Just under a quarter of UK consumers have revealed they would purchase counterfeit World Cup and football related products to save money, a new survey has revealed.

Shopping search engine, Kelkoo, conducted the research and revealed that with product imitations in South Africa rampant, around 1 in 5 products are likely to be forgeries, costing official, legitimate businesses around GBP50m.

The most popular and widespread fakes are believed to be of replica kits, particularly of England and Brazil.

The news comes as the UK Border Agency announced its most-recent seizure of counterfeits were of a thousand replica England shirts – primed for the lucrative World Cup market.

Matt Spencer, founder of UK-based personal finance blog Moneystand.co.uk, has explained the situation: “With the World Cup looming it is an enormous opportunity for retailers and sporting goods manufacturers to amplify the sales of the official merchandise. The worry is that fakes are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and in some cases, the price may be identical to that of genuine products.

“Those who knowingly purchase counterfeited items for the reason that they are cheaper are likely to find the situation a false economy. Product quality and durability are more often than not compromised. In many situations people are paying full price for these short-term items.”

The practice of buying fake goods is not a victimless crime either, as Spencer continues; “Theres a very strong chance, almost a certainty, imitated items have not been through the same vigorous safety tests that genuine items face. Potentially, these untested products could be lethal.”

The research found most people had not bought fakes, at least not purposely. Just under two thirds said they have not bought imitations, a quarter had bought the products unwittingly whilst one in ten admitted to buying counterfeit items in full knowledge they were not genuine.

“Around GBP550m a year nationwide is lost to the Chancellor of the Exchequer as a result of taxes not being paid on legitimate goods – a loss which is recouped though the other means of taxing,” said Spencer.

The findings arrive as the latest retail figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show legitimised retailers have a received a massive ‘World Cup’ themed boost in sales.

Personal finance blog MoneyStand provides unbiased personal finance, IVA and debt related information. Founded in 2008, MoneyStand was created in response to the worsening financial situation of individuals in the UK and across the world. For more information on personal finance, visit www.moneystand.co.uk.

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The Dallas Patriots Organization has an unprecedented track record in player and coaching staff retention, and every member of the team is held to the highest standard of conduct both on and off of the field. So, it’s no surprise that the organization has teamed up with The Simpler Group, LLC to better showcase their impressive statistics and exceptional team members through their new Web site.

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About The Dallas Patriots
The Dallas Patriots Organization was founded by Logan Stout in 2000. The Patriots coaching staff is comprised of some of the finest and most respected coaches in select baseball. The Dallas Patriots coaching staff productivity speaks volumes, as the Dallas Patriots continue to win at all age levels, on a regular basis. The Dallas Patriots have won league, state, regional, and World Series Championships year in and year out. They believe each player should represent himself in a way that honors himself, his family, his peers, his teammates, and most importantly, his Maker.

For more information
Office: 972-398-3676
Fax: 972.398.8598
e-mail: admin@dallaspatriots.com
Web site: http://www.dallaspatriots.com

About The Simpler Group
The Simpler Group was founded on the belief that small and medium-sized businesses deserve Web services and online marketing as unique as their products and suitable to their specific markets. We are a fully integrated marketing company combining the best of traditional marketing with the most current and effective Internet strategies, including social media for business applications.

For more information
Brenda Simpler, Managing Partner
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e-mail: info@thesimplergroup.com
Web site: http://www.thesimplergroup.com

The Simpler Group, LLC is a full service marketing company with over 35 years’ experience in Web design, graphic design and marketing – both for traditional outlets and the Internet. As a small business, we understand the special and specific marketing needs of your small to medium- sized businesses. Together, we will take the best business practices from Internet design, sales, and marketing and apply them to your unique business model and products. In addition, we have a real knowledge of the marketing and business environments in the DFW Metroplex, and we use our access and networks to further promote and connect our clients.