I have mostly Apple brand sport bands in my collection, some third party bands on adapters and I think 2 silicone knock off sport bands in colors that Apple doesn't have, which is why I bought those--wanted to match an item of clothing. After these 2 silicone bands, which do attract lint like crazy and the fact they feel cheaper (albeit soft), I pretty much decided to stick with the Apple brand regardless of the color choice.
I'll take advantage of sales or clearance markdowns but have bought at retail price every so often. I have one leather band my watch came with but for the most part the Sport is my preferred casual daily band. I just ordered an Ocean Blue Sport in fact, which has been discontinued by Apple, from Target.com which was at retail price but at least from them you can use those $5 gift cards they hand out when you buy certain items from their weekly ads. They let you use $20 worth of cards on the purchase so it helps keep the credit card purchase down.
If Apple has cracked down on the copycats, hey good for them. Companies need to protect their work and products be it Apple or anyone else. There are people who like Apple's designs and such and want them but don't want to pay for them. They want to be "seen" with Apple products although they aren't buying them. A lot of work goes into making a unique product and there's a reason why people buy Apple products over other companies products and product design is a huge reason. Just wrong to steal stuff from other people is how I was brought up, and stealing is how I look at these knockoff products.
