In an "About Me" eBay page, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company offers these tips to customers who want to make sure they're buying genuine Harley-Davidson merchandise:

* "The only way to be certain that the (new) goods you are purchasing are genuine Harley-Davidson goods is to purchase them from a Harley-Davidson dealership or licensee."

* Harley-Davidson sells motorcycles, motorcycle parts and accessories, and "MotorClothes" brand clothing and collectibles only through authorized Harley-Davidson dealerships. Genuine Harley-Davidson products are "not generally found at trade shows and are rarely found in flea markets, especially in any quantity greater than a handful."

* Be suspicious of an offer to buy "Harley-Davidson" goods at wholesale to non-dealers.

* If something seems too good to be true - "Harley-Davidson" leather jackets for a fraction of the price at dealerships, for example - it probably is.

* There is no source in Asia authorized to make Harley-Davidson goods for sale to anyone other than Harley-Davidson itself or one of its licensees. Anything "shipped directly from Asia" is counterfeit.

* No authorized Harley-Davidson jewelry is made in Mexico.

* Stamper Black Hills Gold is the only company authorized to make Harley-Davidson body jewelry.

* The only legitimate source for neon Harley-Davidson signs is Ace Product Management Group.

* A registered trademark symbol does NOT guarantee that the goods are genuine.

* Genuine products should include an official "hang tag" or other packaging bearing the "Official Licensed Product" logo. For example, "Harley" rings piled up on a vendor's table are probably fake.

* If any words other than "Harley-Davidson Motor Cycles" appear inside the bar-and-shield logo - such as rally and event names - it's a dead giveaway the goods are NOT authorized.