Last Updated: July 10, 2006
Information on FAKE TOMMY BAHAMA, learn how to spot fake Tommy Bahama silk Camp shirts. If you buy Tommy Bahama on ebay, please educate yourself. We have put together some information on counterfit Tommy Bahama. It is our hope for you not to get ripped off.
**FOR A LIST OF KNOWN FAKE SELLERS See below
**Be very cautious of ONE DAY WEEKEND auctions. They are almost always fake!!!
We would like to say "THANK YOU" for everyones support, help and kind emails. So many ebayers have gone above and beyond their duty, you know who you are and we thank you!!
FAKE TOMMY BAHAMA
If you are selling FAKE Tommy Bahama, WE, the informal association of legitimate Ebay Tommy Bahama sellers, will report you both to Ebay and to Tommy Bahama's Corporate Attorney, both of whom will take appropriate action!
The bottom line is THIS:
Someone selling more than $1,000 dollars worth of fake clothing could be charged with a felony, and if found guilty, would face 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison. Someone selling more than $100,000 in fake clothing could spend 5 to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
This page has been created to help people interested in buying authentic Tommy Bahama merchandise ensure that they do not purchase FAKES. We do not work for Tommy Bahama and are not experts on the authenticity of Tommy Bahama. We are sellers of genuine Tommy Bahama on Ebay and are concerned about the invasion of the fakes here on Ebay. During the past few months we have been working directly with the Tommy Bahama corporate attorney in efforts to rid Ebay of counterfeit Tommy Bahama merchandise.
Sellers who sell FAKES on Ebay make things MUCH harder all of us on Ebay, both buyers and sellers of authentic merchandise!! Please use your own good judgement when choosing ANY designer item being sold here on Ebay, or anywhere else. If possible please try to take any item with questionable authenticity to a reputable vendor of that brand, so that they may look at the item and give you their opinion in person. Some things are hard to guarantee authenticity with only a photo on which to base your opinion. Happy shopping!
Welcome, Tommy Bahama Enthusiasts
Everyone who either sells or buys Tommy Bahama is buying into a total lifestyle and not just a line of clothing. We appreciate the fine quality of the Tommy Bahama merchandise and not just the way the way it makes us feel comfortable and pleased with our choice of clothing. What we don't need is to be worried about questions of our shirt's authenticity or whether it will fall apart in the wash.
Don't get ripped off by horrible FAKES out there! Do your research, and purchase the REAL deal!
Answers to some Common Questions:
How can I tell if an item is a fake prior to purchase?
There are several things you should look for prior to purchase to ensure that the Tommy Bahama item you are about to bid on is probably authentic.
- Be sure that you are buying from a reputable Tommy Bahama Seller. The list below has on it Ebay sellers known to sell only authentic Tommy Bahama merchandise. In addition, check a seller's feed back rating and actually read some of the comments. Make sure that they have long and positive feedback.
- Make sure the style item that you are considering bidding on is a legitimate Tommy Bahama style. For example - Tommy Bahama NEVER made a Harley Davidson Shirt!!! The silk prints are not authentic Tommy Bahama prints. There ARE hundreds of fake embroidered shirts that are copies of actual TB shirts.
- Ask questions before you bid - make sure the seller is legit, the item is real, ask where they get their merchandise. The ONLY avenues in which Tommy Bahama offers its merchandise for sale is via: 1) Tommy Bahama Stores, 2) authorized department stores, and, 3) authorized specialty stores. Unless an Ebay seller of Tommy Bahama has an authorized off Ebay store, they obtained their merchandise through ?hitting the stores? in search of sales.
- Tommy Bahama DOES NOT SELL SECONDS even at outlets and sales, they only sell first line perfect merchandise. Poorly made items are destroyed and do not reach market. A seller offering factory seconds is either misinformed themselves or lying.
- Tommy Bahama has no factory overruns - period A seller who says they are selling overruns is either misinformed themselves or lying.
- Although almost all authentic Tommy Bahama merchandise is actually manufactured in the Far East, you need to exercise great caution if buying from a seller who is from the Far East (China for example). Remember, Tommy Bahama does not have any factory overruns or factory seconds! All of the Tommy Bahama sellers here on Ebay have been approached by fraudulent sellers from China offering huge quantities of merchandise at prices too low to believe. BEWARE!
- Remember - tags do not make fakes real - if you can counterfeit a shirt or pair of pants you can also print counterfeit tags.
- Also do not buy from anyone who has the bidder's identities private - if you are selling above board authentic merchandise why would you not let the Ebay community see who is bidding on your items?
- Beware of ONE DAY weekend auctions. Many sellers are aware that they are selling fakeTommy Bahama items. Therefore, they hold ONE DAY, WEEKEND auctions to avoid being shut down.
- Tommy Bahama has unique names for their style and colors, look for these unique names in the lising. For example Tommy Bahama might call a brown color shirt MUSHROOM.
- Check out the sellers previous sales, does this seller specialize in TOMMY BAHAMA?????or Have they recently started selling a ton of it???? If the price is to good to be true, it's probably fake.
How can I tell if an item I purchased is a fake?
While there is no sure way of totally determining an items authenticity, there are certainly some tell tale signs.
- Quality - authentic Tommy Bahama is made with exceptional attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship. Many of the fakes are not. While genuine Tommy Bahama CAN be washed, most fakes fall apart in the washer - buttons come off, seams open, etc.
- Style - is it an authentic Tommy Bahama style?
- TOMMY BAHAMA PLACES TWO TAGS ON THEIR SHIRTS. ONE IS A SQUARE TAG AND ONE IS A RECTANGLE TAG WITH THE PRICE, ITEM NAME, ITEM NUMBER, ITEM COLOR, ITEM SIZE, BARCODE. IF THIS INFORMATION IS MISSING, YOUR ITEM IS PROBABLY FAKE. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO LOOK FOR. THERE ARE EXCELLENT FAKES AT THIS TIME. BUT THEY WILL NOT HOLD UP.
- Current styles of TOMMY BAHAMA are being sold as authentic when the items are fake. Such as the MONEY shirt.
- On a bad fake shirt, the patterns don't line up where the front buttons meet. There are very good fake shirts now where the patterns do line up. Don't throw your $$ away on these fakes.
I received an item and am sure it is a fake, what can I do?
Obviously once you have purchased and received your item you are in much greater danger of being stuck with it even if you determine it is a fake. Some things you can do to help ensure that you do not totally get burned are:
- Demand a refund - many sellers of fakes will refund rather than risk a negative. Of course you should still leave a negative once you get your money back - how else can we police the scam artists who are trying to ruin our Ebay community and rip us all off.
- Notify Ebay's Safe Harbor
- Notify Tommy Bahama's corporate attorney (see below).
- Check out this site: http://ihatecounterfeitbags.info/iwonafake-whatnow
Known Fakes
List by style:
At this time a known color name on a tag is MARGARITA
Photos of authentic tags: Notice how all the style numbers match. 
Latest Linen fake shirt; notice the stitching above the pocket. This comes in three different colors. 
The following picture show the extra buttons on the "care for tag" that are found on a fake shirt ; notice how thick the thread is.
The following picture show the extra buttons on the "care for tag" that are found on a fake shirt; notice how the buttons are sewn all the way through the "care for" tag.
The following picture show how a "care for" tag should look on an AUTHENTIC SHIRT; notice how the buttons are not sewn all the way through. They are just sewn to the top of the "care for" tag.


*As you you can see, our list is growing longer by the day. It is almost imposible to keep up with. It appears that Australia has become a place to purchase fakes. Be very careful if you sellers location is Austrailia.
Below are a few sellers to stay away from
| whatslookshot andrewschirmacherjr vivoforever | | big_s_auto |
| allyoucanwear jep8847 shopjess1 | | move9394 |
| chihgringo braveheart1942 jessreidad | | 123mozzie123 |
| angeelina92000 surfer168 designersforless | | cwellison |
zaccy12 buratti57 braveheart1942 chaiobella
esmeralda158 buypolos4less doubleesmeralda
| opscommerce |
majid_majic macka007 htwhman
| robvolsr |
eminemy directshop-store hellagood!
| sdmedic tlkgirl | | ccgg20 |
whitto10 endofseasonclothes
| 600tracie |
happypappy3434 tbahama007
| beadstyles |
freepp0 move9394
| hehuifang shc1508
| | horusmasr trioentrprs
| | shc1508 isles1117
| | alpa796 iluvaking
| | zedrick1985 cosmeticsgold22
XOT1933 |
stradershadow
| 2057dogwood |
levahahsky
zees_polo_palace
| dollarganga
daise65
ozco2000
dtgs04
hirfman
yzlhxn
ihtd
| | pnutty5199 |
fined2006
ebdko
samwell_1
shengwang0811
donaldt8357
2670_verito
hotrendy-closeout
wangyestcm
asia-bird
| dtgs04 |
kittycatdownunder
| chihgringo
| | deserthacker
| | sellnell
needlepointcrazed
Newly added
| | zekeswings
| | yousolucky Sells a better quality of fakes, but fakes nonetheless.
miacollectibles
| | 5starservice
| | m_chen36
fabricbarn2day
gibbscloset
| | tcb_liquidations
onlyauthenticstuff Don't let the name fool ya.
onetripcloser
cindl72
majicalauctions
| | loogacooga Seller from Austrailia, stay away from the Austrailia TB autions, all have been found fake.
| | pokerlady2155 Another from Austrailia.
slkkone
m_chen36
ubmainman |
Buying Genuine Tommy Bahama on Ebay...
Here are some good Ebay sellers we have either checked out or purchased from in the past. PLEASE always double-check if you are not sure of authenticity on something though! Anyway...Here's that list of Ebayers who sell authentic Tommy Bahama:
panamaline
tommytyme
onspin
tortola4
buytommy
islandtrendz
clover55
nwsalesconnection
sdcheatwood
chipman_08
totheberrys
crfashions
sc4jack
tbrelax
lasvegasdog
pipedreams62
flypappy
Myrtlesturtle
mflynnie8
endoangels
catspeaks
RLP67
interchanges
grammyvon
LoooongWeekend
alleycat12376
saranayd
tblovers
qualitybrands4u
duckmom300
theartisangems
Shoponine$$
tommybahamaisland
grandpatrader
conch_republic_paradise_nation
JohnaHomeStore
Katdaddy78
bunnylover25
virtualexchanges
tgsmith300
wmualumni03
CASSANDRABUC
bahamalagoon
dzjzcz
sandrarn83
1643shane
buynewto mmy
Please feel free to drop me an email if you sell authentic Tommy Bahama and would like your ID added to this list. Or, if your ID is listed and you would like it removed, please let me know. E-Mail Me
Final Word...
Thanks for visiting and for assisting us in our efforts to ensure that only genuine Tommy Bahama merchandise is sold and purchased on Ebay. This is a community effort and we all need to work together to be successful.
We wish you the best of the Island Living Lifestyle, free from the worry of fraud and with no concerns to interrupt your Relaxed Style other than which Tommy Bahama shirt should I wear today...
COMMENTS
Hi,
I just saw your "About Me" page on eBay. Funny, but I was going to setup something similar myself, although I am just a buyer and not a seller on eBay.
In any event, I've recently been stung by fake shirts twice in recent months (and I've only bid on Tommy Bahama shirts TWICE, so that's 2 out of 2). I own over 25+ authentic Tommy Bahama and nowadays it appears that I have to be very careful to ensure that any shirts I bid on are not fakes, whereas 1 or 2 years ago it was much easier. I also ran across the "Margarita" color on the tag as you mentioned, as well as the "blank" hang tag missing the white label with the style name (a dead giveaway).
A couple more tips on identifying the fakes is a missing size on the price tag. It will just say "Size" without the actual size being listed. Lastly, the most definite give away is the "side stitching" on the bottom of the shirt where the buttons are and at the side slits. The material should be "folded over" vertically and then hemmed, whereas all of the fakes I've seen are either just "straight stitched" (i.e. not folded over before hand), and left "open" so that the bottom hem forms a tunnel along the bottom.
Also, I greatly appreciate the list of authentic sellers! This is a big help for someone like myself who has purchased many, many TB shirts from eBay and has become incredibly cautious after getting burned.
