guest23

I can't find the "Ridiculous Fakes on Ebay" thread, but this is close enough.

Game-worn Terrell Owens 49ers jersey!

while not game worn it looks like a legit fashion jersey

I'm not going to praise purchasing bootlegs because it is apparently illegal and I got into small trouble because of it. But there is still an important issue that has to be raised (I guess it was, it just got lost within other arguments), namely IP abuse by copyright holders. I understand that among the community like this one people value every detail but most of the fans don't care if the collar is a little bit thicker or the number slightly bigger than it should be. They want to show the support for their team and do not spend significant share of their salary for it. I agree that buying counterfeits is not a solution because that actually means a financial loss for the team. However, by buying replicas you lose the money yourself. I bought myself Orlando Magic replica jersey when I was in USA 3 years ago (swingman appeared too expensive for me). After wearing it a couple of times and before washing it even once, the numbers started to peal off already, meaning I cannot really use it anymore. I do realize that 50$ is a low price comparing to authentics but still too much for such crap. The soccer replicas come practically in one price category (I know that techfit versions become more accessible now but you won't get them in most of the shops) but at least they can be used for doing sports and washed many times. By selling replicas, NBA is just fooling the customers. I have no pity for people being cheated when buying bootlegs (including myself) but a purchase of a licensed apparell does not guarantee anything either.

here are your options if you feel that the officially licensed product is inferior and not worth your money

- don't make additional purchases in the future

- make your own replica since DIY is legal

One thing that nobody has seemed to acknowledge in this thread is that most people who buy counterfeit jerseys do not realize that what they're buying is fake.

because i think an integral element to people who unknowingly buy them are that they do so when looking for "a deal" on an authentic jersey. that's the people trolling ebay for an "authentic" for $40 or falling victim to the sports bar owner who can "get ya a good deal."

there's an easy was to know what you're buying is legit: get it from a licensed retailer. there are enough ways to do that (modells, dicks, sports authority, respective team stores, etc.) without snapping up a counterfeit jersey by accident. if you're a savvy buyer, you can wait it out and get the latest jerseys on sale when mo's or someone else has a big sale.

and if in doubt, ask! all my friends know me as the guy who has a lot of jerseys. when they tell me they're looking to get a specific jersey, as they often do, i always ask them to consult me first so they get something legit and of good quality for a reasonable price.

you mean the guys walking through stadium parking lots selling jerseys out of trash bags aren't selling licensed merch? and I'm sure swap meet vendors are all legit as well right?

I don't think Federal Law Enforcement are a bunch of busy bodies or self righteous.

If you ever get in trouble for a manufactured crime, you'll see where I'm coming from. If you never have, then you might not see where I am coming from.

Oh, and I don't believe that you aren't a criminal. That's bull . If you have ever driven over the speed limit, then you are a criminal. Or do you selectively break whichever laws you want, and then complain when other people break laws that you "feel" matter?

Finally you posted something I agree with. Law enforcement is a bureaucracy and the amount of unnecessary ones will make your head spin. Though I'm not justifying counterfeit jerseys.

care to provide some examples of unnecessary laws?

went to the bears/broncos game on sunday and I was shocked to see the amount of counterfeit jerseys at the stadium worn by both sides...I honestly think 40-50% of the jerseys that were worn were total fakes with the absolute worst offenders being the m&n throwbacks that had about a 10% authenticity rate.

I knew fakes were out there and they had a share of the market but the nfl has a real problem on its hands, especially if they keep taking their prices up on replicas, fakes will outnumber legit product.

Here are pictures of my Tebow jersey from DH Gate. The color looks kind of off in the pictures, it's a correct shade of orange, or at least compared to the Bronco's replica jerseys. Sorry for the bad quality.

Definitely not the best fake I have ever seen, but definitely not the worst either. I am happy with it for the price I paid, only like $30. I usually don't buy fakes, but the Broncos aren't my favorite team and I didn't feel like spending the money. I just love Tebow and wanted his jersey. I am pleased with it.

other than the pic quality being terrible what immediately pops is the number spacing is waaay too crammed and left justified...someone needs to show them how to use the ms "center" tool to get the placement correct each time

Oh and another thing:

Even when you buy an authentic from an official seller- you're still not getting a legit on-field jersey. They don't have the draw-string sleeves or anything like that. So you're kind of getting duped anyway in to thinking you're getting the real deal when you aren't.

Exactly. I have a hard time believing that an "authentic" is really worth the $300 price tag if it isn't even on the field. You can't tell me that a real player's jersey costs more. If so it would cost an astounding amount to dress a football team.

an on field uniform does cost a ton of $$$...considering they are typically domestically made with a ton of skilled of manual labor required...throw in reinforced materials and custom specs you get to several hundred dollars per uniform.

for the fan authentics there's different constraints that factor in...sure your costs of goods are lower due to overseas and more efficient construction with slightly lesser materials plus economies and scale may cause the total cost to be around $50-$75 cogs/unit the marketing costs and and % of revenue based on the contracts that must split proceeds between labels/players/leagues which drives the $300 price point.

Nice post. I don't think the teams should turn the fans away at the gate, but just like some arenas won't let you bring in a "professional" camera, it sure would be fun to see them announce a week ahead of time that they are not getting in wearing a fake jersey and make them take it back to the car before they get in.

If they did do that, a large number of people would be outed for having bought unsuspecting relatives fakes who didn't know they had been given one. We sure had that come up a lot at the store last year.

Not being allowed to bring something in has always been a fear, as I show up to most games via public transportation. Like if I am coming from work with an umbrella or something...

Anyway, this may be feasible but I think the teams would have to promote the heck out of it so as to not catch people by surprise. They may even have to have a "coat check" system where the fans can get it on the way out, as opposed to confiscating. The bottom line is that people feel they are paying a lot to go to the game and that they paid their hard-earned money for the jersey, which they did not even realize was "fake".

I wonder whether one of the reasons they don't try this is that it's hard to not find enough "enforcers" that can actually tell the difference. Another problem the "enforcers" may have is the person that ruins a perfectly legit item with a sloppy customization...they may bust someone with a licensed product.

I am surprised more teams have not done anything to educate their fans the way Montreal did in some way, any way at all.

I certainly agree with you here. At the very least, get out via web posters in the pro-shop, etc. that points out 1) the differences and 2) the theft aspect, if only to get a few people to understand. I assume (but I suppose I may be wrong) that most of the people I see wearing the fakes don't really understand that they are fake/illegally-produced either because they don't understand "officially licensed", don't realize just how "off" it looks, or accept that replicas are not going to have perfect detail (which is the case often...e.g., when MLB used to have nice looking replica jerseys with one-color block #s and names for all teams).

That's a naive point of view. Most just don't care when it saves them $100-200 over an authentic. I also think the NFL at least (and its member teams) are unlikely to mount such a campaign because someone in the media would surely tear down the price of a jersey to show the profit margin. The inevitable backlash against the ridiculously high prices they charge for authentics when the NFL is raking in billions would not be good PR for the league or the teams. Can you imagine some reporter walking into a place that's probably right down the block from where the fakes are made and talking about how the people making your authentic Tom Brady jersey are making $1.50 a day, if they make their quota? That may be an exaggeration, but who knows?

They're already flailing around about how to get more people to the stadium on game day and seem unable to grasp that charging $100+ for nosebleed tickets and $30-50 for parking isn't the way to start. The last thing they need or want is bad press on merchandise pricing.

Are people who buy fakes depriving the league of revenue if, had they not bought a fake, they woudn't have bought a jersey at all? If so, how?

Opportunity cost. The money spent on a fake could have gone to a shirt etc... at NFL.com or at the stadium.

Or a car payment.

I like the idea but who is going to be the judge of whether a jersey is a counterfeit?..some of the walmart/jc penney level replicas look just as fake with their shoddy screen jobs, truncated striping, and omitted details etc.

the leagues reap what they sow...first off any business that offshores production is setting themselves up since intellectual property laws are not respected overseas...next is the fact that by continuing to jack up prices for replicas and authentics and in many instances sacrificing quality for the sake of margins they created a market for a product that is better than an official replica but does not have the accuracy of an authentic or even inaccuracies...there is a sweet spot in pricing that the leagues have not yet found...unfortunately what's screwing them and keeping the market for bootlegs going is not the cost to manufacture but the multitude of royalties that must be paid our to the various parties.