Stuck with a superfake... what would you do with it?

[Sheikha Latifa]

+1
Or, if not a maid, then someone who would just use it as any other plain handbag

Agree.
I'm also in Dubai and I know that 80% of the population here come from the areas where a bag is just a bag, not a brand.

My maid is sending everything back home, to her daughter. Money, canned food, my old clothes.
So, will I destroy a bag, fake or not, or give it to the girl who survives on what she gets from my family?
#richmensworldsproblems

 

[ksuromax]

Agree.
I'm also in Dubai and I know that 80% of the population here come from the areas where a bag is just a bag, not a brand.

My maid is sending everything back home, to her daughter. Money, canned food, my old clothes.
So, will I destroy a bag, fake or not, or give it to the girl who survives on what she gets from my family?
#richmensworldsproblems

Same here

 

[Mariapia]

Agree.
I'm also in Dubai and I know that 80% of the population here come from the areas where a bag is just a bag, not a brand.

My maid is sending everything back home, to her daughter. Money, canned food, my old clothes.
So, will I destroy a bag, fake or not, or give it to the girl who survives on what she gets from my family?
#richmensworldsproblems

I perfectly understand what you mean, Sheika Latifa.
I go to Dubai twice a year, take the Metro every day and see lots of ladies carrying counterfeits.
In some places, I regularly come across young men offering me ". Rolex" or Gucci copies.
They leave me alone when I tell them I am French....They know about French laws.

 

[QuelleFromage]

just remove branding elements and donate it. it's a counterfeit, not a cursed item. there are lots of people in need.

 

[jellyv]

Donating or selling it clearly stating it's a replica (is that even legal though?) could be problematic

Selling a counterfeit is indeed illegal, probably everywhere, but check your country's laws.

I agree with the idea of donating it only, but first obliterating any branding markings. If that's not possible, you can Sharpie pen over the branded part so that there's no potential for duping anyone down the line.

 

[Sparkletastic]

Agree.
I'm also in Dubai and I know that 80% of the population here come from the areas where a bag is just a bag, not a brand.

My maid is sending everything back home, to her daughter. Money, canned food, my old clothes.
So, will I destroy a bag, fake or not, or give it to the girl who survives on what she gets from my family?
#richmensworldsproblems

Same here

I get what you two are saying. I really do. It's a kind and honorable thing to help others. More people should think in this way.

And, offering this thought with the softest of approaches: perhaps the better option is to pay the maids, butlers, servants, etc. a wage where they don't desperately "need" the bag. I say this as someone who grew up hearing the harsh stories of my grandma who was the below poverty level maid receiving cast offs before she was able to get her undergraduate and graduate degrees later in life and do better.

And, I say this as someone who has household help who very likely couldn't live well off just what we and their other clients pay them. So again, absolutely no fault being thrown in any direction. These are complex issues that can be touched on but certainly not solved on a fun purse forum.

My comments and thoughts on this issue were really more pinpoint focused on the issue of copyright infringement. I'd hate to see the bag get recirculated because it supports an industry of theft. So, any and all happy solutions that don't allow for that possibility would be what I'd want for the bag.

 

[Sheikha Latifa]

And, offering this thought with the softest of approaches: perhaps the better option is to pay the maids, butlers, servants, etc. a wage where they don't desperately "need" the bag. I say this as someone who grew up hearing the harsh stories of my grandma who was the below poverty level maid receiving cast offs before she was able to get her undergraduate and graduate degrees later in life and do better.

And, I say this as someone who has household help who very likely couldn't live well off just what we and their other clients pay them. So again, absolutely no fault being thrown in any direction. :

Unfortunately, me paying a decent salary to my maid (and my driver and my gardener) doesn't solve the problem of poverty in their countries. My maid is doing well paying her daughter's university fees and finishing the construction of a new house. But half of her country was destroyed by a natural disaster. And there is a huge family of cousins, nieces etc. They would gratefully accept a bag without checking its authenticity or circulating it further as a brand item

I must admit, they get infected by the "brandophilia" pretty quickly upon arriving to Dubai which is a huge market of fakes. But back there, a bag is still just a bag.

 

[zoethecat]

just remove branding elements and donate it. it's a counterfeit, not a cursed item. there are lots of people in need.

I'd hate to see the bag get recirculated because it supports an industry of theft. So, any and all happy solutions that don't allow for that possibility would be what I'd want for the bag.

I couldn't agree more! since it's an Antigona (an Anti-antigona?) I'll look into having the triangle pad removed and the inside label. Or repurposing the leather somehow because that was a supercool idea from Mariapia. My biggest concern is eliminating the possibility of additional fraud and to not be wasteful.

I'm a TPF newbie and this was my first thread. I loved reading all your thoughts (keep 'em coming!), what an awesome community!