One topic I want to talk about that I want to connect with our classroom discussions about profit is the controversy over the market of illegal pro sport jerseys. It is cutting deeply into the pockets of authentic jersey producers and the companies and their lawyers, as well as the government is trying to stop this. I have seen multiple specials, specifically on ESPN about the illegal market. These illegal jerseys are considered replicas and are shipped out of China to US customers. These jerseys are almost identical to the real things sold by licensed vendors. The most affected sport is the NFL. In the video below, the CEO of the main jersey producer, Fanatics, says that counterfeiters are the biggest competitor to the authentic ones. I cannot lie, I didn't know this was an illegal purchase but I do have at least 6 NBA jerseys that I bought from China. It cost me about 25$ per jersey compared to over 80$ for the real thing so it fits my budget a little better.
Would you pass over an "almost-the-same-thing" product if it were cheaper even if it were hurting our US companies?
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8900519/nfl-us-government-score-record-bust-fake-jerseys
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