Fake designer goods - yes or no?

[caffn8me]

Sometimes I walk past market stalls and see piles of fake Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry goods. I see girls everywhere carrying bags which bear the logos but not the telltale quality of the originals.

My own view is that fake goods are naff and they devalue the original brand. I wouldn't dare to have a Louis Vuitton bag now because most people will just assume it's a cheap fake. I was pleased to see the report of a man jailed for fake Rolex watch

Designs are intellectual property and copying them is illegal under national and international law. It seems a bit hypocritical to complain that someone is using our photographs and posing as us on another forum if we are happy to buy fake goods. It's just another form of impersonation.

People tend to assume that the sale of counterfeit goods is a victimless crime but there's a much more serious aspect to it. Counterfeiting is big money and that big money ends up in the hands of criminal gangs or possibly even terrorists according to this report.

When you buy counterfeit goods you are ALWAYS giving money to criminals but do you know what they then do with it?

What do other folks think?

 

[moonrevel]

I guess I see this problem in two ways: 1. clearly attempting to pass off another's design as your own; and 2. producing your own version of a popular style.

In the first case, making a bag which bears the LV design and logo, but is not produced by LV, is clearly a copyright violation. Legally (and undeniably certainly), you can't take someone else's idea and pass it off as your own. I am in graduate school, and at our school plagiarism is a big deal, because it is wrong to take an idea you lifted from someone else and claim that it's your own. To me, a fake designer bag which claims to be LV or Gucci or what have you, label and all, is no different than plagiarism, and it should be punished.

2. This is where it gets sticky, like in the instance of "fake" Uggs. While Ugg boots have been around for a long time, they seem to have only recently become a fashion trend (though they may be going out of fashion...I can never keep track of these things), and many companies are trying to profit from this trend. I personally don't see that sheepskin lined suede boots are all that novel of a concept, so for Mudd or some other company to make their own version of it appears to me less trying to counterfeit Uggs and more like trying to keep up with fashion.

I guess I'm saying that there is a fine line between these two things, but I don't find the latter to be illegal. Companies are always trying to copy what the big designers have marketed as the "in" thing to please the market and attract those who can't necessarily afford the real deal. However, in the case of physically making something that looks like what another made, putting the other's label on it and passing it off as your own, that is definitely wrong.

I hope that made some sense!

 

[AlliSwan]

Personally, I hate fakes/knockoffs/whatever because they rarely, if ever, live up to the quality of the real thing. I adore Juicy Couture and it's because of the quality of their products and especially the fact that their stuff is made in the "glamorous USA." I was a big fan of Abercrombie until they began outsourcing EVERYTHING to overseas labor--another problem with knockoffs is that they often use child/overseas labor.

I also hate how a company will come up with a great design that has great selling power because of its UNIQUE LOOK (AKA the Juicy Couture terry babydoll dress--I have yet to see even a halfway decent knockoff of this dress), and other companies will create their lousy fakes and quickly destroy the trend/look the original created. It IS stealing an idea and IS copyright infringement.

On another note, I totally agree with the Uggs thing, it's really not even a fair brand name. While I do have the "real" ones, uggs were originated in Australia and thousands wore ugg boots before Ugg Australia came along and took over the world with them. There was a real problem with eBay ending hundreds of listings last winter because people were selling "Ugg Boots" when they WERE Ugg boots! They just weren't UGG AUSTRALIA BRAND Ugg boots.

The boots that Coach designed last winter (Carrie on SATC had a pair hehe) were a perfect example of a company creating their own version of a popular look--they were obviously not trying to pass off their product as the cookie-cutter Ugg boots.

 

[caffn8me]

My question was really aimed at those fakes which carry logos of or are identifiable as designs of well-known brands.

 

[Isis]

I'd have to say no to buying a knockoff.
I wish I could find this one artical I read earlier this year in one of my magazines that I have subscriptions to. But I can at least say it was either in Elle, Harpers Bazzar, or W. I did manage find this artical online from Buisness today that is along the same thread. The one differnece in this one from the one in my magazine was that it doesn't talked about how the counterfeits are made in sweatshops. I'll keep searching for it though.
Here's the link, enjoy!
http://www.businesstoday.org/magazine/issues/1/6.php

 

[user4]

Well, I can't say I've never bought one. I'm not big on designer names but if I'm walking in china town and I see a bag that I like and it just happens to be a knockoff... I'm buying it. I get sick of purses every 2.5 seconds anyways, so why spend thousands of dollars on one.

 

[midnightlouise]

The purist in me won't let me buy fakes lol! If the real deal is out of my price range, well, it just is. I'm not going to buy a fake, because even if no one else can tell, I would know & it would always bother me.....

 

[makeup_junkie]

NO NO NO to buying knock-offs. Around here I see everyone carrying knock-off LV bags and it's sickening. People who create the knock-offs are hijacking someone else's work and pawning it off to anyone with $10. I think it's distasteful.

 

[joytheobscure]

I wouldn't buy a fake designer bag, I'd rather have a low end nice bag than a fake - I have issues with all the fashion turquoise that actually copy native american styles - copying is a great form of flattery but seing haute couture copying jewelry that people have worked their lives and earn their living on kinda irritates me- like on some of the ads- the pure turquoise ad has a gal wearing a needlepoint turquoise ring.. I guess if they aren't being passed off as authentic native american its not a violation of the federal law..but- thats my pet peeve on knockoffs- not street knockoffs of vuitton but high fashion knockoffs of native american culture.

 

[angelstar]

i do see a difference between a person who buys a non-authentic product because they like the design/shape/whatever and a person who buys a non-authentic product because of the 'brand'

however i dont buy fakes - and i really don advocate it. and i think its really embarassing to have people ask you 'is that real' ....

i once had this experience with a friend who i guess was supposed to put it in as tactful a manner as possible (although seriously, you cant ask a person if something is a fake in a tactful manner) - so basically he asked me if a burberry scarf i had on at that time was authentic - i remember it very clearly because its the first time it's happened to me and its not something i can forget easily

but yes i was shocked and completely didnt know how to respond except choke out a 'yes - why?' reply

but yeah - it would be just horrible to have a fake and have someone ask you if it was authentic or not. and just worse if you have a fake and your friend has an authentic version.... just plain embarassing.

 

[aerials]

I'm not really for fakes either. It's horrible how there are SO many LV fakes out there and it kind of soils the Vuitton name a bit if you have an authentic bag.

I'd much rather know I have a real bag instead of a fake... my friend has a fake LV and a fake Dior bag, I never told her this, but they're so blatantly fake and UGLY! She just sees it as 'why spend so much on a designer bag when you can find a replica?' But the thing is, hers are sooo obvious.

Yuck!

 

[ChrisKsAngel]

I so agree with you caffn8me, ... fake goods are naff and they devalue the original brand. I always wanted a Vuitton bad, but now I don't anymore. If I had one people would just assume that it was fake, so why bother? Plus, I don't want to be just another face in the crowd. I like to be original. The point of designer anything, is to show prestiage and a status symbol. Plus, the fact that they are made better and last longer.

I can't stand all the knockoffs. It just does not make sense to me why you would buy one, esp. when everyone knows they are fake. I would never ever buy one.

 

[Isis]

Exactly. I used to want an LV or Gucci bag very baddly, not anymore though. Alot of designer goods are spoiled for me anymore because the market seems to be drowned in fakes & knockoffs.

 

[fairytale22]

I say nay.

 

[liquidsirenhoney]

i say no...i would be so upset if someone did this with something i designed....

 

[AprilBomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnightlouise The purist in me won't let me buy fakes lol! If the real deal is out of my price range, well, it just is. I'm not going to buy a fake, because even if no one else can tell, I would know & it would always bother me.....

My thoughts exacty!
And I think its totally dishonest and immoral to steal a brand's logo, manufacture something of an inferior quality, and then profit by piggybacking onto that company's image. That's bunk. Do you think NIKE would let some other shoe company get away with that? (Although I'm sure it's happening somewhere.)

 

[Isis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilBomb Do you think NIKE would let some other shoe company get away with that? (Although I'm sure it's happening somewhere.)

Kind of like how Guess (c. 1981) and Prada (c. 1913) both have the black enamel inverted triangle with sans-serif lettering in silver. Sure they both have a few subtile differences, they have to, but it's always irked me.

 

[chelssea]

I would probably not personally buy a fake. There are a ton of bags I love that I can't afford so for me personally, I'll just let it be and I'll find something that I can afford that I like. Right now the bag I have is by a brand Hype-which is sold in Macy's and it's a really nice brand...the bag was $160 and it's huge and amazing..I get compliments on it all the time. I'd rather have that then a fake LV/gucci/prada or w/e. Still, although I don't feel it's for me personally, some people just like the design and can't afford it or don't want to spend the money on it. I think it's dumb how every girl has an LV...most of which aren't even real just because it's "popular" but I don't think I'm to judge what other people are wearing. I think people who sell fakes, like on ebay and claim that they are real deserve to be arrested, but not people who simply wear them. Also, a lot of fakes claim to be "LV inspired" or w/e and I think that's fine for sellers as long as they aren't passiing it off as the real thing

 

[Cruella]

I refuse to buy fakes not because I care about the original designer - they aren't going hungry, believe me - but because those fakes are made in sweatshops in this country & overseas.

 

[lianna]

For me, I would say that it depends. If I had the money to get the real stuff, I definitely wouldn't buy fakes but being a student means that I really can't afford a lot of the stuff top designers put out. I have bought fakes before, because I really liked the design of some of the bags/wallets.

But in a way, I suppose the mentality is different from the US/Europe. Here in Asia, it's so easy to get your hands on really good fakes and everyone buys fakes so in my opinion, it's ok to buy fakes, even though I do know that I shouldn't actually be doing that.