New and need some help

[Kelli]

Hello everyone! I have been a lurker for several months and ordered the medium khaki/choc Carly and received her yesterday! I am thrilled and love her already!

Here is my dilemma... My sister and best friend are now envious that I am the proud owner of a Coach (I may have bragged a little, but who wouldn't!) They are now on the hunt for a cheap Coach fake! Yes fake! Because they don't want to pay anything more then $100. My sister has been bidding on fakes on eBay and I just went into her account and retracted her bid, with her permission of course. We have an outlet 1 hour away and me and my best friend are planning on going Friday (pending the 4-8" of snow we are supposed to get Thur. night). I told my sister her and I can go on Feb. 10, as they are open on Sundays. My sister asked me to find a good fake for her on eBay! I asked her why would you want a fake? If you want to buy a Coach, buy it because of the craftsmanship, durability, guarantee, it's beauty, and because you love it, not just because it says Coach (that's why she thinks she'd be happy with a fake, because it says Coach). I've told her anyone that knows Coach will know her bag is fake so I am trying to help lead her in the way of buying authentic. I would rather her not buy a Coach at all, then to buy a fake, especially since she is doing it just because I bought one. Now my friend on the other hand, is wanting to go to a "purse party". I told her those are all fakes, so hopefully when we go to the outlet she will see something she will fall in love with and not go to the purse party, lol.

What else can I say or do to get these girls to either buy an authentic Coach or none at all?

Thank you and I this forum and my new Carly!!!

 

[Mrs. MC]

Direct both of them to this forum and have them read the threads on where we totally bash and report fakes ! You are doing the right thing ! oh and welcome !

 

[impulsebuyer]

There's a reason "Goach" and "gauche" are so similar - refer her to Webster-Merriam:

Main Entry: gauche Pronunciation: \&#712;g&#333;sh\ Function: adjective Inflected Form(s): sometimes gauch·er; sometimes gauch·est Etymology: French, literally, left Date: 1751 1 a: lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude <it would be gauche to mention the subject> b: crudely made or done

I think this is applicable to all the fakes out there- Goach's, Foach's, whatever. AND - why spend $30-50 on a fake which will fall apart AND look silly to everyone when you can spend $250 on a real Coach and it will lase you a lifetime? She's young, I assume - tell her the old adage is true, you get what you pay for. (And you are what you wear) I do hope she makes the right choice. Carrying a real wristlet would be far better than a fake anything...build slowly.

 

[Kelli]

My sister is actually 33 so you'd think she'd realize "you get what you pay for" is true. I told her if she gets a "Goach" I will not be seen with her while she's wearing it! I hope that once she sees my new Carly IRL she'll fall in love with her and be set on getting authentic Coach

 

[cupcake]

Would they care if you told them about all of the illegal activities funded by the counterfeit handbag market? It has been proven over and over again that fake bags are made in sweat shops, sometimes by children, and the proceeds fund terrorism, drugs and other horrible things. Who wants to carry a bag that supports those things? Aside from fake bags being incredibly tacky and cheap, you are telling the world that you support criminals and terrorists by carrying one. No thanks.

LONDON, Consumers are being warned that the innocent purchases of counterfeit products from Internet sites and markets are funding terrorist and criminal organizations, including Al-Qaeda, the Mafia and the IRA. The sale of these fake goods, ranging from "designer" clothes to power tools to pharmaceutical products are directly linked to international terrorism and organized crime, according to Carratu International PLC, a leading investigator of intellectual property abuse.

Carratu International estimates that the global counterfeit market, which already accounts for 9% of world trade, will double in size over the next two years. Much of the increase will be due to sales from unregulated internet sites advertising fake goods.

"It does not have to be involve the sale of anything sinister," said Spencer Burgess, director of Carratu International's Intellectual Property Investigations division. "It's easy to make money from something as bland as a T-shirt. The perception many people have that counterfeiting is run by small groups that are just trying to make a few dollars on the side is completely misplaced. It is very much more organized and malicious."

Extensive enquiries by Carratu International have unearthed links between counterfeiting and Al-Qaeda, Hizbollah, the IRA, ETA, the Mafia, Chinese Triad gangs, the Japanese Yakuza crime syndicate, the Russian Mafia and drug cartels. Indeed, the recovery of Al-Qaeda training manuals had shown that the organization recommends the sale of counterfeit products to raise funds.

"The bogus clothes people are buying off the Internet might be helping to prop up terrorist or criminal gangs. Every major terrorist group in the world is into counterfeiting one way or another. It is a fairly straightforward way to raise funds." said Spencer Burgess.

Carratu International are particularly worried about the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceutical products. Research has shown that half the drugs currently obtained on the Internet were of dubious origin. Many were ineffective and some potentially dangerous. A recent study by the Spanish Consumers' Association had shown that a quarter of "e-pharmacies" sold medicines on the Internet illegally. Many counterfeit medicines were repackaged products that had outlasted their original shelf life.

"Only global regulation, such as the licensing of bona fida websites, could hope to bring the trade in counterfeit goods over the Internet under control." said Spencer Burgess "In the meantime, we would advise people to steer well clear of sits they do not know to be authorized by product manufacturers.