I love Lululemon, but more than Lulu, I love to write. So, when I feel like writing, I’m gonna write. I also love beauty & beauty products and all things pretty. So, I’m going to start a series of new beauty-related posts, within this blog, but under a new category.
I found myself with some extra time, so I did a trial run for my halloween nails. (There’s just no way my nails will last two weeks.) As a base coat I used Sally Hansen Green Tea + Bamboo Nail Strengthener. I’ve been using this one for years. It’s my go-to. I don’t know if it works for growing my nails, but it goes on great and works well as a base coat.
Last month in my IPSY bag (which was fantastic), I got a “nailtini” nail polish by “Tini Beauty,” a makeup company that draws its inspiration from cocktails. The name of the colour is Mai Tai, which is a coral/ orange, but closer to orange/ orange. That makes it great for Halloween! I love the company’s concept! They have a guide on how to mix nailtini ‘cocktails.’ I wasn’t really impressed by the application of the polish, I felt like it went on a little unevenly, but it dried quickly. It has been two days since I applied it and it is chipping, but this doesn’t surprise me. I tend to be a little hard on my nails.
Here are a couple of pictures of my nails.
Mai Tai Nailtini Orange on Porcelain Blue DSJMai Tai nail polish on Light Flare NLT
So, as you can see, it’s a pretty close match to Lululemon’s Light Flare color. I think these will work as Halloween nails 🙂 As a top coat, I used Sephora’s Top Coat: Mirror Shine. I like it a lot, and the extra-wide brush makes it easy to apply. I got the stickers at Sally Beauty Supply. They’re by Cina Nail Creations & they’re called “Haunted Nights.”
Do you have a favorite Orange Nail colour? Or a favorite brand? Why? I don’t think I would have purchased this Nailtini color on my own, just because of the way it applies. I can rock orange though, so if you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments below 🙂
I’ve seen a couple of blogs address the new shopping tote offered by Lululemon. In my opinion, it’s just another example of Lululemon pushing the envelope, like they always do. I don’t think it goes too far, even though the bag features text created using images of, among other things: tobacco, alcohol, sugary treats, drugs needles, condoms, playing cards, and marijuana cigarettes. Below are two pictures of the bag.
Allow me to transcribe here what is written on the side, because I’m unsure if it is clear from the photo. The front of the bag, obviously says “Brahmacharya.” The side of the bag says the same & offers the following definition: (moderation, non-excess) This yama, or yogic philosophy, teaches us to recognize that moment of “just enough” so we don’t move past it into uncomfortable excess. Maybe it’s pushing away the plate of french fries or using our pent-up energy for a run. By focusing inward, we keep our bodies healthy & energetic. (And hey, there are some things we’re better off avoiding altogether.) Where in your life could you practice moderation?
There is a message here to take into consideration about moderation, however, the only thing I think I may need to moderate is my Lululemon consumption. Do you think they’re trying to tell me something?
When posting your item on eBay, please always take your own pictures. Never use stock photos or anyone else’s photos. If someone sees their photos in your ad they can report your ad and it will be removed. Lululemon participates in eBay’s VERO program, if one of their employees sees your ad, and it features a stock photo, it will be reported. Once the stock photo is reported, Lululemon will have your name & address, as well as other information. eBay states: “When a rights owner files a VeRO claim against a seller, the rights owner may have the option to request a seller’s registered user ID, name, address, phone number, email, and company name. This process is outlined in our Privacy Policy.”
The difference between when the average user reports your photo & when Lululemon reports your photo is that Lululemon participates in the VERO along with many other companies listed here: Vero Participant Companies “About Me” pages. The average user can report your image to eBay for copyright infringement, but when someone registered with VERO does it, they also have the right to request your personal information.
I also would like to mention that at one point, Lululemon had Facebook shut down one of the most popular selling pages on Facebook. It also froze the accounts of the administrators on that page. The stated reason was copyright infringement. So, the admins had all of the Stock photos removed from the page & coordinated an effort to remove all stock photos from all pages. To this day, no stock photos are permitted on any Facebook selling page. Personally, I think it has helped deter scam artists who sell things they don’t own. (If you have to take your own pictures, how do you post an ad without the item? I suppose it’s possible, but it becomes more difficult.)
I know I haven’t covered the entire breadth of this. I find this subject too dry to elaborate on. However, I thought it was important enough to cover. Some people are new to eBay or new to selling Lululemon and may not be aware of Vero policies. I hope that my small effort to prevent your ad from being reported, removed and your privacy being compromised by Lululemon & eBay will be heeded and I can help everyone have a positive eBay experience.
Every so often, Lululemon releases a fabric print called “Ziggy Wee.” I completely missed out last time, somehow. So this year, I feel like I must have some form of all Ziggy in my closet. So far, I believe I’ve managed to grab something in every Ziggy color. Here’s a photo I took of my Ziggy family.
Left to right, TOP: Ziggy Wee Angel Wing CRB, Ziggy Wee August Inkwell CRB, Ziggy Wee August Raspberry Glo/ Plum CRB, BOTTOM: Ziggy Wee Plum WUPs, Ziggy Wee October Inkwell WUPs
Since this blog is primarily about selling Lululemon, I have found that the Ziggy print holds its value quite well, and the most popular item to be released in this print in my opinion was the XL (Extra Long) CRB, I never see one sell for less than $50 on eBay. I think that’s pretty good, since they retailed for $48. One of the many reasons I love Lululemon is that it seems you almost always get your money back when you invest. I’ve never seen the Ziggy Wee Caspian Wunder Unders for sale anywhere, but I have seen the Ziggy Wee Flare (released in the same time period, July/Aug 2012) sell for between $70 and up to $130 (for NWTs). My favorite thing about the Ziggy print is the feel of the fabric. It gorgeous, and particularly remarkable in the CRBs. I say that because if you own Herringbone or Pique WUs, the fabric of the Ziggy’s is less impressive than that. Especially those Piques… I could live in those.
Anyways, Here’s one more picture, closer-up, with slightly different lighting.
Primarily, this blog is about selling Lululemon, but I want to talk about buying second-hand Lulu clothing because it will help you to empathize with your customers. When buying second-hand Lulu, you have to understand that it is second-hand. It’s not going to be perfect & most of the time the seller will/ should explain any flaws, but sometimes they miss things. This post is about those things. Ideally, you should check for these things before you sell, but they do often get missed.
Pilling & Sueding– The number of items I’ve purchased that have claimed to be in “excellent” or “great” condition that have been horribly pilled and obviously washed numerous times is in-expressible. It’s frustrating, but many sellers over-state and under deliver when it comes to describing the condition of their item. While your version of “excellent” might mean not ripped, torn or stained, my definition of “excellent” includes no pilling or ‘sueding’ of the fabric as well. However, when I buy, I make sure I look very closely at ALL the pictures provided by the seller. And when I sell, I often include up-close photos of the fabric to show condition. Not everyone does this though, so when you buy & you receive something that has more pilling than you thought it would, I recommend at the very least being understanding that sellers are human and may have missed the issue when they were inspecting their item for sale. Please contact the seller if you would like a refund, or partial refund. That’s what I do, and in general, the sellers are very understanding. They’re people like you & me.
Other Flaws- In my opinion, anything that comes to me with rips, holes, tears, or stains that were not disclosed in the listing is unacceptable. These purchases must be remedied with an immediate refund, or negative feedback is in order. Sometimes things are missed. Other times, people purposely leave things out in the hopes that you, upon receiving your item, miss the flaw. Which brings me to my next point: I highly recommend that you thoroughly inspect all items upon arrival and take photos of any flaws you may discover.
Payment- When buying second-hand clothing online, whether on eBay or through the Lululemon Facebook pages (I talk about these in one of my first posts here), please look at all the photos the seller provides for you. The luxury of buying on Facebook is that you can have an open dialogue with the seller that includes photos. If you’re satisfied with the pictures, please always pay as goods, when buying through Paypal and never as gift or EMT (unsure what EMT is, check out my post about Lululemon Slang).
Issues- Once more, if you have an issue with your purchase, please contact the seller. Most sellers on eBay and on Facebook are gracious people. If the seller is uncooperative on eBay, open a PayPal case against them. If they are uncooperative on Facebook, contact the page administrator & open a PayPal case against them (You did pay with PayPal, as goods, right?). If they have wronged you, they will be removed from the page and you will get your money back via PayPal.
Have Fun!- Buying, selling and trading Lululemon should be fun. Don’t let yourself become too immersed in it or too pre-occupied with your ISO list. And if something goes wrong, don’t waste your time worrying about it. Just file your claim & get your money back. Most people are nice, it’s the few who can ruin it for the many, so don’t let them win & stay positive. Enjoy your collection, and have fun being part of the online community!
This blog is meant, primarily, to help people sell their Lululemon collection. I want to talk about selling, specifically, on eBay. Some of these tips might be applicable to eBay in general, but I do like to keep myself on topic. So, please comment with your opinions on how I can improve this post, especially regarding its specificity and relevancy to Lululemon.
Decide When to Sell- market trends occur year-round and always merit consideration. But there are other factors to consider. I have limited closet space, so I’m constantly considering and re-considering pieces of my Lululemon wardrobe. But once I decide to sell, I prepare the item for sale and it gets zip-locked. That way, the condition of the item is unchanged.
Sell many items at once- I recommend selling multiple items at once. Because there are so many listings for Lululemon items, I like to do as much as I can to make sure my ads get noticed! I try to add at the end of my listings “If you’re looking for more Lululemon, check out my other listings!” Hopefully they do. The more views you get, the more watchers you’ll get the more sales you’ll create! If you sell in multiples, one person who was searching for something may look at another ad and buy that instead! You never know!
Give your potential customers the attention they deserve- Make sure you have the time to dedicate to your sales. If someone messages you with a question, answer it ASAP. People are fickle, someone may be very interested in your item and if you don’t respond quickly, they’ll move on to something else. This is particularly true at the very beginning and towards the end of your listing. People who are considering the BIN option may ask questions immediately after you list the item. After all, it’s a GREAT item and they don’t want to miss out! Answer them quickly and you may earn that sale! Leave them hanging, and they will certainly explore other options.
Pricing- When you list your item, BIN is probably the most optimal outcome. You never know whether something will sell or not, or how high it will go if you post as auction only. Never price your item at 0.99. This doesn’t work for Lululemon items. It works for other things. It works for commodity-like items where there are too many of the same thing to keep track of and everyone is looking for the lowest possible price on the same thing. But Lululemon is NOT a commodity (as in a mass-produced, unspecialized item, made to be used up), it is an asset. It retains value over time and that’s part of the reason your collection and its sale can be lucrative. If you price your item too low, you’ll just get a bunch of people who will watch your auction, and you will not get what your item is worth. Price your item fairly, and you should get what it’s worth, or at least close to that much. The most important factor in getting what your item is worth is ensuring that it is listed correctly. For help trying to find the name and colour name of your item, read this post or this post for even more (extensive) advice. I also think it’s a a good idea to price your item such that it meets eBay’s minimum requirements with regards to start bid vs. BIN price. The current rule is that the BIN price must be a minimum of 30% higher than the starting bid. The BIN should be what you want for your item, in the best possible outcome. It should be optimistic, but not ridiculous. Try to find out the value of your item and price it accordingly. People like a good deal, but there’s no need for you to give your things away! The reason I think this is a good idea is because if people think they can get a really good deal by simply *watching* your item, they will. However, if your item is $100 and the SB is $70, people are more likely to BIN if they’re actually interested in the item. Then you get what you want, a sale, and they get awesome, awesome Lulu.
Shipping- Regardless of where you are, I recommend offering shipping to Canada AND the US, as this is where the highest concentration of buyers reside. I am so honoured to be able to say that I have had readers from Singapore, Australia, the UK & New Zealand! Therefore, I find it appropriate to mention that the largest market for Lululemon is the US & Canada. And that regardless of your home port, I recommend offering your goods to the largest available market and that means these two Western nations.
eBay’s Global Shipping Program- whether you choose to use this or not is up to you, I just want to let you know that in my experience, it over-charges the buyer. And beware of being automatically or mistakenly opted-in.
Finally, my advice is to keep your eBay account as private as possible. Don’t name it after yourself or tell people your eBay handle. The reason being that eBay is purely business and once people know who you are, it becomes personal. I once witnessed a public argument on a Facebook group about a $2 shipping charge discrepancy & both the buyer and the seller posted their own thread talking about this “terrible buyer/ seller on eBay.” Then, everyone realized what was going on and it was a mess.
Please be a responsible and courteous buyer/ seller. The market rewards excellence in service, who knows, maybe one day you’ll be a Top Seller!
I recently posted about fakes, and I am passionately opposed to them. So, I want to take the time to talk about a few authentic Scubas I own and love.
“you are beautiful”With removable Fur added
These are photos of a Special Edition Scuba Hoodie in Paris Pink/ Black Swan Dip Dye. They were released in December of 2011, and retailed for $148. This one has removable fur trim, it zips on and off. It must be dry-cleaned separately, although the hoodie itself may be machine washed. I absolutely love this hoodie and I wear it very frequently. I have also taken a close-up photo of the pilling inside the hoodie to show how Scuba hoodies do pill over time. I’m also a bit of a sucker for the embroidered “you are beautiful” on the inside of the hood. It was one of the things that sold me on it, along with the fact that the fact that the fur is removable and the colors are unique. This Scuba has side panels & thumb holes, as well as a zipper garage, so you don’t hurt your chin!
Since this blog is about the resale market for Lululemon items, I will mention that these pop up on eBay often enough and usually sell but for how much is highly dependent on condition. New ones sell for upwards of $200, while used ones sell for around $100.
The next Scuba hoodies pictured are from the Cheer Gear collection that Lululemon released for the Vancouver Olympics.
I think it’s clever that Lululemon avoided paying royalties to the “Olympics” by avoiding using that word specifically. Instead of an “Olympic Cheer Gear” Scuba Hoodie, Lululemon created “Cool Sporting Event that takes place in British Columbia between 2009 & 2011 Edition” Hoodies. How clever. Well, sort of. VANOC, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, found the collection “disappointing.” That’s too bad- I find it adorable! Here’s an article about it!
The Scubas above had zipper garages but no side panels or thumbholes.
I hope you like these pieces from my collection. I hope to add more later!
UPDATE
I think it’s time to add a couple more Scubas to this post!
The first one is a Scuba Hoodie *Limited Edition in Coal Black Orbit Lace Print with removable fur trim on both hood and wrists. This one came out around the same time as the above Paris Pink dip dye one. In fact, I think I purchased both of them at the same time. This one retailed for $198. I can’t give an estimate on how much this one would sell for, but there were only 5,500 made. (I’m not sure if that’s a lot of a little in the Lululemon world) But I can tell you this: There was recently a used one on eBay (size 6) that sold for $250. This one also has a zipper garage, side panels and thumbholes.
Scuba Hoodie Limited Edition in Coal Black Orbit Lace Print with removable fur trim on both hood and wrists.
Up close of Orbit Lace print.Fur has been reattached to this versatile Scuba hoodie.Limited Edition Tag sewn inside the hoodie.
While I do love Scuba Hoodies, I don’t own too many of them. Here are some photos of a new one I bought recently.
The color of this one is called Blue Moon/ Hyper Stripe Blue Moon. It retailed for $108 and was released in August 2013. It has thumbholes, but no side panels. It’s hood is lined in Blue Moon Hyperstripe and it has the words “Shhhh… I’m meditating” embroidered on the outside of the hood. Again, I’m a sucker for embroidered words.
It says “Shhhh… I’m meditating”
So, I think that these are the only Scuba hoodies I own. Like I said, I don’t buy too many. For me, August was a pretty boring up-load month. So, I kind of just wanted to buy something one week and ended up with this. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but if there had been anything else I liked that upload, I probably would not have gotten this.
The reason I don’t buy (too many) Scuba Hoodies: They don’t hold their value very well. The olympic ones, sometimes still sell on eBay for close-to retail. The Special Edition ones tend to do well, because they’re special edition. But on average, you’ll lose half your investment. The reasons Scuba hoodies don’t hold their value very well are: the French Terry degrades rather rapidly, and almost inevitably. The pilling shown above is nearly (if not totally) impossible to prevent. The cost to ship a Scuba Hoodie makes them difficult to sell. No one wants to pay $90 for a $70 hoodie, but in reality, especially in Canada, Scuba hoodies are expensive to ship.
That said, there are some especially gorgeous Scuba hoodies out there that deserve to be owned and loved on their own merits, regardless of resale value, March WAFS comes to mind.
These are very soft & silky, and super comfortable on. These tend to maintain their value fairly well, but they also pill very easily and especially in the gusset. I’ve seen some in terrible condition and they’re not worth anything once the condition has begun to deteriorate. I own one pair, and, in the interest of preservation, I mostly only wear them around the house.
Here is a handy chart for you! I hope this update helps! If you want some additional examples and/or explanations, please scroll down!
Original post, 2013 below-
It seems to me that, no matter what I do, there will always be someone who undermines the community and sells fake Lululemon items. They might call them “replicas,” but they’re fakes. They are NOT the same Lululemon, nor are they ever the same quality. Many sellers on eBay will sell a combination of authentic and phoney Lululemon items in order to avoid getting caught and unfortunately, many consumers have difficulty distinguishing between authentic and counterfeit Lululemon. They make all sorts of claims regarding authenticity and quality, but they infringe on copyright laws and international intellectual property laws, preying on unsuspecting consumers and earning a hefty profit.
Here are a couple of examples of a fake/replica/counterfeit Scuba Hoodie.
Note the fact that “Designed” is spelled incorrectly as “Designde” and the shape is the “OM” on the top of the Hoodie is questionable, to say the least.
I intend to continue to add examples of fakes as I encounter them. Please be aware, and if it seems too good to be true, it may very well be.
UPDATE:
While the danger of buying fakes exists on eBay, there are also many websites dedicated to selling fake Lululemon items. Their web pages are convincing and they tout excellent exchange policies and guarantee authenticity, but the truth is, that once they have your money, they won’t care about how satisfied you are with their product. The worst offender, in my opinion is Ali Express. They steal stock photos from Lululemon’s website and advertise that they sell wholesale Lululemon at discount prices. Lululemon states that it ONLY sells in its stores, on its websites (which are listed) and in select studio partners. This information is located HERE. Oh, and all those positive reviews on Ali Express? They’re fake too! For real information and reviews on Ali Express, check here or you can look here. You can also look here. Ali Express is not the only seller of fake Lululemon, but they are the first google link for searches like “cheap Lululemon,” so I’m sure they get a lot of web traffic. By the way, the fakes do not look like they do in the pictures on the website, and the fabric isn’t the same quality either.
UPDATE:
Scuba Hoodies aren’t the only fakes circulating! There are Fake Stride Jackets too! Here is an example of a fake Stride Jacket:
For three reasons, this is obviously a fake Lululemon Stride jacket. The first reason being the shape of the “OM” symbol on the jacket. It is not the same as the authentic Stride Jacket pictured Below:
Authentic Lululemon Stride Jacket
The second reason being the tag. If you zoom in, you can see the words “made in china.” The “c” in China is not capitalized, but if you compare an authentic Lululemon tag, you’ll see that the “c” IS capitalized, which is grammatically correct. The third reason that this is an obvious fake is because Lululemon never made a brown & pink Stride jacket like this. Sometimes the colors of fakes are so similar to the real ones it is difficult to discern simply from a photo whether it is a fake or not, but not this time.
I hope to continue to add more as I encounter them.
UPDATE: I found a few photos of a fake Forme jacket.
Look at the seams on this Forme jacket.
One of the ways you can tell this jacket is fake is that Lululemon never attaches hang tags to rip-out tags. If you see it done this way, it’s a fake.
Now, take a look at the seams on the authentic Forme Jacket below:
I also found fake Wunder Unders with the tag attached on the rip-out tag, as well as another fake Scuba Hoodie.
You can tell that they’re fake because Lululemon does not attach tags onto the rip-out tag. If you see this, that means it’s fake.
While the give-away here is obviously the hang tag attachment point, I will also encourage you to consider again, the shape of the Lululemon Logo, and while they can correctly copy it onto tags, it is rarely sewn properly onto the garment. The shape is once again, incorrect.
I hope to continue to add more examples of fakes to this post.
UPDATE
I want to add that there are multiple websites that sell fake Lululemon. Not just Ali Express. This isn’t real: CHEAP LULULEMON, This isn’t real: LULU @ LOW PRICES!!! [2020 update note: I removed the links, because the websites no longer exist, and just give you a 404 error, but they used to sell fake Lululemon] There are tons of fake Lululemon websites with very convincing fronts. Their photos are stolen from Lululemon’s website and the product you see will not be the product you receive. Please remember that the ONLY websites that Lululemon sells their products on are listed HERE.
UPDATE
Found another fake on eBay.
Fake Wunder Unders
As you can see, the HANG tag is attached at the RIP-OUT tag, which, again, Lululemon never does. Can you imagine trying on pants with the tags attached there? Yikes! And what’s with that weird bag that says: LU- W06?
Another Fake from another seller with zero feedback
UPDATE:
I found more pictures of a fake Stride Jacket on ebay, from a seller with ample feedback.
Have you ever received Lululemon items in a plastic bag like this? I haven’t.Notice how the stripes don’t even line up in the logo? That’s not Lulu quality.Again, the tags are attached like this, onto the rip out tag. Can you imagine trying something on like this?
UPDATE: The same seller who sold the Stride last week is now selling a fake Lululemon Scoop Neck tank.
Fake Scoop Neck tank with tags attached onto rip-out tagSometimes the rip-out tags have everything spelled correctly, like in this example.However, sometimes the product information tags are completely ridiculous. Particularly when there’s a suggestion that I can wear a bra under a top that has a built-in-bra, as seen in this picture.
So much wrong with that product tag. I hope all of these examples are useful.
UPDATE:
Fake Scuba Hoodie
Two major things are wrong with this one. One: Lululemon never made a Scuba Hoodie in this print. They made a Grey version called Blazer Fossil. But there was never a red version of anything in this print. Two: See the “Luon” tag (again, mistakenly attached to the rip-out tag), Scuba Hoodies are NOT made of Luon!! They’re made of Cotton Fleece, according to Lululemon’s website.
UPDATE:
Found this fake on eBay
Fake Stride Rip-out TagFake Stride
Again, the rip-out tag has a Lower-Case “c” in ‘China.’
UPDATE:
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY BUY A FAKE
First you want to make sure it’s actually fake. If you’re convinced it’s a fake you’ll want to consider the payment method you used. If you payed cash or EMT, you’re probably not going to get a refund. If you paid EMT however, you might be able to find a name & report the person to the authorities for fraud. If you paid with PayPal as goods, you’re totally covered and can get your money back. Just consult with the seller & make your complaint. If the seller is unresponsive, open a case with PayPal & they’ll return your money once they’ve confirmed via tracked shipping that the parcel has been returned to the seller. If you paid with PayPal as gift, you may still be able to contact PayPal and they may grant you a courtesy refund, but I wouldn’t recommend paying as gift ever. It doesn’t protect you to pay as gift. If you did pay as gift, and the money went through your credit card, you can also call your credit card company to see if they’ll refund your money. Other than that & calling the authorities there’s really not much else you can do.
UPDATE:
I recently saw these and I chose to post them because they are a unique type of fake. This pattern WAS made by Lululemon but these are obviously fakes. A few reasons: the plastic covering over the size dot, the existence of a “I belong to” tag and finally, a small misspelling in the rip-out tag.
The reason these might be deceiving is because this print was in fact made by Lululemon in 2009 and is called Mix A Lot. These Wunder Unders, however, are fake.The hallmark of fake Lululemon articles is the obvious plastic film over the “I Belong To” tag and size dot. I don’t believe these Wunder Unders ever came with an “I belong to” tag, but in any case, Lululemon never has plastic film over their size dots.Finally, the rip out tag. Here featuring correctly spelled “designed” and “China” has a capital “C” but wait! There’s more! “Athletica” has an accent on it, a minor spelling error. Fantastic
UPDATE: I found these on eBay, from a seller that has a decent amount of positive feedback. Unfortunately, this tag has a ridiculous description, in addition to being attached at the wrong place. It says “smooth, soft waistband that can be worn up for a higher rise or down for a lower rise,” which is completely false. These are not “roll down” wunder under crops, and they’re also not HBLK (the color code it says at the bottom), which is “Heathered Black,” nor are they DEW, or Dewberry, which they also claim to be on the product tag.
Here, the product tag is attached to the rip-out tag (again) but also, as is often the case, the description is wrong.
UPDATE:
I decided that it would be a good idea to add an update to this post about where you will most likely find Fake Lululemon items for sale. Locally, you’ll find it on websites like Kijiji or Craigslist. I would be cautious, overall, inspecting the product closely, in person, before the exchange. I don’t necessarily want to discourage anyone from buying locally, the local deals can be the best deals! BUT If someone is selling the same item in multiple sizes, I’d pass. Online there are many places you’ll find fakes. It’s actually quite rare to find a fake in the Lululemon based Facebook groups because many of the ladies who love Lululemon as much as I do can quickly spot a fake. However, there are many places online that sell fake Lululemon. I’m going to start writing and maintaining a list, much in the way I’ve been periodically adding photos to this post. I will also remind you that Lululemon does not sell wholesale and that they have posted a list of official sites where they sell their clothing in their FAQ section. (Update 2023- Link removed- They no longer list where they sell their clothes, but long story short, just buy things off their official site.)
Notice the lack of color code, and also, Lululemon punches through the seam when attaching tags. This tag loops around the headbandIt’s hard to tell that this is fake. BUT… it isOn ebay, you can buy a “”Fly Away Tamer”” for $11, 3 whole dollars less than at Lululemon.
At the end of the year, WordPress tells you which of your posts is bringing the most traffic to your blog. This post topped that list. I want to express my appreciation for those of you who are as concerned as I am about the existence of fakes and replicas of Lululemon clothing. WordPress also suggested that I write more about this topic, considering the popularity. I have one idea for a post, and I’m interested in hearing any ideas you have that might help others, in general, but also if there’s anything you think I should write about. I am not going to do a new “fakes” post, even though, I think that would bring more traffic to my blog. I prefer to write useful posts that have the potential to help people. Please let me know what you’d like to see me write about. Thanks, as always, for reading!
Update:
Hello again! I recently received a comment on another post that inspired this update:
How to avoid accidentally buying fake Lululemon on eBay First, if the listing is for a common item (think Wunder Unders, Scuba Hoodies or Groove pants), I always keep my guard up especially for common colors (like black). Anything New With Tags listed significantly under retail should be an immediate red flag. A few dollars under retail, to encourage bidding, I can see, but a “Buy It Now” under retail or a starting bid of a dollar on a 3 day auction would set off an alarm especially if it were a common item that is often faked.
Secondly, the listing should include photos of the actual product. If there are only stock photos that is a red flag. In some cases it could mean that the seller doesn’t possess the item and in others, it means that the seller knows that they’re selling a fake and that the fake may be obvious to a skilled buyer and that the seller is afraid of being reported to eBay for selling fakes.
If you check your seller’s detailed feedback, which I always do before I make a purchase, you should be able to see everything they’ve sold for the past little while. If they’re selling only items new with tags and they’re of varied sizes, this should also be a red flag especially if these items are going for significantly under retail.
I hope the above tips help! Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see on this topic!
Update:
October 21, 2015
Today, while perusing eBay, I discovered a fake Define. I took a couple of screen captures, and thought it would be good to share them here.
The first photo of this fake Define jacket, shows the hang tag incorrectly attached at the top of the neck. The second photo, shows shoddy stitching on the left wrist/ thumb hole area.
Update: Jan 16/ 2016
Found these on eBay. They’re particularly concerning because Lululemon actually did make this “Beaming Blue/ Laceoflage” color, so I was almost duped until I saw the tags. Again, the tags are attached to the rip out tag, so that’s wrong. Next the tags themselves are not correct. Finally, a lot of the stitching appears to be of poor quality.
UPDATE:
January 26, 2016
I realised just a moment ago that I haven’t mentioned the “rip out” tags themselves in terms of feel. The fake ones tend to feel silkier than the authentic ones, but most of all the real ones will rip out easily. They are designed to do so. If you can’t easily rip out the tag, there’s a chance your item is not authentic. Alternatively it is very old. Some very old items either have the tag printed right on the garment, and other very old items will have a short tag that is not designed to be ripped out. Again, always be cautious about “New With Tags” items. I hope this adds value to this article, and as always, thanks for visiting!
I also recently found this fake Bang Buster. This made me especially sad because I absolutely love the Band Busters. But this is an obvious fake. Begin by noticing the attachment area/ method of the price tag, and then notice that the writing is incorrect. Second, this color was never manufactured by Lululemon. The one part that might fool a potential buyer, in my opinion is the effective duplication of the signature Lululemon metal logo on the side. I hope no one is fooled by this fake Lululemon Bang Buster!
UPDATE February 24, 2016
Fake Define on eBay
Again, just notice the attachment of the tag. Also: the seller did not provide very good photos.
UPDATE: JULY 2, 2016
From a reader, thanks to Ms. R for these photos. Unfortunately, this is a fake Stride. First off, notice the “OM,” is not like other Strides. The tag, although correctly written, is attached too high, and does not “Tear out” like other Lulu tags. There is a “mesh” in the hood, which I’ve never seen before. Then, of course, the tell-tale sign of fakes, the plastic film over the name tag and size dot.
UPDATE (Oct. 2016): Hello again everyone! It’s time for another update!
Here, again there are some signs. First thing I immediately notice is the strange font on the tag. Also, number 4 on the tag is hilarious. There is no gusset in a tank top.
UPDATE: April 2019
Thanks to reader, Jennifer, for sending me a couple of other examples. As you can see, there is a significant misspelling on the tag “Switly” and the hang tag is attached at the tear out tag, rather than near the armpit, or side seam, where it is typically located.
I want to take the time to talk Lululemon after-market trends. The market suffers and benefits from general and somewhat predictable fluctuations. I want to discuss with you how we can take advantage of the good times and mitigate the losses in the bad times. In the following scenarios, my suggestions refer to the common person. There are exceptions to every rule, I’ll even try to cover them, but again: My advice applies to the average collector.
Seasonal– Seasonal fluctuations are easy enough to understand, but surprisingly few people use their own common sense to their advantage. People are not searching for shorts in the winter, nor are they seeking out sweaters in the summer. There are over 15,000 listings of “Lululemon” items on eBay- every single day. If you want to stand out, you have to make sure you’re selling your item when as many people as possible are interested in buying it. I suggest listing your sweaters at the beginning of Autumn, and shorts at the beginning of Spring. I also suggest you consider the weather patterns of the biggest markets for your item. Canadians will want more cold-weather items. If you’re a US seller, you might also consider adding a Canadian shipping option. (There are some extra risks involved with shipping abroad that can be alleviated, but I will cover them in a future post.) Therefore, if I were selling a sweater, I would list it mid to late September as average temperatures tend to begin becoming cooler around this time.
Secondary Seasonal Considerations–There are other so-called seasonal conditions to evaluate. One of them is the fact that the Designers in MANY companies seem to release their best efforts in fall. The fall fashion shows are always the most anticipated and Lululemon’s strategy is not different. It seems like every fall they release the best stuff. I know people who don’t buy much in summer, so they can save up for fall! They usually release some special edition items around Christmas, although, last year was a bust. During these times, people are spending more money on Upload night, and in-store on new items, so they’re not looking at eBay or on the Facebook Pages for deals on older items. The point of this story is: avoid selling when people don’t have the money to buy. The irony is that it will likely be when you need the money the most that you decide to sell. But don’t say I didn’t warn you 😉
Unicorns- Unicorns change over time (Don’t know what a Unicorn is? Check out my Previous Post about Lululemon Slang), but often you can take advantage of when your item obtains unicorn status and cash out, unless you love it. Then, I say keep it. But if you have a “Unicorn,” and you notice that it has been doing very well on eBay, you should make a decision on whether or not you’re going to sell- And Fast! Because there is always a limited number of people who are willing to pay the big bucks for something they really want right now, and then there are people like me, who will wait for it to pop up on eBay for cheaper. However, there are some things that maintain their value fairly well and I will continue to discuss those things in future posts.
