Hi All,

It is no secret that there is a ton of fake stuff on eBay, but the Barstar jeans are actually REAL. They are from a couple seasons back, but indeed were carried in A&F stores. They are a men's flare leg style and among the ONLY real A&F jeans sold on eBay.

I felt compelled to writing this after reading the person above's comments about Barstar jeans. It's probably not his fault, becuase he is not educated on the subject and is assuming the worst becuase the jeans are lined with black marker or the label is removed.

As a former employee of Abercrombie & Fitch as well as someone with 10 years in retail management in both the full-price and off-price sectors you can trust my experience.

The person writing about the fake jeans is not aware that often brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch have overstock left at the end of their retail season. They take this overstock and sell it to wholesalers who then in turn sell them to resellers that market the products on eBay or in retail stores. Here is the hard part for eBayers to understand:

A&F REQUIRES THAT THE LABELS BE REMOVED AND LABELS LINED OFTEN WITH MARKER OR CUT OFF!

Discount companies like Marshall's, TJMaxx, A.J. Wright and CFO all do this!

WHY?

1. This lowers the value of the closeout in the buyer's mind so the brand (like A&F) can still sell for HIGH retail prices in their stores. I mean if you could get the same jeans that were on A&F shelves now on eBay, for 1/2 price, A&F stores would be closing down daily.

2. De-lableing prevents you from buying the product on eBay and returning it to the store for a full store credit (yes, people so this). It is easy for them to identify you this way.

3. Actually, a brand like A&F shot themseleves in the foot on this one. With torn and ripped clothing, them removing the label actually makes the jeans look better and more vintage. (A secret here too is that most labels with marker actually come out in the wash becuase the labels are made of cotton).

I WILL SAY AGAIN THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY SELLING REAL CLOTHING!

I will point out a fake seller all day becuase they are killing eBay. Sellers marketing lined and defaced clothing are the real deal.

Other brands such as Hollister, GAP and Banana Republic also require this of resellers.

Hope this helps clear the air and I could impart my wierd sector of specialized knowledge to the eBay community!