I saw this late last night! I remember it bc it's so ugly! Will lulu answer questions for you if you purchase something that you believe might be fake? I would hate to accuse someone and be wrong, but I also want to properly report someone if they're selling fake lulu.
I see a lot of really bad fake Defines that have lots of bids on them! I guess people are just naive. Also the group Coco's Closet on facebook has a ton of fake stuff and it's super sketchy because she has so much "new" stuff in each week! The items don't even have proper names just described as "Run Jacket" or "Luon like pants" with no correct sizes either.
Unfortunately, there are fakes on ebay. Scubas are often faked, Defines, Stride Jacket, Groove pants - those seem to be the most commonly faked. Obviously you are ok with the latest prints and colors because it seems to take a while for the counterfeiters to gin up a batch of fakes. You can often tell because they attach the hang tag in the wrong place or just have the red "luon" one attached and not the "Why We Made This" white tag. I've been looking at photos of lulu for five years now so can pick out fake orints/color combos pretty easily but it's harder when you are new to lulu.
Also ask sellers about logo placement if you're not sure. This isn't always a guarantee as Lulu changes their logo placement. Groovy run, and speed shorts, have the reflective logo on the lower left, on the back of the short. Pacesetter skirts have the logo on the back, center, below the waistband, but not below the first tier of ruffles (not sure of that makes sense). The reverse of certain pants might have the logo on the back, in the center, but reversed, the logo is on the back, left lower leg.
Other questions I have been asked when I sell things on eBay is about the color-- is it really the right color. I try to always put when I bought the item, so people know when the release was.
It's tricky, because some fakes are good, but there are things like the logo, colors, and of course stitching. But in light of the recent quality issues like the pow pink define, it can be hard to differentiate of the stitching is bad quality on lulu's part, or a fake.
Simply looking at a picture isn't always going to tell you if it's a fake.
strange about Coco's closet. I will stick to Lululemon exchange and trading post. Although I am seriously thinking about leaving both groups since I've bought WAY too much stuff lately- too much temptation.
omg! i just bought a 'dance studio' jacket in black on ebay and it arrived in the mail and does not look like the dance studio at all...could i have purchased a fake?! it has the logo but it doesn't have any of the sizing stickers that lululemon has...
:(
sad b/c i paid for it as if i was buying a discontinued dance studio :_(
There is definitely fake lulu on Ebay... I know because I unknowingly purchased fake CRBs in my early days of buying lulu gear on Ebay. From the pictures, the CRBs looked real (colors I had seen before and proper logo size and placement), but upon receiving them I knew they were fake. The material was 100% cheap polyester, thin & flimsy, and the seams didn’t have the serged finish lulu is famous for. I contacted the seller, who btw was from the USA (I choose not to buy lulu from sellers in China due to counterfeit concerns) who of course denied my claims. She claimed she had bought them in Canada five years ago and paid x-amount of dollars, etc. After going back and forth and threatening to contact Ebay and Lululemon, she refunded my money and shipping costs. Funny thing is, the seller ended up relisting the CRBs and they sold right away to another unsuspecting buyer.
The most common fakes I see are Define Jackets (there was a Chinese seller ~6 months ago who sold a ton of fake black and a bright flash-like color for ~$50 a pop), CRBs, Groove pants, and now Scuba hoodies.
I now only buy from sellers who regularly list lulu and ideally, items from their own collection (looking at a seller’s feedback history is super helpful for this. If you can see that they’re regularly buying and selling lulu with a good feedback score, they can usually be trusted). Also, if they have any negative and/or a low score of feedback, I avoid doing business with them. I choose not to buy from sellers who have large Ebay stores that list other brand names because I can’t fully trust whether they’ve accepted authentic items. Also, I have a list of saved sellers that I know I can trust because I’ve done business (both as a buyer and seller) with them before. Lastly, I steer clear of all international sellers, since exchanges can be more difficult due to increased costs associated with shipping back items with tracking and signature confirmation.
Getting a refund for counterfeit items on Ebay can be difficult and very time consuming, but if you find yourself in the same predicament I was in, don’t give up! Being persistent is a must because a good amount of sellers may try and bully you until you feel you have no other route but to accept a counterfeit & poorly executed replica.
I’m not sure what lulu is doing to combat counterfeit goods from their end as a major retailer. I recall there was a blog post on the lulu blog years ago about fakes, but I haven’t seen any mention of what to do if you encounter counterfeit items in recent years. I’d like to see an updated blog post about identifying fake lulu as the brand has grown significantly in recent years and new buyers may be susceptible to buying fake goods. Thanks for your post on this, LLA… super helpful!
Thanks for sounding the alarm on counterfeit lulu!!!!!!! I noticed it on ebay and thought the designers must have gotten drunk, watched spiderman, and then made this awful scuba! People will fake anything to make a buck on ebay, so annoying! Thanks for bringing this problem to everyone's attention!!!!
They do have a brand protection unit at the store support centre. I would recommend emailing them (use gec email, they forward it to the right people) and let them know about fakes you have run across (whether online or in an actual store).
@anon 12:38 - as for "what lulu is doing about this," the answer is nothing. lulu doesn't care, plain and simple. lulu's official policy is that people shouldn't buy lulu on ebay, only from lulu - they specifically state on their website that lululemon is the only official licensed seller of lululemon (and some strategic partner stores). in essence - "if you want to make sure you're getting real lulu, only buy from us". keeping in mind that lulu doesn't care about their customers, but only cares about profits, the fake lulu market on ebay works in lulu's favor...it works as a scare tactic - "you shouldn't buy second hand lulu, because you'll probably just get fakes"...with the solution, "only buy new lulu directly from lulu". so they're not going to do anything to combat it...they have no incentive.
There's been a number of postings on Vancouver Craiglist for what I am pretty sure is fake lulu. I think they are listing defines and grooves and a tank that looks like the whisper tank. They say they have all sizes 2-12. The sheer fact that they have a wide size range is suspicious.
I agree with Lululemon if you want to make sure it is not fake, buy from lulu. There is a lot of fake stuff on ebay and it is not just lulu. I'd say if you are not familiar with what you are purchasing don't buy from ebay.
as someone that hopes to sart reselling my older lulu stuff on ebay, do you all have any suggestions? I'm poor/in grad school and it seems like a decent way to recycle stuff i don't wear anymore. I won't have any feedback to show that i am reputable for a while though :(
Everyone starts out with zero feedback. Just take non-fuzzy photos and be honest about the condition. Everyone is protected by paypal these days so it's not a gamble to buy from 0 feedback people. You can also build feedback by buying on ebay - your rating builds that way, too.
20 comments:
ugly and fake great!
I saw this late last night! I remember it bc it's so ugly! Will lulu answer questions for you if you purchase something that you believe might be fake? I would hate to accuse someone and be wrong, but I also want to properly report someone if they're selling fake lulu.
OMG wow - I would have never known! I didn't realize there was fake stuff on ebay for Lululemon?!
I see a lot of really bad fake Defines that have lots of bids on them! I guess people are just naive. Also the group Coco's Closet on facebook has a ton of fake stuff and it's super sketchy because she has so much "new" stuff in each week! The items don't even have proper names just described as "Run Jacket" or "Luon like pants" with no correct sizes either.
I am glad you bring this up because I, too have wondered about fake Lulu on Ebay.
Unfortunately, there are fakes on ebay. Scubas are often faked, Defines, Stride Jacket, Groove pants - those seem to be the most commonly faked. Obviously you are ok with the latest prints and colors because it seems to take a while for the counterfeiters to gin up a batch of fakes. You can often tell because they attach the hang tag in the wrong place or just have the red "luon" one attached and not the "Why We Made This" white tag. I've been looking at photos of lulu for five years now so can pick out fake orints/color combos pretty easily but it's harder when you are new to lulu.
That Coco's closet stuff has legitimate vintage lulu mixed in with the fakes.
Also ask sellers about logo placement if you're not sure. This isn't always a guarantee as Lulu changes their logo placement. Groovy run, and speed shorts, have the reflective logo on the lower left, on the back of the short. Pacesetter skirts have the logo on the back, center, below the waistband, but not below the first tier of ruffles (not sure of that makes sense). The reverse of certain pants might have the logo on the back, in the center, but reversed, the logo is on the back, left lower leg.
Other questions I have been asked when I sell things on eBay is about the color-- is it really the right color. I try to always put when I bought the item, so people know when the release was.
It's tricky, because some fakes are good, but there are things like the logo, colors, and of course stitching. But in light of the recent quality issues like the pow pink define, it can be hard to differentiate of the stitching is bad quality on lulu's part, or a fake.
Simply looking at a picture isn't always going to tell you if it's a fake.
strange about Coco's closet. I will stick to Lululemon exchange and trading post. Although I am seriously thinking about leaving both groups since I've bought WAY too much stuff lately- too much temptation.
omg! i just bought a 'dance studio' jacket in black on ebay and it arrived in the mail and does not look like the dance studio at all...could i have purchased a fake?! it has the logo but it doesn't have any of the sizing stickers that lululemon has...
:(
sad b/c i paid for it as if i was buying a discontinued dance studio :_(
There is definitely fake lulu on Ebay... I know because I unknowingly purchased fake CRBs in my early days of buying lulu gear on Ebay. From the pictures, the CRBs looked real (colors I had seen before and proper logo size and placement), but upon receiving them I knew they were fake. The material was 100% cheap polyester, thin & flimsy, and the seams didn’t have the serged finish lulu is famous for. I contacted the seller, who btw was from the USA (I choose not to buy lulu from sellers in China due to counterfeit concerns) who of course denied my claims. She claimed she had bought them in Canada five years ago and paid x-amount of dollars, etc. After going back and forth and threatening to contact Ebay and Lululemon, she refunded my money and shipping costs. Funny thing is, the seller ended up relisting the CRBs and they sold right away to another unsuspecting buyer.
The most common fakes I see are Define Jackets (there was a Chinese seller ~6 months ago who sold a ton of fake black and a bright flash-like color for ~$50 a pop), CRBs, Groove pants, and now Scuba hoodies.
I now only buy from sellers who regularly list lulu and ideally, items from their own collection (looking at a seller’s feedback history is super helpful for this. If you can see that they’re regularly buying and selling lulu with a good feedback score, they can usually be trusted). Also, if they have any negative and/or a low score of feedback, I avoid doing business with them. I choose not to buy from sellers who have large Ebay stores that list other brand names because I can’t fully trust whether they’ve accepted authentic items. Also, I have a list of saved sellers that I know I can trust because I’ve done business (both as a buyer and seller) with them before. Lastly, I steer clear of all international sellers, since exchanges can be more difficult due to increased costs associated with shipping back items with tracking and signature confirmation.
Getting a refund for counterfeit items on Ebay can be difficult and very time consuming, but if you find yourself in the same predicament I was in, don’t give up! Being persistent is a must because a good amount of sellers may try and bully you until you feel you have no other route but to accept a counterfeit & poorly executed replica.
I’m not sure what lulu is doing to combat counterfeit goods from their end as a major retailer. I recall there was a blog post on the lulu blog years ago about fakes, but I haven’t seen any mention of what to do if you encounter counterfeit items in recent years. I’d like to see an updated blog post about identifying fake lulu as the brand has grown significantly in recent years and new buyers may be susceptible to buying fake goods. Thanks for your post on this, LLA… super helpful!
Thanks for sounding the alarm on counterfeit lulu!!!!!!! I noticed it on ebay and thought the designers must have gotten drunk, watched spiderman, and then made this awful scuba! People will fake anything to make a buck on ebay, so annoying! Thanks for bringing this problem to everyone's attention!!!!
They do have a brand protection unit at the store support centre. I would recommend emailing them (use gec email, they forward it to the right people) and let them know about fakes you have run across (whether online or in an actual store).
@anon 12:38 - as for "what lulu is doing about this," the answer is nothing. lulu doesn't care, plain and simple. lulu's official policy is that people shouldn't buy lulu on ebay, only from lulu - they specifically state on their website that lululemon is the only official licensed seller of lululemon (and some strategic partner stores). in essence - "if you want to make sure you're getting real lulu, only buy from us". keeping in mind that lulu doesn't care about their customers, but only cares about profits, the fake lulu market on ebay works in lulu's favor...it works as a scare tactic - "you shouldn't buy second hand lulu, because you'll probably just get fakes"...with the solution, "only buy new lulu directly from lulu". so they're not going to do anything to combat it...they have no incentive.
There's been a number of postings on Vancouver Craiglist for what I am pretty sure is fake lulu. I think they are listing defines and grooves and a tank that looks like the whisper tank. They say they have all sizes 2-12. The sheer fact that they have a wide size range is suspicious.
Never mind what Lululemon is doing about it, what is ebay doing? They can't make a profit on fraud.
Anyone know where I can get last winter's toque?? I lost mine this past weekend and am so sad about it!
I agree with Lululemon if you want to make sure it is not fake, buy from lulu. There is a lot of fake stuff on ebay and it is not just lulu.
I'd say if you are not familiar with what you are purchasing don't buy from ebay.
as someone that hopes to sart reselling my older lulu stuff on ebay, do you all have any suggestions? I'm poor/in grad school and it seems like a decent way to recycle stuff i don't wear anymore. I won't have any feedback to show that i am reputable for a while though :(
Everyone starts out with zero feedback. Just take non-fuzzy photos and be honest about the condition. Everyone is protected by paypal these days so it's not a gamble to buy from 0 feedback people. You can also build feedback by buying on ebay - your rating builds that way, too.
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