OT Sports Apparel - Is everything now "a Fanatics experience?"
Humble brag to start: I've lost quite a bit of weight lately, which is certainly a positive development, but now much of my doesn't fit me.
I've been looking to replace my hoodies, polos, T-shirts, etc., but have been stunned by the prices ($80 for a plain hoodie?) and how every major online store seems to be "a Fanatics experince" with the same gear.
Any recommendations for a place to get quality pro and UM gear without breaking the bank? Or am I just the old guy reminiscing about getting polo shirts for a nickel back in my day?
Go to the source: https://www.mden.com/
HP is WD?
WD is HP?
The M-Den just had a flash sale with some good bargains. I didn't need anything but I usually wait for a sale.
Otherwise you are just the old guy reminiscing about getting polo shirts for a nickel back in your day.
If it is any consolation, buying food so you can fit in your current clothes wouldn't be any cheaper.
50% off .... good bargains. Congrats on the weight loss but you COMPLETELY missed the boat here. two days late buddy!
Other than M Den, I've bought a couple shirts thru Vintage Brand. They have sales of around 30-50% all the time which makes the cost around $20-30 before shipping.
April 13th, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
Homefield also has a 30% off sale ending today with code "sadness"
Old guy. Congrats on the weight loss!
No more Steve and Barry’s
April 13th, 2024 at 11:04 AM ^
RIP Buy 1 get 5 free. I lived in those shirts when I was a poor student.
April 13th, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
They did over a billion in sales. Fucking mortgage crisis killed em.
April 13th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
$10 shirts were the best
Underground printing has a lot of reasonable prices stuff
I don't have any recommendations because I generally don't buy team gear, but I was certainly underwhelmed by my recent Fanatics experience. Was enticed to look at championship gear by an ad touting a big sale. Checked it out. Decided on a T shirt, was marked way down from a patently ridiculous price to a vaguely tolerable price. Started the checkout process and by the time they added shipping, a handling fee (seriously? A handling fee? In 2024?) and lord knows what else they still wanted forty-odd dollars for a simple T shirt. As a result I am still championship gearless because eff that.
I'd get the MGoShirt but Underground doesn't do tall sizes afaik.
April 13th, 2024 at 10:44 AM ^
I only get stuff from Fanatics when they offer free shipping (usually for minimum order of $24,) I find an item on sale and I can use FanCash. Every now and then they drop $10 fancash into my account. My most recent purchase was a pair of slippers for $5 all in. Living in SoCal, it’s recommended to keep footwear near your bed in case there’s an earthquake overnight and broken glass ends up everywhere. Anyway, I have the opposite problem. Despite what you have read here, not all weight gain is good weight gain.
I got my Michigan stuff off fanatics with a free shipping code. But they charged handling separately. Im sorry but I dont think Ive seen shipping & handling separated with their own individual charges ever. What a shady hustle.
April 13th, 2024 at 11:06 AM ^
Bought 2 Red Wings t's from fanatics earlier this year. It was my first fanatics 'experience' and holy shit...these t shirts SUCK! Horrible quality and way overpriced given the quality. Very disappointing.
April 13th, 2024 at 11:14 AM ^
Yeah fanatics absolutely gets you on all their fees which wipe out any savings. Was looking at a $40 item for 20% off, but it was basically back to regular price after the $8.99 shipping, the additional $3.99 handling fee, and taxes. Slightly more palatable if you go through a site like rakuten and get some cash back (usually 2-3% for fanatics, but occasionally more), but it doesn't come close to making up the difference.
I just bought a rugby hoody from Rugby Imports a few days ago. I was also surprised to see the prices. $115 for a hoody shipped. Plus if it didn’t fit I’d have to pay return shipping to exchange. It is unique though and something you would never find on a Fanatics site.
slight thread-jack: i have thus far purchased zero 'national championship' gear. other than i would guess m-den, where/what are the best places?
thanks.
I haven't gotten around to purchasing any either, but this'll probably be the one I do get. I'm a big fan of the source.
https://mgoblogstore.com/collections/mgoblog/products/rose-trophy-triblend-t-shirt-navy-triblend
April 13th, 2024 at 12:38 PM ^
IMHO the best answer in a sea of crap is MDen. Back in the day growing up in Ann Arbor and attending Michigan (early to mid 80's) it was Stein & Goetz and known for quality apparel (and sporting goods!). I worked at the South U. store during college and knew the owners (Dave and Doug) a little bit--they were great guys.
Fast forward to the present and it's mostly overpriced apparel. When I'm in Ann Arbor for a game that's where I go and from home I usually check their website before looking elsewhere. Shipping isn't fast or free but at least it's a "local" business.
If you want quality that will last more than a few trips through the washer/dryer and/or reasonable selection then there's no other 'right' answer. Most options are overpriced or lame. I suck it up and buy from Fanatics even though their fees suck and the stuff doesn't arrive quickly. At least their stuff includes a few likeable designs and doesn't shrink or pill up immediately.
When buying supposedly durable goods these days there's no free lunch.
My son and I are enjoying these shirts. In general, the Underground Printing shirts are soft and hold up reasonably well, but the true test will come this year, as I cycle through all my M shirts to celebrate The National Champion Michigan Wolverines.
Got a fantastics brand national championship shirt and can confirm it's utter shit.
The armholes are shallow, if that makes sense, so any time I move my arms, the bottom of the shirt tugs up abnormally. I even notice it when I fold the shirt. It's also paper thin and don't think it's going to survive more than a wash or two.
Complete garbage
I've had good luck with Fanatics with one exception: My XXL hoodie could fit two or three of me inside it while the XL hoodie is slightly snug.
Maybe there is a female xl that differs from men's xl that I'm unaware of...
This place has Detroit teams, no college. Recently bought some stuff and I’m happy with it.
https://www.vintagedetroit.com/
Its easier if you aren't too proud to go to a thrift store or buy used vintage stuff on eBay. I also tend to get lots of gift cards to places like rally house and dick's for birthdays, fathers day, and Christmas.
It also helps that I have a personal rule that it's cringeworthy to wear a jersey of a player younger than you. So I've been out of the jersey purchasing game since about 2012. I will spring for a vintage jersey every now and then. New age uniform design sucks ass anyways (see how Manfred royally fucked MLB uniforms after Majestic got bought). I got a #4 Harbaugh rose bowl jersey from China to get past that though. Had to make an exception.
Homefield Apparel has good quality (not the highest quality, but perfectly solid) Tshirts and sweatshirts with fantastic designs.
It's a bummer Homage is owned by OSU fans and evidently they've decided they just don't want to carry Michigan gear because their stuff looks incredibly high quality. They've got stuff for most of the major sports leagues as well as some pop culture lines as well.
April 13th, 2024 at 12:03 PM ^
Doesn't seem like a very smart business plan to exclude one of the largest fanbases in the US. I noticed they don't do Notre Dame gear either. Unless maybe they had some issue with licensing?
Eh, they might get more business from OSU fans because of it, I dunno. To each their own I suppose.
Homage was once incredible, and my favorite clothing store. I have a 15 year old shirt that's been washed 100s of times that hasn't lost a thread. Then they sold to The Limited I believe, and immediately started outsourcing production to other countries. They are complete shit now. Terrible quality, inconsistent sizing.
I have a black Red Wings hoodie I bought a few years ago with a camo Wings logo. I love it, but I am not interested in buying many things through fanatics because their clothes apparently have taken a decline in quality the last few years. They are starting to become the marketplace for a lot of pro teams/sports though which is unfortunate.
Congrats, OP. Unless you're really ill, losing weight is generally not easy.
To the main question, if you're not picky, I'd add places like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls to the list. Your odds wouldn't be great, but I've seen UM and MSU gear in those places over the years.
April 13th, 2024 at 10:15 AM ^
Congratulations on the weight loss..I hope it was a life style change and not a diet. I don't usually buy, but I would pay most anything for one of the older Hockey jerseys
April 13th, 2024 at 10:04 AM ^
Sale items from MDen or Dicks are the best you can do at this point. Like others have said, you just missed the 50% off sale at MDen, but it didn’t include any Championship or Rose Bowl gear.
For Championship gear, I ended up dropping a lot of coin at MDen, Dicks, and Fanatics. Some of it I returned for quality issues, but I did end up with several items I really love. The embroidered MDen sweatshirts are my favorite.
A couple tips to save on shipping, it’s free from MDen over $100. Fanatics and Dicks often have free shipping over a certain amount as well. Fanatics charges you for return shipping, UNLESS you say there was something wrong with the item. Many of my returns had a loose thread or something, so the returns were free wink wink.
Good luck and happy shopping!
April 13th, 2024 at 10:37 AM ^
Second floor of the M-Den.
April 13th, 2024 at 11:10 AM ^
The quality of apparel has really gone downhill. Jordan brand stuff is really hit or miss and is usually super expensive. Why they don’t sell the gear you see the coaches wearing I’ll never know. Recently rewatched the rose bowl and some of the sweatshirts the coaches were wearing are sweet, but good luck finding any of it. Also, why hasn’t there been a Jordan shoe release in like 3 years?
April 13th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
Fanatics has basically a monopoly over the entire sports apparel/uniforms business now and they're simultaneously ruining it by cutting costs and lowering quality. I essentially only buy from 47' Brand and Champion now because I think they're the best quality and not associated with Fanatics. Feels like Fanatics is one of the most blatantly obvious monopolies in the country rn, but I don't really have any faith in the US government to make a monopoly in the sports apparel industry close to a priority
Rally House at Arborland has a lot of Nike/Jordan options that M-Den doesn't have, but it's very hit or miss on sizing. Their online store is...well, it's an adventure.
The Mitten State has some fun Michigan stuff that is not available elsewhere, and the shirts are very soft.
And as someone who has successfully bought 33 Nike football jerseys from the 1995-2007 original issue, eBay has a lot of options is you're OK with used.
The easiest and cheapest way...
Dick’s also has a lot of 50% champ gear.
I liked my simple modern coffee mug so I went Chinese printed rose bowl stickers, sans licensing. The university might be aghast but they just looked so appealing. Questionable sourcing but here’s what I found:
https://printerval.com/2024-michigan-rose-bowl-shoulder-patch-stickers-p115829209
Fanatics is trash. Its sad that Nike lets them make the gear they sell. Shits gar-baage.
God I hate fanatics. Fuck Rubin and his shitty company.
Unless you are willing to wear Meijer brand apparel everything is going to be expensive.
I got two of my favorite Michigan hooded sweatshirts at Goodwill. They both looked and felt brand new (now I'm wondering if there was a sad story about why there just happened to be two pristine medium Michigan sweatshirts there at the same time)
Those discount stores like Marshalls etc often have Michigan gear (assuming you're instate)
Places like Kohls and Target and Meijer's might be worth checking out as well. And I know Dick's Sporting Goods had a big sale after the National Championship
M-Den, Mitten State and Underground Printing have always been great for me.