothers runs a bit full in general). For shoes, seriously, because of welt differences on THE SAME SHOES, don't screw with measurements - just do your homework about the maker and last fit - you'll be able to tell fairly decently for most brands, though some educated guesswork is always going to be there. Do your homework = you can nail your fit better.

2) labels and styles - research, research, research. Don't buy some 70's Zegna or darted store-label crap because you don't know better. Doing your homework avoids this.

3) Authenticity - this is really part of the above, labels/styles research research research. If you know what the real thing looks like, it will be obvious what the bad fakes are. I will share this, though: brands that are niche and/or probably not well known outside SF do. not. get faked. Seen a fake 80's Zegna/Gucci/Armani tie? sure. Seen a fake Kiton? Fake J Press or Brooks Brothers? Not so much - not at all, in fact. Also, what fakes there are, are ALMOST ALL NWT/new listed - buying something "pre-owned" is much much more likely to be authentic. I've purchased hundreds of things on ebay - never once gotten a fake. The important thing is that you put in the research and legwork yourself - never trust the seller to do it for you. If you have doubts or questions, don't hesitate to ask here, so long as you're not constantly posting and making an ass out of yourself. The people here really do like to help with this kind of thing, and will sometimes come together to identify fakes sellers, even ones with high positive feedback due to other sales or uninformed customers - a great example is the Brioni ties from Lebanon (note: don't buy Brioni from overseas, honestly). Doing your homework helps you make sure you buy authentic items.

4) Items not as described - don't put up with it. At the same time, don't be a perfectionist asshole. Please. Most sellers really are trying to give you all the information (though some are not - watch yourself!) but at some point it is your responsibility to know what you are buying. Make use of the Ebay protection policies if needed - but talk to your seller first if you're even considering that! Doing your homework before you buy saves you from a world of trouble and aggravation later.

There, I think I've said my bit and more. A necropost from 2002 seemed like an appropriate place to post this age-old bit of common sense: do your homework and ebay can be great.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Man

Was it easy to say to the seller who sell fake brand name items that their clothes are not authentic?

I meant they just admitted it that they sold you fake and gave you refund? That sounds way too simple, no?

In my case, I told her I thought the product was not geniune and she refunded my money immediately and stated that that was fine. Seller also stated that she would get back to me on a refund authorization code to return the suit but after several emails to her and no response I kept the suit and gave it away to charity.

Seller claimed the suit was a Zegna suit and just by looking at the garment you knew it was not.