Many of us like to show team spirit - whether it's for a local high school; our alma mater; or a major league team such as the Cardinals, Royals, Blues or Chiefs. So when an ad offering deals on jerseys for a favorite team pops up online, it's just natural to click, right?
Not always. A Mizzou student looking for Cardinals jerseys recently looked into a sale on a website. What he saw made him suspicious.
The wording of a refund policy did not make sense, and other things about the site just did not ring true. Lucky for him, he did not buy anything, and he passed his suspicions on to Better Business Bureau.
The site is just one of several based in China that offer major league gear at deep discounts. Some say they are "official," but when BBB checked, it found that the sites were not authorized to make or sell officially sanctioned merchandise.
Over the years, BBB has seen many sites offering low-quality, unauthorized versions of sports jerseys. Customers have complained to BBB about the knockoffs and the sites' poor service.
In some cases, customers had trouble getting the right size or obtaining refunds, and some sites did not deliver the merchandise.
Selling counterfeit merchandise is illegal.
It harms legitimate manufacturers, and sports teams derive no revenue from the bogus apparel.
In 2013, a federal judge in New York ordered nearly 1,500 sites based in China to shut down for selling what the National Football League said were counterfeit NFL products.
So what is a fan to do?
BBB offers the following advice for consumers shopping online for authentic sports apparel and related products:
Be wary of sales or prices that seem too good to be true. In many of these cases, either the items do not exist or they are of poorer quality than officially licensed merchandise.
Make sure the websites are official sites, authorized to sell licensed products. If you are unsure about whether you are dealing with official merchandise sites, contact the team or league directly for help.
Make sure you read the site's terms and conditions carefully before placing an order.
Pay by credit card whenever possible in case you need to challenge the charge later.
If you have concerns or questions, find a BBB Business Review by calling 573-886-8965, or by checking BBB's website at bbb.org.
Sean Spence is the Mid-Missouri regional director for Better Business Bureau.