My Internet Kit buying review.

[billyho96]

As I have a 10 month old, and I'm therefore homebound when not working. I've bought a lot of Kits, probably 15 in the last year. I realize this is probably some type of condition I should get treated for, but I want to share my experience with the individual companies on the net, as people often ask:

1. Subside- I just bought a PV4 LS home from them. Its the coolmotion so it costs like $200 with lettering and patches. If you never have bought a coolmotion shirt they are sweet. Only kit you can wear without an undershirt IMO, most comfortable thing I own. Subside did a great job on the lettering and patches. They sent a catalog too with about 5000 different kits. Thick felt lettering, really nice, but damn for 200 it should come with a free lap dance. They respond to your questions, and are very professional. Shipping to US is 2 weeks.

2. Kitbag- I bought a LS Madrid kit from Kitbag. Plastic lettering and numbering. They won't respond to your emails. Ships in 2 weeks. If not here in 2 weeks, it ain't coming. Twice I have ordered from kitbag and gotten no kit, and had to get a charge back on my credit card.

3. Culprits- they make uniques t-shirt and sweats. I've got a dark blue tee that says Highbury and is cool. Nice products, good quality, reasonably
priced.

4. The Club- I have bought 2 kits from the club. One was a TH14 ss home that they forgot the patches on, but they didn't charge for them. I also got a long sleeve yellow (if you've never seen one up close with that material, you've never seen anything yellow enough) that only came with one patch that was not carefully placed at all. I'm torn on this one. The club sends you catalogs and info from time to time in the mail and I like that, and the packing slip says "Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London N5 1BU" which looks cool on my fridge. This is the most expensive place to buy (other than cool motion) You have to pay a tariff, which you don't from other internet providers. Don't know why.

5. Other clubs: I have an Umbro Kit (Celtic) with of good quality and Umbro has neat 3 button naps at the top. I also bought a Beckham from ManUre (give me a break it was 2 years ago, I've learned my lesson, I am ashamed to have bought from them) I only bring is up, because they said they could ship it from the OT shop in 3 days to Arkansas, and I thought BS no way, be damn if it didn't get here in 3 days postmarked manchester. I have an Adidas from AC Milan and it is probably the best made of any of the 3 major companies.

6. Ebay: Check the individual sellers comments, don't look at the positive or negative. Read between the lines, nobody leaves negative feedback because they'll leave it on you. Look for things like "nice buy" or "good value" which means "this POS cost 5 dollars, but does look like a shirt somewhat" I did get a pepsi can kit from a seller and it was fine. I did buy an Inter 3rd coolmotion from someone that was authentic. Normally though if it ships from Asia, it will look cheap (in my experience)

I bought from other places I can't recall, but those are some of the most common questions people seem to have.

[UxSxAxfooty]

I purchased a Man Utd Timmy Howard jersey recently from Subside.

Hopefully, it arrives soon. Was about 70 pounds with lettering and patches.

[nyrmetros]

Also don't forget The On ion Ba g if you want your footy items shipped from NYC.

[otterulz]

I just ordered an Henry Arsenal away shirt from The Unyun Bag in New York. Of course I wish I were home to go pick it up instead of having it shipped to my apartment in Providence, but oh well. Ordered it today and they informed me it'll be sent out tomorrow. I guess I'll have it by Monday. Hopefully anyway. But they respond quickly to e-mails and are very courteous. I'll let you guys know about the shirt once I get it.

I also ordered from Subside last summer. Delivery took quicker then I expected. I think it took a week and a half or 2 weeks, which I don't think is too bad. The shipping charges are what turns me off though. But they do keep sending me catalogs which are awesome. They're a jersey collector's/soccer fan's dream, with jerseys from just about every country, from the EPL to the K-League.

eBay is a tough one. I ordered a Ronaldo Real Madrid jersey for my little brother. Ended up being totally fake. And yes, it was from South East Asia. Also ordered the home Dreamcast jersey from the Double season which ended up being fake. They look great, even when put right next to the real thing, but they're fake and I can't stand that. I have bought older Arsenal jerseys from eBay, like the 98-99 JVC home and away. Those are authentic. From what I've seen, the older ones all come from fans who just need to unload their old jerseys. I doubt the fake jersey makers would bother to manufacture older jerseys, so I think it'd be a safe bet if you find one you like.

Soccerfans.com is another place I ordered from. Got my US nats and Dreamcast jersey (real this time) from them. They don't have much of a selection in terms of jerseys, but they should have most of the major European clubs. I don't think they have a shipping charge either which is great. Also, delivery time is real good. I think I got both of those jerseys in 3-4 days. Well, they say 3-5 but hey, it's quick.

Oh and Billy, if you got a 10 month old, WHAT ARE YOU DOING BUYING $200 JERSEYS?!?!?!?!? C'mon Dad! ;)

[billyho96]

Those silly British pounds, 80 pounds doesn't sound so bad, another 15 here 20 there, + shipping cost.

Your bill say $130 pounds, you think could've been worse, well it was worse thats = to $200 American

[jwaldman11]

Originally posted by billyho96
Those silly British pounds, 80 pounds doesn't sound so bad, another 15 here 20 there, + shipping cost.

Your bill say $130 pounds, you think could've been worse, well it was worse thats = to $200 American

Yeah, I've been there. Ask those that were on the ArseAm trip with me, when I dropped 130 GBP in the store (that's with a 20% discount) and went "well, that wasn't so bad". And then I saw my bank statement. It was still worth it though, and that was for two jerseys and a bunch of other stuff.

Strangely, I have ordered from the club before, but wasn't charged a tariff. However, when I got my DB10 shirt from Kitbag (yes, with the vinyl lettering that makes it sound like I'm splitting my pants when I get out of my leather chair), I was. I think U.S. Customs just randomly charges you, as I've heard of some people being charged when they get something from a store while someone who orders almost the exact same thing from the same store isn't.

[DallasGooner]

Don't forget, KitBag uses vinly lettering when you order a hero shirt, felt if you custom order the lettering.

[Martin Daoust]

Actually, the Club is great in-person when it comes to shopping. I bought an FA Cup Final Jersey to wear to Cardiff from the Finsbury Park Store, and hadn't noticed but the colors had bled and the sleeves were smeared with red. And I had mis-placed my receipt. But I happened to be heading that way so I figured I'd buy another anyway. But when I got there and explained what happened and I had no receipt they went ahead a mde a new one for me and took back the damaged one, no additional charge. Try that in ANY store here where you don't know the owner more than a little well...

[Coach_McGuirk]

For the shirt buying public, this thread makes me laugh. (Not this one, but the linked one)

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=89655

[CDNGooner]

I love buying football kits - I have so many these days that my wife is threatening to sell them. I like wearing football shirts as casual wear with jeans, really comfy and it looks good. Of course, for some reason, people comment on your shirts even living in North America - good and bad e.g. Arsenal rules or Arsenal sucks buddy! etc. etc. I don't see people commenting when other fans or when I myself wear hockey, baseball or NFL jerseys . . . really weird. I really get a lot of comments from strangers when I wear my Arsenal jersey - good and bad. As long as they don't come up and pick a fight with me, it's all good - to each their own right?

I first started collecting football jerseys back in 1994 - I got a Brazil home jersey for WC 1994 by Umbro. Then I got my first jersey - Arsenal Away in 1997 when I went to London for the first time (being that Bergkamp was my fav player and I loved the Arsenal colours at the time). I started following Arsenal and was really an EPL fan more than a fan of a specific team. Oh yeah, Billy Ho, you aren't alone, I bought a Man United reversible jersey a few years back b/c it was a centenial year and I thought it looked pretty good. I started playing soccer more and followed Arsenal more passionately so I don't wear my Man U jersey anymore. However, I will likely hold onto it for now and will try to sell it later on eBay if I can get some good coin from a Man U fan.

Like Waldman, I purchased a jersey on the Roadtrip (L/S Henry Away) but that's not my most expensive jersey - it's a Beckham Home L/S England Jersey that I purchased from Subside - about $180 CDN in all - I purchased with a buddy so we shared the shipping). Sure, I may have paid some big bucks for the roadtrip but with a 20% discount and getting some money back for VAT, I think my L/S is worth it!

Oh yeah, I do have some crappy fake Arsenal jerseys from when my mom went to Malaysia. One is actually cool - it's made really well and the fabric is cool - it's just a red jersey with a large Arsenal Crest in the middle - I wear it with jeans quite a bit; the other is a bad Pepsi Can fake which I usually just wear to sleep in.

I try to buy Arsenal jerseys when they are on sale -like everyone else, I want the Home Dreamcast 2002 jersey - with the blue stripes down the sleeves and a collar - I think that home jersey is just ace. I wouldn't mind an old Adidas Arsenal jersey as well (IMHO, I think Adidas makes the best jerseys but I'm a huge fan of the 3 stripes)

[billyho96]

Originally posted by CDNGooner
(IMHO, I think Adidas makes the best jerseys but I'm a huge fan of the 3 stripes)

I agree. My AC Milan is sweat, too bad it has a Gattuso autograph, I feel guilty for wearing it, so I don't. Still looking for an AC Milan fan (Gunner also) to pass it on it.

PS raise your hand if you have a beckham kit, and are now secretly glad he is in Madrid so you can wear it without the dirty feel of a merchandiseunited product

[dirtskier]

just a not about ebay. I ordereda 2001 Celtic third jersey for nine bucks last summer and it looks great, and was authentic. Some of the lettering is falling off a little, but a real shirt would probably do the same thing. so just look at what youre buying. The seller's name was "adkinson". I'd reccommend him. It came from Bangkok, but it was well worth it. I'm waiting for the new US jersey to come out, and I'll probably try him again.

[nyrmetros]

Originally posted by CDNGooner
I want the Home Dreamcast 2002 jersey - with the blue stripes down the sleeves and a collar - I think that home jersey is just ace.

Once again, I must say.. Thank you Marty Marts !!!! :)

[KAESO]

Can someone please post a link to some of these web-sites?

I'm trying to buy Real Santander's away (the dark one) and the official site will not return my e-mails.

Thank you.

[jonasjones]

I bought a Henry SS jersey when the O2 sponsor was first unveiled, from Kit*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# and I got to say that it is pretty damn nice !! The patches were fine and set at the right place - lettering was felt and had the official lion logo at the bottom of the number, but it is true that they dont reply to emails and I dont think I'll be buying from them again if they dont. They take REAL LONG to get here, especially when adding name & numbers !!

Thanks for the heads up billyho96

[Bluto11]

I just got a Celtic 1967 jersey from www.toffs.com I ordered it last sunday and got it yesterday. The price was 29 pounds, with 11 pounds shipping. Its a sweet jersey. My school has the same colors, so its my new shirt to wear to basketball games.

[otterulz]

Wow, after placing my order on Wendesday, I received my Henry jersey TODAY! It looks great and the lettering and patches are all where they should be. Price was $91 and change which includes shipping from the Unyun Bag. They've answered my e-mails quickly and were real courteous. I'm still amazed that I got my jersey so soon. From now on, looks like I'm getting my jerseys from the Unyun Bag.

[scudly]

Originally posted by otterulz
Wow, after placing my order on Wendesday, I received my Henry jersey TODAY! It looks great and the lettering and patches are all where they should be. Price was $91 and change which includes shipping from the Unyun Bag. They've answered my e-mails quickly and were real courteous. I'm still amazed that I got my jersey so soon. From now on, looks like I'm getting my jerseys from the Unyun Bag. Where's the url for it? I've tried googling it and came up with nothing.

[billyho96]

I too ordered a vintage from toffs. It was a 60's era Soviet Union that had the CCCP on the front. It was really cool, but their vintage jerseys are 100% cotton, and mine bleed really bad when the wife washed it, I warned her. I threw it away because I keep getting mad at her when I'd see the nice "pink" lettering and trim.

Toffs does sell on ebay.

[Bluto11]

Originally posted by billyho96
I too ordered a vintage from toffs. It was a 60's era Soviet Union that had the CCCP on the front. It was really cool, but their vintage jerseys are 100% cotton, and mine bleed really bad when the wife washed it, I warned her. I threw it away because I keep getting mad at her when I'd see the nice "pink" lettering and trim.

Toffs does sell on ebay.



yeah, i think i'm going to have to hang dry my jersey and wash it seperatly with extra cold water.