How to Avoid Football Shirt Scams
The patterns behind most football shirt scams, and the habits that avoid them.
Most football shirt scams follow a handful of recognisable patterns rather than being genuinely novel. Knowing the patterns is most of the defence.
Common Scam Patterns
Fake webshops
Standalone websites, often promoted through social media ads, that mimic the look of a legitimate retailer closely enough to pass a quick glance. Payment goes through, no shirt ever arrives, and the site frequently disappears within weeks.
Too-good-to-be-true pricing
Prices dramatically below every comparable listing are the single most common bait, precisely because they work — check a price against several similar listings before trusting it, not just against your own sense of what feels cheap.
Off-platform payment requests
A seller asking to move to a bank transfer, gift cards, or a payment app outside the marketplace's own checkout is asking you to give up every protection that platform offers. This is one of the clearest scam signals that exists, regardless of how genuine the rest of the conversation feels.
Fake tracking numbers
A tracking number provided that either doesn't exist or belongs to an unrelated, already-delivered package — used to stall a buyer past any automatic protection deadline. Check tracking numbers directly on the carrier's own site, not just through a screenshot the seller sends.
False authentication claims
A listing claiming to be "authenticated" without any verifiable service or badge behind the claim. A real authentication service is checkable — ask which one, and verify independently if you're unsure.
How to Protect Yourself
- Always pay through the platform's own checkout, never outside it
- Compare any price against several similar listings before trusting it
- Verify tracking numbers directly on the carrier's website
- Treat any pressure to move fast or move off-platform as a warning sign, not urgency
- Check seller history and reviews before paying for anything high-value
Frequently Asked Questions
I already paid outside a platform and never received the item — what can I do?
Options are limited once payment leaves a platform's protected checkout. Contact your payment provider directly (card issuer or payment app) to ask about a dispute or chargeback, and report the seller or site to the platform it was found on.
Are scams more common for certain shirts?
High-demand current-season shirts and rare vintage pieces are the most targeted, simply because the potential payoff for a scammer is higher.
Does buyer protection cover scam losses?
On KitMarket, yes, provided the transaction happened through the platform's own checkout — see our buyer protection page for what's covered.
built into every KitMarket purchase, not added as an afterthought.