Football shirts are big business in the resale market, but the number of counterfeits appearing on Vinted is making the category increasingly difficult to navigate.
The problem isn't limited to copies of expensive retro shirts. Completely fictional designs are also appearing under official brand categories. One example highlighted by football shirt site Footy Headlines is a Brazil Nike shirt featuring Christ the Redeemer — despite Nike never releasing such a design. Numerous versions have reportedly appeared on Vinted.
There is also a thriving market for copies of genuine retro and modern shirts. Cheap versions can be sourced from third-party suppliers and subsequently appear on resale marketplaces for £30–£50, sometimes described using terms such as “genuine replica”.
That wording can itself cause confusion. Replica doesn't automatically mean counterfeit. Brands sell officially licensed replica shirts to supporters. The problem is an unauthorised product carrying a brand's trademarks being presented as genuine merchandise.
Resellers need to know what they're sourcing
This isn't only a problem for football shirt collectors.
Resellers buying bundles, wholesale clothing or stock from unfamiliar suppliers can end up with counterfeit shirts themselves. A cheap branded shirt with an apparent £40 resale value can look like an excellent margin until its authenticity is questioned.
Checking style codes on internal labels, comparing the shirt against known genuine releases and looking closely at badges, sponsors and manufacturing details can help. But knowing where your stock came from remains just as important.
Be particularly cautious when somebody is offering quantities of supposedly genuine branded football shirts at prices that seem unusually low.
The potential resale price shouldn't be your first question.
The first should be: are these actually genuine?