Why Do People Buy Fake Designer Bags Or Fake Designer Anything?

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#2,086
I thought of this thread the other night! My husband and I were having dinner with his Aunt and Uncle. His aunt was telling us how she went to New York City for the first time to visit a friend there and as they were out and about her friend told her "You have to see the knock-off handbags here, you haven't truly done New York if you haven't shopped for a knock-off!" So his aunt who is very straight laced and wouldn't spend the money on any brand name handbag decided to just have fun and go for it. She said a lady came up to them and directed them actually down an ally and into the back of her van and she was wondered what the heck she had gotten herself into. Her friend kept saying..no it's ok, you're going to be fine. She thought she might have to buy a handbag just to get out of there safely, she wasn't afraid of the woman herself but said anyone could have hopped in the front seat of that van and she couldn't believe she was doing something so foolish. As it ended up, the woman just showed them all the bags in the back of the van (windows were boarded up) and her friend and this lady haggled on price and her friend ended up getting one for $20 that was originally offered to them for $100. So both got out of the van and were back on the streets of NY safe and sound. This whole story was told to us in a way that I could see she found the whole thing very exciting, a little scary but fun too. Normally this is a woman that lives by the rules - doesn't smoke, curse, drink, she's an elementary school teacher.

I found this to be just a little insight into those that enjoy shopping for fakes, I bet most think nothing of it at all. Thought I'd share. :)

Linda
 
#2,088
My bf's dumb mother did get in a van when she went to NY. She brought back the worst fakes ever. The sad thing is her friends actually bought them off of her :shocked: She then tried to tell me how she looooooooved shopping on Fifth Ave as if i'm going to believe they came from there. lol
 
#2,089
I agree with all the pros and cons to fake and real handbags. I have a share of both.
I can def tell though with the fakes they dont last as long as the real designer handbags..but I do have to say I love the price of the good fake ones. :)
 
#2,090
I must lead a sheltered life in the west of Ireland! I have never been to a purse party or been lured into a handbag van. The fake bags I see are the ones being worn by people in the street. I don't think anyone here gives a damn about handbag authenticity, and I'm sure a lot of people track down fake bags at holiday resorts abroad. A woman I know told me Turkey was great for fake Prada. She was a liitle embarrassed when she noticed my authentic Prada sitting on the table. Minutes before she had been trying to convince me how great her Turkish Prada was, for 40 euros.
 
#2,092
hamid said:
I agree but designers such as dooney or guess are soooo not original. they copy designer such as gucci or LV. I just think having a brandless name bag is your best way to go.

I just want to say that as fake and nasty as fakes are some just cant aford the real deal. I mean how could you bring yourself to paying 2000$ on a bag when you dont have money for rent. for some the fake is as close as they will ever get to the real deal. I feel soo bad for them:tdown::tdown::tdown:
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Honestly, to feel bad for someone because they can't afford a "real" handbag sounds silly to me. I feel sorry for someone who has a serious illness, lost a job, etc. But for having to buy a fake? No. People all have different priorities and many people who can afford the "real deal" choose not to. No need to feel badly for them.
 
#2,093
There is nothing wrong with buying handbags that are not designer and didn't cost a fortune, I just can't condone people buying fakes because they can't afford the real thing. Not only do fake bags constitute a violation of intellectual property rights, they were in all likelihood made by an impoverised, abused child working all day in a sweatshop in a third world country when they should be going to school instead. The workers making fakes can only expect to earn $1 a day if they're lucky, a lot less than an ignorant Westerner can expect to pay for a fake. Guess where all the profits go? They go towards money laundering, human trafficking, prostitution, terrorism, drug trafficking, to name but a few! It's not "elitist" to criticise the ignorant masses who buy fakes and are proud of it - because fakes are illegal and unethical.
 
#2,094
Good post Arienne.

Unfortunately there are those who simply will not be convinced of the evils that fakes support. They want "proof"...and they want it all wrapped up and dropped in their laps in a format of their own choosing. It's not something they want to look for on their own, because it doesn't support their views.

Plenty of supporting evidence for what you stated is available all over this forum, all over the internet, and also in the fact that fakes are illegal, but there are none so blind as those who simply choose not to see.

I don't think it is "elitist" to criticize those who condone crime and help criminals either.
 
#2,095
heather123 said:
I must lead a sheltered life in the west of Ireland! I have never been to a purse party or been lured into a handbag van. The fake bags I see are the ones being worn by people in the street. I don't think anyone here gives a damn about handbag authenticity, and I'm sure a lot of people track down fake bags at holiday resorts abroad. A woman I know told me Turkey was great for fake Prada. She was a liitle embarrassed when she noticed my authentic Prada sitting on the table. Minutes before she had been trying to convince me how great her Turkish Prada was, for 40 euros.
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^Too true! Connacht might be the least bag-minded place on earth. Some people I talked with were totally baffled by the notion of "fake bag", as if it was a practical joke: something what looks like a bag but isn't. Like a plastic banana or those water-squirting 'cameras', KWIM. Either you can't put your stuff into it or it falls out at the bottom.
I think a lot of people don't give a damn toss about bags' provenance - they seem to believe that all bags are made in some big, abstract, faraway "bag factory" churning out little bags, big bags, red bags, Prada bags, Primark bags, monogrammed bags, blue bags, leather bags, LV bags, plasticky bags, black bags, & so forth & so forth. (I'm not making it up! :D)
 
#2,096
Absolutely. I don't think it is elitist to disagree with behavior that is wrong. Stealing from the designer is still stealing regardless of whether said designer is rich or not.


new.old.bag said:
Good post Arienne.

Unfortunately there are those who simply will not be convinced of the evils that fakes support. They want "proof"...and they want it all wrapped up and dropped in their laps in a format of their own choosing. It's not something they want to look for on their own, because it doesn't support their views.

Plenty of supporting evidence for what you stated is available all over this forum, all over the internet, and also in the fact that fakes are illegal, but there are none so blind as those who simply choose not to see.

I don't think it is "elitist" to criticize those who condone crime and help criminals either.
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#2,098
lawdhavmercyjesus! i have truly seen it all now! WOW! - I have to copy these photos to my facebook...

IFFAH said:
When you have the car, you need a matching house too.;)

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#2,099
I understand where people are coming from when talking about the legal aspect, but personally I couldn't care less what bags people are wearing. A few friends of mine had bought replicas from thebagaddiction while it was still around, and although the bags looked flawless I still knew they were fake and they paid $300 for them, so it seemed ridiculous to me to use that much money on a fake when I could put it towards an authentic bag.

That being sad, it's people's personal choices. Often fakes are ugly, but sometimes so are the authentic bags so that isn't really a great answer as to why someone shouldn't wear them.
 
#2,100
I just want to say that the idea of fake bags always being of rubbishy quality is something of an urban myth. A couple of years ago my DH inadvertently bought me a fake Balenciaga City he had been told was genuine. I carried the bag for some time before learning of its true history. But honestly, that bag was of beautiful quality, stitching and workmanship-wise. I have a hard time believing it was made by exploited children in some third-world industrial hell-hole. Why not just some regular leather workers making unauthorized bags and contravening copyright laws?
 
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