Read the guide to unofficial shirts
The signs people check on a band shirt, and how to mark your own item Unofficial.
How to tell an unofficial shirt is a short guide to the signs collectors look at. They're signs, not proof: plenty of real shirts break one rule, and careful copies pass most of them, so look at several together.
How to do it
- Open the guide from How to tell, under an item marked Unofficial, or from How to tell an unofficial shirt, under a tag dater result.
- Work through each section: Print quality, Tags, Dates on tour backs, Copyright lines, Licensed-by lines and Known reprint signs.
- For the tag, use the vintage tag dater, linked from the guide, to see whether the shirt's blank fits its claimed age.
- Own an item that's unofficial? On its edit page, open Add more details and check Unofficial item, then tap Save changes.
- If you like, also check Let MerchVice use this item as an example in the bootleg guide. Your name is never shown.
Good to know
- Unofficial items are shown, never sold or traded. Checking Unofficial item sets the item to Showing off.
- The guide never names a seller, a shop or a member, and never calls a specific item fake. Any example reads From a member's closet.
- Checking the example box only offers your item. MerchVice picks the examples, and the guide uses the same photo as your item page.
- Tag an unofficial item #bootleg so collectors find it.
- Hold the rights to something shown on MerchVice? Use the Takedown page, linked at the end of the guide.
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