How to Spot Economical/Fake Boots

Players are always looking for a high quality boot at a cheap price. The Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly, the Adidas Adizero, and the Nike Mercurial Vapor 8 are a few of the most sought after cleats. Because of their high prices, many players are tricked into buying economical boots that appear to be real, but offer an extremely low price. Here is what to look out for when shopping for cheap boots.

An economical boot is a cheap copy of a real boot. It is usually a low quality, only-good-for-looks boot that draws players in because of their cheap prices. Here are a few things to look out for:


First and foremost if price. If the price is too good to be true, it probably isn't. For instance, the Nike Superfly retails at $400. This high price mainly comes from the expensive carbon fiber sole that Nike implements into the boot. Many players wish to acquire this high quality boot, but are drawn back by the prices. This is how many of the economical boot makers become so successful. They create an identical looking boot with no carbon fiber, no sense stud, no flywire, and a very decent price. Here is a good example below.

This boot can be found on cheap-football-boots.com. (Another red flag is the url) 

The boot is said to retail at $400, but is offered up for the cheap price of $79.99

Beside the fact that the price is outrageously low, notice these things:

1. The box. The box that the boots sit on is not the same box that the regular boots come in. The regular Elite Series box is hard to recreate, so many retailers settle for the gray mercurial box.

2. The flywire. With normal Superfly, the flywire tends to blend in with the boot, and not be overly noticeable. However, with the economical version, the flywire can be seen from a distance. That is a good indicator that the boots may be fake. 

3. The design. Almost none of the actual Superfly's feature any symbols on them, and a lot of the fake retailers add these to draw customers in.

4. The laces. Notice how the laces seem to be somewhat larger and bulkier. The regular Superfly laces are hard to recreate, so retailers tend to purchase regular laces.

Another red flag with Superfly, and any other boot for that matter, is different colorways. Retailers try to draw in customers with flashy colorways that boot company's either haven't released or haven't created. Here are a few examples:

A lot of economical boots can be very hard to spot. Here are another few tips I have picked up on:
1. Watch the URL of the site you are looking on. Like our example above, cheap-football-boots should be an immediate red flag. Try to find a site with a legit sounding URL, like soccer.com or soccerpro.com. If you aren't sure, simply Google the URL. Usually, many people will either blog or post about fake websites, so that way you can learn from other peoples mistakes.
2. The background is another thing to watch out for. For some reason, a lot of fake retailers use this background with their boots:

This grass background is found on multiple fake websites, so watch out for it.

All this being said, the main thing you need to watch out for is price. It is the main way to spot a fake website. Real retailers selling real boots would never be able to sell $400 boots for a below-$100 price.

Alternatives
If you still wish to buy top quality boots for a great price, you need to search and look hard. Clearances and sales are always a great way to pick up top quality boots for a great price. Another alternative is Ebay. I personally use Ebay, and I'm able to find top quality, real boots for a great price. For instance, I bought a pair of T90 Laser Elite for $109.99. A lot of people use Ebay to get rid of new-slightly used boots, and they do so for a great price.

I hope this article helps you guys out. If you have any questions, feel free to comment down below.