When I was buying counterfeit NFL jerseys at the Traders World flea market last summer, I never knew I was funding organized crime.
I bought the jerseys because they cost hundreds less and fit my 6-foot-5 frame better than the authentic jerseys they sell at the mall. But after vendors at Traders World were raided and charged with felonies by police in January, I’ve decided I need to reconsider my penny pinching ways.
During the four days leading up to the NBA All-Star game last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized more than $197,000 worth of counterfeit merchandise in Dallas, where the game was held, according to its Web site www.ice.gov.
Of the 4,062 counterfeit items seized, 522 were NBA and NFL jerseys with an estimated value of $91,350. ICE claims that most counterfeit jerseys are manufactured in developing countries and smuggled into the U.S. illegally where they are sold without a license or sales tax. ICE also claims that proceeds from counterfeit sales fund organized crime.
I don’t want to have any part in funding organized crime, but I also don’t want to pay $250 for an authentic Carson Palmer jersey from nflshop.com, and don’t even get me started on those ridiculous screen printed replicas they have the nerve to charge $80 for. Here is what Ironmike26 said in a reply to a similar article on baltimoresun.com:
“Maybe if the NFL didn’t charge $300 per jersey there wouldn’t be such a huge market for knockoffs. For $300 I can get 6 jerseys why would I pay $300 for one. Who am I hurting, the NFL? I think they are doing fine. Players? They all live waaayyy better than we do. If the NFL and their teams would stop trying to price-gouge us at every turn with ridiculous prices people wouldn’t try to find cheaper alternatives.”
Well said Ironmike26. I couldn’t agree with you more.