EDMONTON - If there's merchandise that's popular or hard to find, you can bet that counterfeiters will try to capitalize on that.
From movie piracy to clothing copies, consumers can often get stuck with fake goods that can not just be inferior and unsafe, but can also hurt the economy. A recent report found that between 2009 and 2010, movie piracy alone cost the Canadian economy more than $1.8 billion and almost 13,000 full time jobs across the country.
Don Hutchings fell victim to the underground industry when he turned online to buy a sold-out Star Wars movie box set for his 6 year-old grandson. Hutchings used bxplay.com, which he assumed was an American company.
"I looked at them and they looked pretty good to me," he says.
But when the DVDs arrived, Hutchings realized he was wrong - the discs came in from China, and not only were the copies mislabelled, but not all of them even worked.
Hutchings is now stuck with the counterfeit DVDs, as he says the cost of shipping them back would be more than what he paid for them.
Consumers are warned that clothing and footwear brands are often copied as well. Ugg boots seem to be a particularly popular product to copy - something one local mother discovered the hard way.
She, too, turned online to purchase what she thought were authentic Uggs for her daughter from what appeared to be an Uggs Canada outlet.
"These particular boots were last year's model so I thought that's why they were only $95 as opposed to $170 at the store," says Liz Carroll. "But I was convinced by looking at the pictures... that those were the real deal."
Thankfully, Carroll eventually realized that the boots weren't authentic, and cancelled her order.
However, there are so many other consumers that do get fooled by all the fake Uggs on the market, that the company has even put reflective security stickers on labels and/or on packaging to help consumers recognize the real products.
Ugg also says it doesn't have online outlet stores, and if you don't buy from an authorized retailer you could get stuck with a fake.
And considering there are only 8 authorized Ugg retailers in Edmonton, the chances of getting stuck with knock-offs may be greater than you think.
To check if your Ugg boots are the real thing click here:
And to report counterfeit merchandise, contact the RCMP Federal Enforcement Section here
With files from Julie Matthews, Global News
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