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Recently, a buyer contacted me concerning a Polo Ralph Lauren classic fit button-front shirt he had purchased from me. He was unhappy the shirt did not come in the poly bag with the printed word ‘Polo“ on the bag “as the others sellers leave the shirts in the bags.” (I actually put all clothing in plastic bags to help protect during shipping from water damage, torn box ,etc)
I read the email carefully, checked his recent purchases and realized he was buying imitation shirts and assumed the poly bag meant the shirt was authentic.
Quite the opposite is true, I mentioned the problem to him and asked he if had ever seen Polo Ralph Lauren shirts in poly bags at department store.
He said he had not seen shirts in poly bags at the departments stores but the shirt had to authentic as the seller was using Polo logos in his listings.
This is interesting as Polo Ralph Lauren does not anyone selling on eBay to use the logos, etc. Here is a direct quote from the PRL VeRO page.
“Polo and its licensees have the exclusive right to use its copyrighted works and trademarks. Polo’s trademarks and service marks are protected under United States and international trademark laws. Anyone who uses Polo’s marks, without Polo’s permission, is liable for trademark infringement.”
Also from the VeRO page;
“Q: Can I use Polo’s POLO PLAYER LOGO or other logos or properties owned by Polo to make my auction listing more appealing?
A: No. Use of these logos wrongfully implies that your auction is authorized, sponsored, or approved by Polo, and dilutes the value of these logos in violation of state and federal trademark laws.”
But, what if the seller is authorized? Good question, this is the answer, also from PRL;
“Please be advised that the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation does not authorize the sale of any of its products on eBay”
So, if anyone on eBay is using the recognized trademarks they are in violation of trademark laws, no exceptions.
If PRL does not authorize the sale of items, are any items on eBay legitimate? Yes, sellers that do the work and research find legitimate items through wholesale/liquidation/store closings/seasonal sell offs. This means sellers on eBay are classified as re-sellers of items. If a seller says they are buying directly from the manufacturer, they are either badly confused or know they are selling knock off shirts and are being dishonest.
To sum up;
- Poly bags with ‘Polo’ printed on them - item is probably an imitation.
- Ebay seller uses PRL logo, trademarks, etc - violation of trademark laws, probably trying to make their knock offs look authentic.
- Seller states they are authorized by PRL to sell shirts/pants ; false only authorized Polo retailers are major department stores and Polo Ralph Lauren stores. You can also purchase direct from the polo.com website.
Please also see my guide Authentic or Imitation - Polo Ralph Lauren Products for further details on imitation items.
I hope this helps with some of the issues faced with buying authentic PRL items. Not all sellers are bad and not all shirts are knock offs. Please avoid the obvious and blatant imitations and shop wisely with all others.
Thanks, I hope this helps.
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