So after Katrina I decide to drop the $300 for an "authentic" stitched Saints jersey of my beloved Saints. Google showed quite a discrepancy in price though - $300 at the NFL Shop versus $40 on eBay. Enough to warrant some research, anyway. It only took a few mins to realize the $40 version was a knockoff but that only piqued my curiosity more. How could they produce it so much cheaper, etc? So I looked into it. Yeah, maybe 25 years ago "knockoff" meant inferior look-a-like materials and craftsmanship, but not any more. The Reebok plant that made the "real" jerseys was like next door to the Chinese factory making the knockoffs using the same fabric and thread from the same supplier as the "legit" plant next door. About the only difference I could find in the production technique was quality control - the "authentic" brand actually had a QC guy that would inspect and reject stock that may have been sub-par so no chance it could be sold to the public; the knockoff factory: not so much. That quality does add value, just not $300 versus $40 worth of value.
The moral of the story: I used to believe in the anti-counterfeit argument back when "counterfeit" meant inferior quality made by slave-labor in sweatshops overseas. Unfortunately since then these same manufacturers moved their factories to exploit that very same slave labor and sweatshops overseas so the execs could shift the wages of those previously "overpaid" workers into their own pockets. So screw 'em. When my jersey eventually falls apart (5 years and still going) I'll just drop another $40 to replace it.
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