Counterfeit Jeans Are Everywhere

Are those $300 designer jeans that you recently bought really made by the company whose name is on the label? Even if you a very savvy consumer, it is hard to tell these days. Counterfeit jeans are everywhere, not just on the street corners of New York City.

New York police stopped a van carrying nearly 1,000 pairs of counterfeit jeans in late 2008. These jeans all had department store tags on them, Bloomingdales and Saks tags were counterfeited along with the Citizens of Humanity and Rock and Republic jeans.

The van only had a broken tail light, but these enterprising officers were suspicious of the jeans and saved almost 1,000 consumers from buying counterfeit jeans. They also probably saved a few eBay sellers who would have re-sold the jeans on eBay, believing them to be authentic since the jeans had tags (counterfeit as well) from well-know stores attached.

eBay has been known to have a large number of counterfeit jeans listed on their site, but what if you decide to be a smart consumer, and shop at a local boutique? Do you think you are safer? In 2007 customers of a West Omaha boutique called the Giving Tree bought True Religion jeans marked down from $216 to $78. These were determined to be counterfeit jeans by True Religion, and the store has since refunded their customers.

Do you think that purchasing your designer jeans online would be any safer? There are 100's of online stores selling counterfeit jeans, some websites even offer styles of jeans that were never even manufactured by their trademark holder. Some websites even sell replicas which are "inspired" by the designers (which is okay), and they are actually made to look just like the real thing. That is still counterfeiting, and they offer wholesale prices to buyers of multiple items. Check out www.ReplicaBC.com and see what I mean.

How do you not get burned? Buy from an authorized dealer of your favorite jeans. Most manufacturers' websites will list their authorized dealers. You can get a bargain on eBay on used designer jeans. There are wonderful guides on eBay with pictures showing exactly what the labels should look like down to the font used. A good eBay seller will take pictures of all tags & details so you can determine for yourself if a pair of used jeans are real or fake. The best way to not get stuck with counterfeit jeans? Don't fall for the "way below retail" prices. Most designers of such exclusive & expensive jeans won't even sell their closeouts or leftover inventory to wholesalers as they believe it "cheapens" the line. If you want the authentic designer jeans that cost $300.00 new, you will probably have to pay $300.00.