Modern Day Bootleggers?

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Alright, I'm a vintage wearer and buyer for the aesthetics, so I'm not familiar with t-shirt printing techniques, although the defunkd guide is excellent.

I've seen references across this board to dishonest tee sellers who buy blanks and print on them for resale. Could anyone start a list to stop people like me from supporting people who print modern repros? It would be much appreciated.

[StivTaters]

Here's a few to get the ball rolling:
Tinalove1991 (all fakes)
Academyclothiers (most if not all)
Rainbowgasoline (some)

[hermosavtg]

Stiv, I second your inclusion of Tinalove1991. He is a notorious repro seller here in Southern California (besides running a regular rag warehouse wholesale operation as the main business). He makes repros of punk/concert t-shirts, and denim jackets. The tag is commonly branded MAHAGAMAGE and the screen prints are usually of poor quality. The denim jackets are often sold under the same brand, or as "Denim King."

I have however bought a couple items from Academy Clothiers, both authentic. And besides the inflated shipping price, a good experience. However buyer's should beware of sellers with return policies that read like theirs:

We accept returns for store credit only. There will be a 15% restocking fee. Buyer is responsible for shipping the goods being returned. The goods must be returned in the same condition as the original purchase.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Mikhael Jackson?

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-T-SHIRT-M-M ... 2558f3dd96

[StivTaters]

Hi Hermosa! Yeah, Tinalove and Mahagamage are the worst. Just blatant fakes. Be careful with academyclothiers though!

[jimmyj]

The rumor has always been that Academy Clothiers are the boys from Tiny Pony. Shortly after TP vanished the AC account started up but it was just vintage tees and I can't remember the name they originally operated under. The majority of their stock was very reminiscent of TPs stock. A few other sellers told me it was the account of one of the TPs girlfriends. It's all hearsay but I have repeatedly seen the bogus Humpty shirt in their stock (that was the screen printed fake we tested) I stayed clear of their listings. That was a shirt that TP had in their rotation for years - and they are who I purchased it from.

Again, it's all rumors...so review their stock, make a purchase, make up your own mind. It's interesting to hear Hermosa's comments after a purchase. I've never purchased from them. If anyone else has any dealings with AC let us know.

If it is TP I would assume they also have a boatload of originals still. When TP attempted a website only biz (from tinypony.com) it appeared as though everything they had posted was the real deal - they got quite a bit of negative feedback in a few t-shirt related blogs, and stood by the legitimacy of their website operation.

the thread is here:

http://tcritic.com/archives/real-vintag ... tiny-pony/

I actually believed them at that point, but it was too little too late. Plus they still adamantly denied the allegations about the eBay bootlegging.

Whatever is going on in certain parts of Cali is disturbing. Greed is getting the better of certain individuals in the biz. It will always be an issue though, given the scarcity of this inventory. The lure of producing one's own inventory will always be tempting.

[StivTaters]

Thought i would share these pics so you can compare using apples to...not so apples.
The first pic is my shirt and is an original from 1987.
The second one is a Rainbowgasoline shirt printed on a 80s deadstock size small screen stars shirt.
The third and fourth pics are Academyclothiers.

I'll say this: At least rainbow printed his on a screen stars shirt...it's like academy isn't even trying anymore.

[jimmyj]

No doubt there's a difference, lots of details lost for sure. The bottom two look hazy compared to the top. If you zone on on the "tm" under the X - the bottom two are lessor quality...quality that would be lost in a print generated by graphic designers from a t-shirt.

But the bottom one the colors are way off too...Anthrax is supposed to be yellow, it's orange.

[lord ched]

Question: could this be vintage stock from a vintage bootlegger and not their own homemade boots?

[hermosavtg]

The rainbow gasoline shirt is a blatant sham counterfeit. Such poor quality print on a dead stock screenstars tee? You could at least try to make it look old! http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-ANTHRAX-1987-TOUR-T-SHIRT-concert-tee-S-ORIG_W0QQitemZ290410295949QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Unisex_T_Shirts?hash=item439dcd728d

The Acadameyclothiers shirt is obviously something he or she picked up second hand. Looks like a late 1990's-early 2000's repro that would have been sold at a flea market etc (Made in Honduras, I.E. post NAFTA). I doubt its something the seller cooked up themselves. I think this is what Lord Ched was getting at.
http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-1987-ANTHRAX-tour-t-shirt-AMONG-THE-LIVING-sz-M_W0QQitemZ130367774542QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Unisex_T_Shirts?hash=item1e5a865f4e