Knockoff News 19
A weekly (or thereabouts) collection of news about counterfeits, fakes, knockoffs, replicas, imitations, and the culture of copying in general around the globe:
- Court answers True Religion's prayers
- Customs kicks off World Cup with anti-counterfeiting conference
- United Kingdom: Football clubs team up against counterfeits
- Victory: China seizes Nike, Adidas fakes
- Teed off: Counterfeit golf equipment raids continue in China
- North Feltham Vice: Local police warn against internet counterfeit trade
- Scotland Yardsale: Scots appoint their first "eBay detective"
- Midnight Express: Hungary seizes fakes en route from Turkey
- Counterfeit sales may give market revamp the boot
It's a sporting week at Counterfeit Chic, as the Knockoff News is filled with faux athletic goods and apparel from soccer (or football, if you please) to golf. Major league baseball is no exception, with a report that Barry Bonds is not only continuing his allegedly steroid-fueled fight to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time career home runs list but also fighting against the sale of counterfeit memorabilia.
As the article notes:
Word of these challenges [to authenticity] in the close-knit collectibles market, combined with the allegations that Mr. Bonds took steroids, has put a damper on demand for his memorabilia -- even as he approaches one of baseball's most hallowed records. Some dealers say the market price for certain items he used in games has fallen by at least 50% this year. Doug Allen, president of Mastro Auctions in Burr Ridge, Ill., says one collector who paid $25,000 for a Bonds jersey in late 2001 recently sold it for $4,400.
$25,000 for a game-used Bonds jersey? The real crime may not be the fakes out there, but the fact that a collector would be willing to pay that much for someone else's dirty laundry -- of which there is apparently plenty.
