I got scolded for pointing out a fake!

mayrain1

O.G.
Nov 1, 2006
157
0
Wow, some people have real nerve. I was on the North Shore (of Chicago) earlier today meeting a friend for coffee, and as I was walking to the coffee shop I passed by a little boutique. I did a bit of a double take, because out of the corner of my eye, I saw not one, but TWO fake Balenciagas in the WINDOW!!! Horrors!

They were terrible! Really square bales and stiff, ugly leather. One of them was a terrible green that Balenciaga never even made. I stood there for a while in awe of how horrible they were. Finally I went inside.

I told the SA, who from what I gathered also ran/owned the boutique, that the Balenciagas in the window were definitely fakes. She then got really nervous, and asked why I was bringing it up, and if I WORKED for Balenciaga. When I said I didn't, she became really rude and huffy and said that they were priced too low for anyone to assume they were real - so she wasn't doing anything wrong. I guess her FEAR of being sued by Balenciaga subsided when I said I didn't work for them.

Huh? Am I crazy? Isn't it illegal to sell an exact replica even if you don't claim it's real? And these were *exact* (albeit bad) replicas, not just imitations of the moto style.

Yucky! They also had a Paddington in the window...but I'm not terribly familiar with Chloes so I can't really say if it was real.

P.S. In retrospect, I wish I'd taken a picture with my cell phone for you guys!
 
What did you expect? :rolleyes:

You should've contacted the police or Balenciaga company or something. This would be like pointing out to a pickpocket that his goods are stolen.
 
Oh well. She never claimed it was real. She is still making a bundle I suppose as the Chloe and B fakes can be had for as little as USD10 if you get them in China or Bangkok. To each their own. There are many willing buyers who want to buy less for a "replica", copyright, fraud issues aside. If they want to carry rubbish then so be it. I see fakes everywhere and there are 3 B fakes in my office! There's got to be willing sellers and willing buyers to get the dirty deal sealed!
The ones I pity are the ones who get conned that they got a deal too good to be true!
 
somepoeple does have nerves...
i got scolded on ebay because i pulled my bid because the weekender is fake.
and she was being so rude saying things like i'm obsessed with balenciaga :wtf: i was going to pay 900$! how am i not allowed to be obsessed if hers was fake or not?
 
I saw a fake Bbag at a high end consignment store and told the manager it was fake. It had the big ugly square bales and disgusting hard plastic leather. The manager said I was wrong~ it's not fake b/c the lady that consigned her bag would never do that! LOL
 
I saw a fake Bbag at a high end consignment store and told the manager it was fake. It had the big ugly square bales and disgusting hard plastic leather. The manager said I was wrong~ it's not fake b/c the lady that consigned her bag would never do that! LOL


i've been in the same situatuon too zac... but when i pointed out how to differentiate the fakes and real, the consignment shops owner thanked me because she understand her business on trusts and honesty. and now whenever i come, they called me the balenciaga queen LOL
 
I'm not surprised by her reaction.

I do feel bad that someone may not know how much Balenciaga's cost & therefore think they're getting the real deal. When I didn't know much about Bbags I thought the first sold for about $350, so I wouldn't have known better.
 
Good for you for saying something! I'm sure the SA was shocked that someone would be so direct about it - most people probably either knowingly buy the fakes or don't really want to know the truth, KWIM?

If you feel strongly about it, maybe you could report them to the Better Business Bureau or something? Or to Balenciaga directly? I'm not sure how these things work.
 
There are fakes in stores all over Chicago. I've seen them alot in independent clothing stores and in salons. I was in a consignment store in Lake Forest one day when the guy came in hawking the fakes for the owners, who bought several "Coach" bags. In this shop they do indicate on the tags that they are "replicas."

Let's face it, if the designer industry was really serious about cracking down on the fakes, they wouldn't have difficulty locating them. It's obviously not in their financial interest to do so.
 
Did the bag say Balenciaga on it? If not, it is not illegal to sell the bag. Although many might disagree and might not like it(such as me), you can not copyright a bag. So even if a company made a bag that looked identical to balenciaga but didnt put a tag on it that said balenciaga, that is not breaking any laws...intellectual property is such a weird concept
 
some people just live in la-la land (also known as counterfeit land) and prefer to "not care" that their bags are Fake...they like to call them "knock-offs" or even worse, homage-bags!!! :yucky: I hate fakes...they are fugly and they bring the value of our authentic bags DOWN :mad: So I have no problem in pointing out to ppl the difference between real and fake bbags...KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!! :idea:
 
It depends on how litigious the "real" (e.g., Balenciaga, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc.) manufacturer is. However, happened to see this ... about an eBay seller who was jailed for selling counterfeit goods:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=40481&in_page_id=34

I have also heard (although it has never happened to me since I don't buy the crap in the first place) that both the French & Italian governments are really cracking down on counterfeits ... especially as travelers enter/leave the country (France/Italy). When overseas, I like to keep up by reading the International Herald Tribune. The IHT has had numerous articles on counterfeit goods and how Europe (especially France & Italy) are dealing with them. For instance:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/03/features/RFAKE.php
 
However, I think the BEST article that I've seen on this topic is the one on the web page below: http://henriettashandbags.com/fake_designer_handbags.html

How buying fake designer handbags can harm you and impact on our economy.

According to the New York Times (June 4, 2004), approximately 17 men were arrested in a "sting" to catch sellers of replica handbags by famous designers. Smugglers paid one million dollars to undercover operatives posing as corrupt customs agents. Forty foot shipping containers were loaded with fake Louis Vuittons, Cartiers, and Gucci handbags made in factories in China. These purses were then sent to stores in Chinatown in New York City through ports in New Jersey, where custom officials received $50,000.00 each time a shipment was cleared.

Smuggling operations were conducted out of a storefront on Canal Street where a second, hidden back room was filled with designer fakes. The display wall in the "legitimate" store contained a remote controlled door leading to the secret storage filled with bags.

There is a difference between handbags that are obviously not an original. For example, there are the designer fakes that have an "LV" almost exactly mimicking a genuine Louis Vuitton and a purse that has different initials but a similar design. Usually, the craftsmanship is inferior in a knockoff designer bag - puckered seams, low quality leather, and large and uneven stitching. Another giveaway for fakes is the price. Real Louis Vuitton handbags sell for about $500.00 to $1,000.00 or more and a knockoff can be purchased for around $100.00 to $200.00 each. Also, if you buy your purse out of the truck of a car, you can pretty much bet it's not real!

Another raid was recently conducted in Connecticut at a local flea market in Wellingford. Nine people were arrested for selling counterfeit items including handbags and watches. A total of 4,483 items were seized. A raid recently took place in Dallas, Texas and $250,000.00 in goods were confiscated. This store has over $100,000.00 in sales per month!

So what harm does it do to purchase a fake designer handbag? There are a multitude of reasons to NOT buy knockoffs, beginning with the fact that we, as taxpayers, carry the burden for this tax-free business. According to government sources, 200 billion is approximately the amount that counterfeiters do not pay - this means that honest taxpayers make up the difference!

Another reason is organized crime. By purchasing a designer fake, we are supporting illegal activity. There is even some evidence that part of the money for bombing the World Trade Center came from the sale of counterfeit goods. There is also documentation that these purses are made by child laborers in unsafe conditions.

How do smugglers get around the law? One way is for designer fake handbags to be imported without the labels. Customs will not seize these purses without the designer labels because then there is no proof. The tags are then added on the goods in this country. Fines of not more than $250,000.00 and no more than 5 years in jail await these smugglers. The profits range in millions of dollars per years.

If you want to help stop counterfeiters, you can report these replica handbags at the genuine websites of all the handbag designers such as Coach, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Dior, Gucci, etc.