Fakes - not in France!

Alidoll

Alidoll

O.G.
Apr 23, 2007
1,238
31
#1
Found an article about Hermes in Australia (it was an old one from several years ago) but it did have something I never knew..


In France, fakes can be seized from ordinary consumers at the border and on the street with a fine of up to twice the retail value of the original. The maximum penalty is three years' jail. Those considered part of a larger operation risk a maximum €300,000 fine ($515,000) and 10 years' jail. :wtf:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/fashion/branded-as-luxury-fans/2006/07/05/1151779017031.html?page=2

Crumbs!! So, unless you've bought your goods from the branded shop (or have proof that the item is authentic), leave it at home if you intend to travel to Paris!!

[warning for those who have bought something from Ebay for example]. :rolleyes:
 
#2
i hear stuff like this all the time, maybe where i am the law is a bit relaxed but i have never seen or heard anyone be prosecuted of fined for a fake, or even selling a fake. Aside from the random ones you hear on the net where huge masses of counterfeit goods are seized. This the police have more important issues to deal with (not that i want to start a debate or argument) The police will be unable to trace back where the bag was originally created by who and what conditions etc. all they can do i slap them with a fine or momentary jail. I would honestly prefer to seen rapists, drug dealers, thieves, murders, pedophiles etc. behind bars that a fake merchant. Not that in anyway am i justifying what they are doing but i think there are more important threats and dangers out there to be sorted.
 
#3
NM, they're not talking about the normal police. They're talking about the border guards and they ARE quite sharp when it comes to counterfeits. If they border guards catch you with a counterfeit bag, they're going t fine the current owner and of course destroy the bag.
 
#4
While I'm glad at least some law enforcement agencies can and are doing something about fakes, I think it's useless just to slap the buyers with a fine. Some fakes are done so well a buyer who doesn't know the brand intimately will not be able to tell. IMO you need to eliminate the supplier, and not just go after the end-user. Many of them have been cheated too.
 
#5
pyrexia said:
While I'm glad at least some law enforcement agencies can and are doing something about fakes, I think it's useless just to slap the buyers with a fine. Some fakes are done so well a buyer who doesn't know the brand intimately will not be able to tell. IMO you need to eliminate the supplier, and not just go after the end-user. Many of them have been cheated too.
Click to expand...

Exactly..how many websites are there that sell "Hermes inspired" bags that come with "authentic" dustbag and box etc. If I remember correctly, there should be 17 clear differences between the original and the "inspired" one. How many of these sites actually show the differences? (none that I've found anyway!). So, unless it specifically states it's a copy, the buyer may think they are getting a genuine bag at a great price - just to be treated like a criminal at border controls!
 
#6
I have heard of stories of tourist carrying fake bags arriving at Frankfurt airport and they were invited into a room and their fake bags confiscated. Personally, I had not seen so I wouldn't know if they give them a plastic/trash bag for their stuff since they no longer have bags :sweatdrop:
 
#7
What I wonder is this...a friend's daughter sells to boutique. The bags she sells are "inspired". How does she import them? Doesn't anyone watch for these? When she told me I didn't know quite what to say. Is there really such a huge market for knock offs? Yuck.
 
#8
Alidoll said:
Exactly..how many websites are there that sell "Hermes inspired" bags that come with "authentic" dustbag and box etc. If I remember correctly, there should be 17 clear differences between the original and the "inspired" one. How many of these sites actually show the differences? (none that I've found anyway!). So, unless it specifically states it's a copy, the buyer may think they are getting a genuine bag at a great price - just to be treated like a criminal at border controls!
Click to expand...

I disagree. If you buy fakes or 'inspired' bags, in 99.9% you know what you are doing: buying a lookalike, a fake. I therefore think that the buyer SHOULD be held responsible as well because if there were no market for fake bags, there wouldn't be any fake bags.
 
#9
There are sites that are REALLY hard to find the words "inspired" and to all intensive purposes the bag looks genuine. And what about EBAY? If the seller says it's authentic with receipt etc..until it arrives you just can't tell (there are loads of horror stories of people paying massive sums for what they believe to be the genuine article, only to find it's a really good fake). That's why there is a thread here for authenticating Hermes!
 
#10
Example, I've just purchased a Evelyne bag from a reseller (who is on the "approved" list here). Now, the photos look good, it says it's the real deal etc but until it arrives I have to wait and see if it IS the genuine article (I'm sure it is but there will always be a worry).

I went to a reputable reseller..but even they can be fooled on occasion...the fakers are one small step behind the genuine article..
 
#11
Fair enough, in that case - should the bag turn out to be a fake (which I believe it won't) you belong to the 0.1% of people who genuinely believe they buy the real thing and pay the appropriate price for it.

With ebay you at least in theory have the ebay system behind you.

All the other gizillion people out there buying a Birkin for USD 500, they know exactly what they are doing.

I repeat: if there were no market, there would be no counterfeits.
 
#12
I think that article is a bit OTT. The only case in which I can see someone requiring to travel with the bag's paperwork is if it is an exotic skin (the CITES certificate)

If the bag is indeed authentic, one should have no bones about saying "Get this authenticated by a Hermes craftsperson at 24 Faubourg, I'll wait here. Now bring me a latte and get me a phone, I'll call the consulate and my lawyer." Or something to that effect.
(But then again, I am a b*tch :P )

And they are talking about Customs at all borders. Regular police couldn't care less what bag you carry. Nor can they tell, unless they have a personal interest in bags ;)

Hope that helps allay fears about travelling with an Hermes bag to France ;)
 
#14
What really drives me nuts...no one who buys fake bags seems to consider that they are protecting child labor. Do they think about the sweat shops they were made in? That they can be part of money laundering schemes? (on second thought, maybe it's a good thing that the Soprano's had the last episode.) Sorry, this is starting to sound like a rant...it just drives me nuts!
 
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