ATLANTA — Two Atlanta companies are working to make sure fans spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on championship gear are buying the real thing.
Channel 2's consumer investigator Jim Strickland said investigators have already found what they have been looking for.
During the New Year’s Day playoff games, the Atlanta company that licenses the College Football Playoff took 1,400 fake items off the street. At last report, the company is still looking for pirate peddlers.
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Poncho vender Ed Howard said counterfeit clothing vendors are as common as the big games Mercedes-Benz Stadium continues to draw.
That is why somewhere unseen among the fans, licensing operatives are on the lookout. Licensing officials said they will protect their clients and consumers.
“We would hate for them to spend all this Atlanta and have something that will fall apart in the first wash,” Howard said. “It is very tough to keep up with competitors out there, whether they are vending legally or illegally.”
Matthew Smith said he has been selling licensed gear since he was 9 years old. His father owns the company SportsMania, and it was a mob scene even eight hours before game time.
Smith showed Strickland the shirt SportsMania will sell if Georgia wins and the shirt it sell if Alabama wins.
UGA said its licensing royalties total up to $6 million, with half of he money going to athletics and half to general university programs.
Other vendors, such as Hawking Lanyards, had both the UGA and playoff logos, ensuring they had the proper tags.
The tent is another sign that you are likely buying from a legitimate source.
“If something is being sold out of a duffel bag, out of a trash bag or out of a van, that is a good sign it is not licensed,” Smith said.
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