UPDATE:
I received the jersey yesterday and there's good things and bad things about this $17 jersey.
First the good:
1. The custom name and number looks good. Its straight, has the correct font, the correct style, the correct coloring, and is printed down well. It doesnt feel like it would come off easily. I actually did a light machine wash and hang dry after my review in order to do a quick test of the screen printing quality.
2. The MLS patches were actually decent quality for the price, and sewn down. I didnt think think would be sewn down, so I was presently surprised.
3. The NYCFC patch was spot on, and well embroidered.
4. The adidas patch was embroidered and of good quality as well.
The not so good:
5. The white mesh stripes across the back of the jersey, and above the name, see to have a couple of pulls in different spots. This wasnt really a big deal to me though, and I expected small mistakes like that. I mentioned this little mistake because I do wonder if those pulls can become big tears over time.
The Bad:
6. The letters I and H in ETIHAD were printed crooked. This bothered me some, but its mostly noticeable if you look for it...and I really looked things over. You can see how the I does not line up properly with the T.
7. The inaugural patch was cut crooked. It was laid down straight on the shirt, but it was cut from its cloth crookedly. I didnt mind too much that it was a cloth patch and not screen printing, as it looked nice and was laid down nice. The problem was its just cut crooked. No bueno.
8. Worst of all, theres a permanent crease over the front of the shirt. I tried a cool iron on the inside-out side, and that didnt do anything. It always makes it look like the shirt has a weird area thats a different color. I could have gotten over everything else if that wasnt there. But its too easy for me to see that and be bothered by it.
All in all, Im not happy with the shirt in terms of wearing it to game days or even casually...mainly because of the permanent lines of the front. However, for 17 bucks I feel like I got a good quality NYCFC patch and two ok quality MLS patches that I can use for something else.
In other words, based on what the seller tells me after I let him know about the quality problems, I will likely just cut the patches off and use them as team pride decoration on something else (book bag, t -shirt, hat etc)
So yeah, im not upset by this experience. Im very suprised by the quality of the breathable fabric used to make the jersey. I was very surprised at how the name-set was well done. And its funny...the custom name-set is what I expected to be screwed up, but it wasnt.
Ill keep you all informed on what the seller says. In the end I may give another aliexpress seller a try, or gogoalshop.com as well. After that I'll re-evaluate if I will continue with such means of jersey purchase or not.
