The Van Nistelrooy soccer jersey story ... or How not to be a chump when buying a hero Replica Jersey, Part I

I learned the hard way. You must be careful when buying soccer replica jerseys on eBay... especially when you are buying hero jerseys. You probably read about how I stumbled into the world of knockoff jerseys on the home page of this website.

Here's a recap. I bought my first soccer replica jersey from a seller on eBay. All was not what it appeared to be ...

The Manchester United Jersey that arrived at our place looked pretty good. Not knowing the difference, it appeared to be authentic. (Now knowing the difference, I hightly doubt it.) The jersey looks great--from far away.

Take a closer look at the lettering and numbering on the back, and it's a different story. #1 shows how the lettering began to lift off the shirt after just one cycle in the washing machine (while turned inside out and in cold water, of course). Take a look at the "E" ... it's peeling off. #2 shows how the ink is peeling off the numbering. The Premiereship logo is disappearing (compare the base below the lion between the two numbers). #3 shows how the numbering is wrinkling. Not a pretty sight.

Here's a close-up of the letter "E" ... the photo is a bit fuzzy, but you can see what's going on ... the letter is lifting off of the shirt.

 

I emailed the seller as soon as this happened, asking what to do. His response was to use an iron to iron the lifted lettering back onto the shirt. He strongly suggested that I place a piece of fabric between the iron and the shirt before I started ironing. He did not suggest a temperature setting, however ... and seeing how the shirt is lacking a laundering instruction tag, I'm quite wary. Needless to say, I have not yet tried to iron the lettering back down, as I don't want to take the chance of melting the shirt.