| Is your favorite sports jersey a fake or the "real deal"? | | | | Law enforcement agencies are starting to police these |
| This article gives you 6 easy ways to spot a | | | | fake sports jerseys and the vendors that sell them. |
| counterfeit jersey and protect yourself from getting | | | | The counterfeit jerseys are being confiscated and the |
| ripped off. | | | | vendors arrested. Selling or manufacturing counterfeit |
| With the popularity of sports jerseys growing | | | | jerseys is a very serious crime. Penalties for a first |
| dramatically over the past decade, so have the | | | | offense are a fine of up to $2 million and 10 years in |
| number of fake or counterfeit jerseys being offered | | | | prison. A second offense virtually doubles these |
| as authentic. Unfortunately, counterfeit jerseys are big | | | | penalties. |
| business. It is estimated that tens of millions of dollars | | | | Despite these efforts, there is still a huge black market |
| are lost each year to counterfeiters. Legitimate sales | | | | for the counterfeit jerseys. The policing agencies are |
| are lost, producer's royalties are unpaid, and the sports | | | | just not staffed up to stop the large inflow of these |
| fans get inferior quality merchandise - everybody | | | | fake jerseys coming in from overseas. So, your best |
| loses! | | | | advice is - Buyer Beware! |
| Many scam artists set up shop and peddle their fake | | | | Follow these 6 tips and you can be assured that your |
| merchandise at sporting events and temporary | | | | next purchase will be the "real deal" - an authorized, |
| locations. The sales pitch usually starts with a bargain | | | | high-quality official sports jersey: |
| price. This is usually the hook that is used to lure the | | | | Be suspicious of prices too good to be true - they |
| prospective buyer into a high-pressure sales pitch. | | | | usually are. |
| The vendor may tell you that the reason for the | | | | - Don't buy your jersey from a street vendor - |
| bargain price is that they received a great deal on | | | | authorized dealers rarely market authentic sport |
| overstocked merchandise, or they were lucky enough | | | | jerseys in stadium parking lots or on street corners. |
| to buy out the stock of a going-out-of-business retailer. | | | | - Look at the jersey carefully. Fakes usually have poor |
| And of course, this all comes with a "guarantee" that | | | | stitching and faded (or wrong) team colors. |
| the sports jersey is the real thing. Don't buy it! | | | | - Believe it or not, check the spelling of the name of |
| Most likely these sports jerseys are knock-offs | | | | the team or player. Fakes often have misspellings. |
| (unauthorized copies) shipped in from overseas. These | | | | Think about it - a name like R-o-e-t-h-l-i-s-b-e-r-g-e-r |
| fakes usually come with poor quality materials and | | | | just isn't that easy to get right. |
| inferior manufacturing processes. Bad stitching, faded | | | | - Look for the official sport logo - NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, |
| colors, off-sizes, and all-around cheap appearance are | | | | etc. Most official jerseys display the league logo in the |
| common characteristics of the counterfeit jersey. | | | | form of a hologram. |
| These same unscrupulous vendors have gone high | | | | - Official jerseys display the name of the licensed |
| tech by selling their fake merchandise on the internet. If | | | | manufacturer and a trademark -- this is a must. |
| you want to try your hand at buying that favorite | | | | Remember - if the "deal" sounds too good, it probably |
| sports jersey at one of the online auctions - think again! | | | | is! Smart sports fans, like you, make their sports jersey |
| It is estimated that up to 95% of the Mitchell & | | | | purchases from reputable, licensed merchants and |
| Ness throwback jerseys sold on eBay are | | | | take pride in knowing that they are wearing the REAL |
| counterfeits. | | | | DEAL! |