The number of counterfeit items being sold across Cumbria is on the up.

The county council’s trading standards team says that the increasing number of ‘buy and sell’ pages on social media sites has played a significant role in rogue goods being bought and sold.

Among the most common counterfeit items are designer shoes and trainers, handbags and clothing.

“The majority of cases that are reported to us concern items that have been sold over the internet,” said John Greenbank, trading standards manager at Cumbria County Council.

“A lot of incidents are goods that have been sold on social media pages.

"It’s a combination of people in Cumbria selling counterfeit goods and people in Cumbria buying them, but it’s definitely something that’s on the increase.

“Fake sports shoes and sports equipment are some of the most common things that we’ve had reported. But there’s also designer shoes, handbags and clothes as well.”

Mr Greenbank said that there have also been reports of people buying goods from sites such as eBay and Gumtree - but there are usually measures in place to protect customers.


John Greenbank “With eBay, there are regulations in place meaning that if you can prove that the goods are counterfeit, then you’ll receive a refund,” he added.

But despite the increase in counterfeit goods being sold, Mr Greenbank said people should not be put off using social media buy and sell sites.

“There are a lot of good things being sold on there,” he said. “But our message would be to use your common sense. "If something seems too good to be true then it probably isn’t.

“One of the problems is that anyone can buy a .com or .co.uk domain and set up a site.

"Most retailers won’t have a site where they’re offering designer goods on there, or on a social media page, with a 50 per cent off deal or a very generous price.”