[Rebelgecko]

Sports jerseys are funny- they've gotten to the point where the dupes are cheaper AND higher quality (eg embroidered instead of cheap iron-on patches)

[secabeen]

That's because Fanatics took over the jersey manufacture and cut the quality. Fanatics sucks in all sort of dimensions.

[coldtea]

I don't think it's uniquely Fanatics. All kinds of "luxury" brands have been dropping their quality standards for several decades now. And not for making some mass market cheaper products, but on their regular supposedly "luxury" lines.

[picofarad]

They made a name over decades and now they're going to ride the name till the end of the company.

I really do wonder if MBA == evil.

[marysol5]

Doc Martin are absolute trash now. Managed to destroy a pair within a few months....

[shimman]

Is fanatic some localized term for capitalists I'm not aware of?

[secabeen]

In this case, Fanatic is the long-form version of the word "fan" used in the expression "sports fan".

> Fanatics, Inc. is an American sports platform that consists of several businesses, including licensed sports merchandise, trading cards and collectibles, sports betting, special events, and live commerce.

--Wikipedia

[Rebelgecko]

In a manner of speaking. They have a monopoly on selling official jerseys for some big North American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB)

[uxhacker]

But as the Frankfurt School Famously said about the Mona Lisa that the copies make the original. In other words the copies give the original all the publicity to make it famous.

[coldtea]

They said that, but it was already quite famous for centuries. As were other paintings, not copied, and not involved in some high publicity heist like it.

[uxhacker]

That was exactly the point. The fame came from the number of copies of the painting.

Some people say brands like Gucci became more famous because of the number copies made.

[marysol5]

Incidentally I've seen some where they've taken off the sponsors too.

So cheaper, better quality, and I'm not a walking advert!