Nike and Adidas, the two highest-grossing sneaker brands in the world (Nike as number one), are also the two most counterfeited. Sneaker fakes have become big business. As a result, the counterfeits have become increasingly difficult to spot. At the same time, it's not always so hard to distinguish the authentic sneakers from the phonies. The following is a list of laughable sneaker counterfeiting attempts.
1. Meet Sayed
Image by Suzy Kassem
Sayed owns 2 sneaker stores in Cairo and tries to convince his customers that he only carries authentic sneakers. He carries tons of Adidas and Nike sneakers with a few Asics and Puma in the mix too. Not a single sneaker in his vast selection looks close to being real. For $12 USD, you can have pretty much have anything he has in stock. It even comes with a personal guarantee from Sayed - find him anything in the market exactly like you want to buy from him, he'll give you your money back. That should be enough hint for the smart sneaker shopper that what you get is not legit from this sneaker dealer!
2. Adidas Guccis
It is not uncommon to see more than one brand represented on a sneaker - though it is certainly a dead giveaway that the sneaker's a fake. Sometimes the counterfeiter can't just match the two brands right. You'd think at least one might try and make a decent looking sneaker so it would sell. Here we see Adidas paired together unofficially with Gucci. These would go well with a matching knock-off Gucci handbag and knock-off Gucci suitcase for the traveling knock-out princess. Athletic couture for the women who have so much to prove.
3. Nike Air Jordan Knock-Offs
Nike knock-offs are big online but haven't quite reached the notoriety of Adidas, which has way more counterfeiters distributing on a global street-level. To find genuine leather Nike knock-offs is almost impossible unless you're buying them online direct from Asia or from an outside marketplace in a third world country. The following Nike knock-off gems forgot to add the all-important "Nike" name towards the bottom of the heel. Plus, they aren't leather. That alone is the usual dead giveaway.
4. Missing Logo Elements
Sometimes the counterfeiter forgets the details. Adidas happens to be the most replicated and visible footwear brand in Africa, Eastern Europe the Middle East and Asia - followed closely by Nike. Misspellings often occur in the counterfeiting trade. For Adidas, these misspellings include: Adidos, Adibas, Adihash (Australia), Addidis, Addidas, and Adidias. Another popular mistake is the logo identifiers - like Nike's Swoosh and Adidas three stripes. Here we see the center "Adidas" sneaker seems to be missing a stripe. Finding Nike's swoosh symbol reversed in direction is not uncommon to find either.
5. Knocking Nike
Image by Suzy Kassem
Nike sneakers are the most duplicated sneakers in Westernized countries made by the Far East. Sneaker factories that have contracts with all the major brands must sign statements which prevent them from distributing any of the sneakers themselves. However, the designs are still often sold by the plants, or the plant's workers. These new (and old) designs are sold to independent manufacturers who create the counterfeit sneakers. Sometimes these counterfeiting operations will simply acquire a pair of the genuine sneakers and copy those - bypassing having to buy plans from a factory. Here we see fake Nikes gone bad.
6. Even Vans Gettting Knocked
Proof that the sneaker brand Vans has blown up over these past few years - a growing number of counterfeits have been creeping into the street and online markets. Again, common counterfeit giveaways, like name misspellings and missing logo identifies are usually an indicator it's not the "real deal." Here's a pair of "Vans" - only they are called "Vanerns."
