Hey guys, let me start off by saying there are some really good jersey buying guides out there, and Ive learned a lot from them.  But, none of them are as comprehensive as this one.

First things first, you're gonna want to familiarize yourself with the official Reebok made jerseys.  The NFL store has some very high resolution pictures that allow you to zoom in and really see the finer details.  You'll also notice they have three lines of NFL jerseys.

Replicas for $80: Mesh Torso, non-mesh shoulders and sleeves.  Numbers and names are not sewn on.  Back and front are same length.


Premiere EQT for $110: Mesh Torso, non-mesh shoulders and sleeves.  Numbers and names are sewn on.  Back is longer than front.


Authentic for $230: Mesh Torso, shoulders, and sleeves.  Numbers and names are sewn on.  Back and front are same length.  Better image can be found here.




You'll also notice, none of them look like this:  The Bears dont play with a logo on their jersey.
Also, the sleeves are wrong, look:


Or here:

Its supposed to be 3 orange stripes with white borders: 


Also, dont buy jerseys from sellers that use a picture like this:


The seller just snatched the picture from the NFL online store.  If the picture is just stock:


Then theres a good chance youre gonna end up with something like this: 


Listen, if you just remembered what you've learned so far, you'd have already saved yourself from 95% of the garbage out there.  But, there's more.


These numbers are mesh, not sown on:    That means its a Replica (or just a really crappy knockoff).


If you cant spot the mesh:  then get your face really close to the screen.


Speaking of crappy pictures: What is this?  Some guy taking a picture of his closet?  How are we supposed to see anything.  Contact him and ask him for better pictures before buying.


Watch for colors:  Current Orange jerseys have white numbers with blue border.


And heres  a summary
JERSEY                            STRIPES                          NUMBERS
Home                          3 Orange, white borders         White, with orange borders
Away                          2 Navy, 1 white, no borders    Navy, with orange borders
Alternate                     3 Navy, white borders            White, with navy borders


Ok, we've eliminated the most offensive defects, so now we're going to move onto less noticeable stuff.  Technicalities really.


Here's a technicality: The back of this jersey is longer than the front (this is normal for EQT jerseys).

Also, the numbers should be smaller on the front than on the back, unlike here:

An Authentic Bears jersey is supposed to have mesh throughout, unlike this:
Notice the different shades of blue?  The torso is mesh, and the shoulders are not.  Its easy to spot cuz the mesh isnt as shiny.

Heres a close up:

Now, none of that is a big deal.  This is also normal for EQTs.  A $110 EQT has a mesh torso, and non-mesh shoulders and sleeves.  The Authentics have mesh shoulders and mesh sleeves.

A (poor) example of a mesh sleeve:     The stripes are not supposed to be meshed!  But kudos for for the elastic sleeves and for not running the stripe through ol' GSH there (that's another common flaw).


Alright, time for a recap.

1: No team logo!
2. Watch the colors!
3. Dont buy from sellers with crappy or stock photos.
4. Number's border should border the entire number (not mentioned before, but figured it was important).

These apply to just Authentics:
5. The front and back of the shirt should be an even length.
6. The front numbers should be smaller than the back numbers.
7. Have mesh shoulders and sleeves.
8. Sleeve stripes should not be mesh.


Time for a quiz.  Name atleast one defect from each of these:


1. 

2. 

3.

4. 

5.


Some Answers:

1. Has 2 Logos, no stripes or numbers on sleeves.
2. Has Logo
3.  Numbers look stupid, sleeve stripes are wrong color.
4. Colors of orange stripes are inconsistent.  Shirt is not navy.  Oddly, the spacing between the sleeve stripes are appropriately asymmetrical.
5. Stock photo.  Numbers look like a 3 year old drew them on...which would be funny if it wasnt also true.

Ok, hopefully you got a 5 out 5, cuz those were pretty bad.  And God help you if you missed #5 (btw I found all these pics off ebay being advertised as "Authentic").

Alright, lets move onto some very techincal stuff that should only concern the real jersey snobs out there.

Elastic sleeves!

floppy sleeves

not floppy

floppy again

The difference is elastic sleeves or non-elastic sleeves.  I suppose it is player preference, and therefore your preference too.  I can neither deny or confirm if NFL Authentics come with elastic or non-elastic sleeves, because I have never paid $230 for a jersey.  And I never will.

Another interesting bit, is sometimes the sleeve stripes wrap all the way around:



and sometimes they dont:



Thats odd, and if anyone has any information as to why, then be sure to let us know.  I'd guess it may just change with year, weather, or player preference.

And if you followed this guide, then hopefully you'll have gone from buying this:



To this:

Good luck, and remember to trust your instincts.


Author's Note:
This guide was intended for ebay, but they have a 5 picture limit, so f@ck'em.


Thanks to everyone who's jersey guide I have read and learend from.

Special Thanks to everyone at the The Fantasy Football Guys message boards and the Chicago Bears Message Boards for their advice in the making of this guide.

Very Speical Thanks to the Chicago Bears for aquiring Jay "The Savior" Cutler.

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Feel Free to Ask Any Bears Jersey Questions here:

http://boards.chicagobears.com/forums/thread/1578545.aspx

Please give me my 5 minutes back for reading this post

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4whomthebearstol

Hell Yeah....I called it. P***ed as hell.
He won't get 1000 this year.

Will I eat crow?......I"ll eat crow when he gets 1000. I have NO problem doing it. But I doubt it......Piece of crapp O,.

urlacher1285:

Please give me my 5 minutes back for reading this post

Youre a big boy, if you dont like something you dont have to read it.

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Feel Free to Ask Any Bears Jersey Questions here:

http://boards.chicagobears.com/forums/thread/1578545.aspx

Nice.  Should be a sticky....

The guide should have pictures of current Bears jerseys for the official EQT and Authentics instead of the Payton and Singletary, since the current styles are different

Thanks for taking the time to throw that together.

I'm definitely going to watch where I order from.

ie I'm just going to NFL shop and getting one of the authentics.  That way, I don't have to play Sherlock Holmes the whole time.

the lines go through GSH on the singletary jersey

Thanks... just bookmarked the post

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CBMB Chat Handle: Midway_Monsters_09

Thanks for all the hard work and research.

I'll be bookmarking this thread for my wife for the next time she's trawling e-bay for my birthday presents!

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"America's Dairyland" is a bit boring. How about...
Wisconsin...the state that soap forgot. Wisconsin...the worlds largest trailer park. Wisconsin...where all genitals come complete with their own cheese. Wisconsin...where brothels are measured in acres. Wisconsin...love thy sister. Wisconsin...come smell our dairy air.?

Thanks, this should be stickied!


Question, did the Bears ever wear black? How long ago was that? I was walking through Macy's and saw a Walter Payton throwback, and the jersey (similar to this one) was black.



Also, I dont think this one is fake. Places like Walmart, Target, and K-mart sell crappy cheaply churned out jerseys such as this one for every team.

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"We need to find a way to make 1 + 1 = 3."
--Lions head coach Jim Schwartz.

urlacher1285:

Please give me my 5 minutes back for reading this post

You must not have been around much to see the 2-3 posts asking about Bears jerseys every week.

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"We need to find a way to make 1 + 1 = 3."
--Lions head coach Jim Schwartz.

xlledx:

urlacher1285:

Please give me my 5 minutes back for reading this post

Youre a big boy, if you dont like something you dont have to read it.

Here's my problem with this entire post.

I see a Jersey selling for $230. Reebok paid a woman or child in El Salvador or Korea 19 cents to make that jersey (link has been posted previously)

So Reebok made a 1250.52% profit on it, and has told people to never buy knockoffs so it can continue to make that kind of profit.

While when I walk into a store and see someone wearing a Bears jersey, all I care about is he's a fellow bears fans. I don't look down on him or her because he/she bought the jersey from a knock off shop. In fact, I am happy to find out he/she didn't fall for the 'only buy the name brand' crap.

People are lemmings. They buy diamonds because they are told how precious and beautiful they are, but the fact is they are the least rare of all the precious gems, and the most flawed. You are told by the one company that owns ALL the diamond mines in the world except the one in Canada and one in Iceland to buy these and you, like lemmings spend more for something that's the least rare.

The same effect applies with the 'authentic' Jersey. ALL the companies pay about the same 19 cents to have one made, but some have a much smaller profit margin, and people are on here trying to tell you why you must buy Reebok?

Get real.

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#5 on the CBMB Culter fan club

Wow I just realized I bought a fake Payton jersey a few years ago. I wouldn't really care if I bought it from China and paid $30 for it, but I actually got it from a store here

Socrates:

xlledx:

urlacher1285:

Please give me my 5 minutes back for reading this post

Youre a big boy, if you dont like something you dont have to read it.

Here's my problem with this entire post.

I see a Jersey selling for $230. Reebok paid a woman or child in El Salvador or Korea 19 cents to make that jersey (link has been posted previously)

So Reebok made a 1250.52% profit on it, and has told people to never buy knockoffs so it can continue to make that kind of profit.

While when I walk into a store and see someone wearing a Bears jersey, all I care about is he's a fellow bears fans. I don't look down on him or her because he/she bought the jersey from a knock off shop. In fact, I am happy to find out he/she didn't fall for the 'only buy the name brand' crap.

People are lemmings. They buy diamonds because they are told how precious and beautiful they are, but the fact is they are the least rare of all the precious gems, and the most flawed. You are told by the one company that owns ALL the diamond mines in the world except the one in Canada and one in Iceland to buy these and you, like lemmings spend more for something that's the least rare.

The same effect applies with the 'authentic' Jersey. ALL the companies pay about the same 19 cents to have one made, but some have a much smaller profit margin, and people are on here trying to tell you why you must buy Reebok?

Get real.

Wait...just because you don't care if you get a knockoff means other people shouldn't care?

Get over yourself.

I'm pretty sure this is directed at spotting people trying to rip others off on e-bay for the most part.  If you spend the money you want what you paid for, not a crappy knockoff.

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Nebraska Cornhusker fan by birth, Georgia Tech fan by (college) choice.

I was not born/old enough to remember when my teams were great! 85' Bears, '90 Yellow Jackets, and '95 Huskers!

I think it would make it much easier just to put up an authentic first with details like is GSH screen printed or embroidered ect.

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GIVIN YA DA BUISNESS
#46 CBMB CUTLER FAN CLUB

Guy, I'm pretty sure that everyone knows what an offical game jersey is or how much it costs.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS A KNOCKOFF! Whether or not it's offically lisenced by the NFL and Reebok is of no consequence to a fan.  Anything bought on EBAY is a risk, but they are for the most part half as much as the ones you can get from offically lisenced vendors and made well. 

Socrates:

Here's my problem with this entire post.

I see a Jersey selling for $230. Reebok paid a woman or child in El Salvador or Korea 19 cents to make that jersey (link has been posted previously)

Well, almost all textiles...along with electronics, semi-conductors, small appliances, large appliances...cars...just about anything that is manufactured, is now manufactured in cheaper labor markets. It's just the way economic globalization of economies evolved. It's allowing a middle class to evolve in these other countries, just like ours did last century.

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You know what's funny about these obviously fake jerseys with the wrong colored sleeve stripes? Check out this video were Hester was doing a promotion at some Berry Chill. The jersey he is wearing is a "knockoff" with the odd colored sleeves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBeobWHQ5Uk&feature=related

I image this is because of NFL or Reebok trademarks.

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"Or... you can grow a conscience in the next five minutes and see where that takes you. " - Me

i had a reliable source to get my jerseys from.that all changed when he got me my jay cutler jersey.DEFINATELY not happy.however it was only 50 bucks.but i paid 50 bucks for a hester jersey which is fully authentic.pictures to show the difference below




notice the orange around the letters? its almost like a very bright orange almost yellow like.even the letters are not right





this is the sleeve.obviously you can clearly see nothing authentic about that.looks horrible




this one here is my super bowl hester jersey i got off ebay for 50.letters and orange outline look much better





and here is the sleeve.this looks much better than my cutler does.so needless to say i will no longer be doing business with this guy.where as i have given him alot of money for jerseys and this is what i get? not happy what so ever.

Socrates:

People are lemmings. They buy diamonds because they are told how precious and beautiful they are, but the fact is they are the least rare of all the precious gems, and the most flawed. You are told by the one company that owns ALL the diamond mines in the world except the one in Canada and one in Iceland to buy these and you, like lemmings spend more for something that's the least rare.

Well said. I've known this for a long time.

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"We need to find a way to make 1 + 1 = 3."
--Lions head coach Jim Schwartz.

xlledx:

Watch for colors:  Current Orange jerseys have white numbers with blue border.


And heres  a summary
JERSEY                            STRIPES                          NUMBERS
Home                          3 Orange, white borders         White, with orange borders
Away                          2 Navy, 1 white, no borders    Navy, with orange borders
Alternate                     3 Navy, white borders            White, with navy borders

Yes as current orange jerseys have white numbers....


2000-present
In 2001, the team commemorates three decades at Soldier Field with a commemorative 'Salute to Soldier Field' patch on the home jersey.

In 2002, for one game only, the players wear navy jerseys with navy pants for the first time in the team's history.

In 2003, after Chairman Emeritus Edward W. McCaskey dies, the team wears a helmet decal with his initials 'EWM' in navy on an orange shamrock.

In 2004, for a Thanksgiving Day game, the team wears a 'classic' uniform - orange jersey with navy numbers bordered in white, and the all-white 'C' helmet decal.



The blue numbers are just somewhat "retro".  Looked into it last year when I bought an orange Payton...current style.  Good info though.  I'm one those though who is just happy to see any Bears gear on anyone anytime.  I would have to say probably most of us are content with having knock-offs since the price difference is absurd.  Especially if I'm just wearing it to games or wearing it in general, I wouldn't want to buy one for $250 and worry about spills, rips, etc........you know how rowdy we can get after a few cold ones......

The authentics are for those that are putting the jerseys on display or have an obsessive collection of memorabilia, action figures....you know who you are  

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Wow! That was more than I can chew. Fellas, you want the low-down on spotting an authentic and a fake? 1. LOOK AT PICTURES OF YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER AS HE IS PLAYING ON THE FIELD. 2. LOOK AT HIS JERSEY. 3. NOW LOOK AT THE ONE YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND. 4. IF IT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME (STRIPES, SLEEVE NUMBER FONT,ETC), CONGRATS, YOU HAVE AN AUTHENTIC. 5. IF IT LOOKS DIFFERENT (WRONG FONT ON SLEEVE, OFF COLORED STRIPES/GSH FONT TOO ROUND COMPARED TO AUTHENTIC), WHOOPS! YOU HAVE A FAKE! Hope this helps.

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Thanks for taking the time to post it for those that it matters to.

 

I have 7 jerseys that I wear during the season.  All purchased off Ebay.  Of those jerseys, my very fake Picollo road jersey is my favorite, gets the most compliments by older fans and was only $25.  I would have bought 10 of them if I had to do it all over again.

 

 

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I ran out for milk and came home and found 2 future Hall of Famers on my team... Sweeet.

2009 Chicago White Sox AL Central Champs............ again.

And good luck to the Cubs...May they go 154-6 and lose in the bottom of the ninth in game 7 on a cold night in October......at Comiskey

I have to agree with Socrates that I certainly wouldnt look down on anyone for buy a knock off or replica rather than an authentic.  Bears fans are Bears fans, some just have more money to spend than others, some just value their money too much to spend $230 on a jersey.  Al that to me is very understandable I dont judge anyone on that.  As a man with a blue collar job and two young boys I couldnt buy a $230 jersey without questioning myself.  I support the Bears anyway I can, so whether I buy a replica from nflshop that costs me $75 or 80 or not doesnt make me less of a fan.

However, I dont think calling people out for wearing knockoffs was the point of the OP.  The point was about being an informed consumer and there is nothing wrong with that.  I wouldnt want to order my %80 replica and end up with a $25 knockoff.  It doesnt matter what your buying or how much your spending, getting ripped off sucks.

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http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9199/thehalasobserverlogo.png

Official CBMB Jay Cutler Fan Club: #16

DEVIN HESTER, YOU ARE RIDICULOUS

Buy What you want, I have a few fakes and also a few Authentics from NFLshop.com. its up to the buyer.

 

P.S. The new Jay Cutler authentic I got on NFLshop.com. you can see the back number through the front.

P.S.S. trx440 nobody will say anything to you about what you wear.

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Member #47 of the Jay Cutler Fan Club!!!!

Member #5 of the Orlando Pace Fan Club!!!!



"To be the man...You got to beat the man"
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair