6 Ways to Identify a Counterfeit Sports Jersey
Posted: Wednesday, February 15, 2006
by Bill Wilcox
http://www.a1-throwback-jerseys.net
With the popularity of sports jerseys growing dramatically over the past decade, so have the number of fake or counterfeit jerseys being offered as authentic. Unfortunately, counterfeit jerseys are big business. It is estimated that tens of millions of dollars are lost each year to counterfeiters. Legitimate sales are lost, producer's royalties are unpaid, and the sports fans get inferior quality merchandise - everybody loses!
The vendor may tell you that the reason for the bargain price is that they received a great deal on overstocked merchandise, or they were lucky enough to buy out the stock of a going-out-of-business retailer. And of course, this all comes with a "guarantee" that the sports jersey is the real thing. Don't buy it!
Most likely these sports jerseys are knock-offs (unauthorized copies) shipped in from overseas. These fakes usually come with poor quality materials and inferior manufacturing processes. Bad stitching, faded colors, off-sizes, and all-around cheap appearance are common characteristics of the counterfeit jersey.
These same unscrupulous vendors have gone high tech by selling their fake merchandise on the internet. If you want to try your hand at buying that favorite sports jersey at one of the online auctions - think again! It is estimated that up to 95% of the Mitchell & Ness throwback jerseys sold on eBay are counterfeits.
Law enforcement agencies are starting to police these fake sports jerseys and the vendors that sell them. The counterfeit jerseys are being confiscated and the vendors arrested. Selling or manufacturing counterfeit jerseys is a very serious crime. Penalties for a first offense are a fine of up to $2 million and 10 years in prison. A second offense virtually doubles these penalties.
Despite these efforts, there is still a huge black market for the counterfeit jerseys. The policing agencies are just not staffed up to stop the large inflow of these fake jerseys coming in from overseas. So, your best advice is - Buyer Beware!
Follow these 6 tips and you can be assured that your next purchase will be the "real deal" - an authorized, high-quality official sports jersey:
- Be suspicious of prices too good to be true - they usually are.
- Don't buy your jersey from a street vendor - authorized dealers rarely market authentic sport jerseys in stadium parking lots or on street corners.
- Look at the jersey carefully. Fakes usually have poor stitching and faded (or wrong) team colors.
- Believe it or not, check the spelling of the name of the team or player. Fakes often have misspellings. Think about it - a name like R-o-e-t-h-l-i-s-b-e-r-g-e-r just isn't that easy to get right.
- Look for the official sport logo - NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. Most official jerseys display the league logo in the form of a hologram.
- Official jerseys display the name of the licensed manufacturer and a trademark -- this is a must.
Bill Wilcox is an avid sports jersey and throwback jersey collector and wants to help you avoid the counterfeit sports jersey 'trap'. For more information on sports jerseys visit: www.a1-throwback-jerseys.net
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Maybe if a polyester jersey didn't cost $180+ more fans could enjoy weraing a real one.
I totally agree with the previous comment regarding price. If they didn't cost so much, more fans would definitely buy the original rather than fake. I have a couple of MLB original jerseys purchased from a legit sports retail store and a couple of fake jerseys purchased from Ebay. The originals are slightly thicker but that's about it. As for the emblems, color, size and fit, they're practically the same. I don't have a problem with buying fake ones provided that they look very identical to the original jersey, and that the price is at least 60% cheaper than the original ones. It's just common sense: if they're fake, they should be cheap and vice-versa. To be honest with you, I would rather give my hard earned money to some third-world country sweatshop worker than to the fat man smoking a cigar, counting how much money he made selling original licensed jerseys at a Dodger game. It's recession time here in America. Wise up and buy what you can afford and not what they tell you what's right to buy. And if you can save money, save money by buying fake jerseys. Trust me, you will feel a lot better knowing that you didn't pay an arm-and-a-leg.I couldn't agree with your statement anymore. The over policing of everything is ridiculous. Not everybody can afford such items.......To further your comment regarding helping "third world country", ....the workers would just move down the street to another non-governed and unfair labor practicing warehouse and do the same.
I have to agree with both above. I am in the military and get paid very little. I have both authentic (paid way too much for) and a few fake jerseys and saved over half the cost. The fakes are cheaper and really good if not the same quality. All in all who really cares how much you spend. It's still your team and showing your pride of a team. Honestly the fake and real ones are both made over seas. Go get the less expensive costing jersey as long as you are happy with the quality it's a win win buy. Athletes are over paid anyways. Soilders and sailors who risk their live should make the money an athlete gets but what do I know I'm the one getting shot at!
aren't there more important things the police should be worried about? like investigating murders and stopping real criminals?
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