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

[slowlikehoney]

I think they just don't care about bags as much as we do. I have a friend who has a fake bag that her mom gave her. Anytime anyone compliments it or mentions it she shrugs and says it's a fake right away. It's just something to put her stuff in to her. She's just not a purse person. She's not longing for an authentic anything or trying to pretend she's fancier than she is. She's not a dishonest person at all. In fact, she's almost too honest most of the time. To her it's just a bag, not anything to get excited or worked up over. She finds my bag obsession amusing.
She's a single mom with a teacher's salary. She's got more important things to worry about than whether her purse is legitimate or not.
And really it's no one else's business...

 

[bagee]

I think they just don't care about bags as much as we do. I have a friend who has a fake bag that her mom gave her. Anytime anyone compliments it or mentions it she shrugs and says it's a fake right away. It's just something to put her stuff in to her. She's just not a purse person. She's not longing for an authentic anything or trying to pretend she's fancier than she is. She's not a dishonest person at all. In fact, she's almost too honest most of the time. To her it's just a bag, not anything to get excited or worked up over. She finds my bag obsession amusing.
She's a single mom with a teacher's salary. She's got more important things to worry about than whether her purse is legitimate or not.
And really it's no one else's business...

^^^^^this exactly!

 

[Tropigal3]

I think they just don't care about bags as much as we do. I have a friend who has a fake bag that her mom gave her. Anytime anyone compliments it or mentions it she shrugs and says it's a fake right away. It's just something to put her stuff in to her. She's just not a purse person. She's not longing for an authentic anything or trying to pretend she's fancier than she is. She's not a dishonest person at all. In fact, she's almost too honest most of the time. To her it's just a bag, not anything to get excited or worked up over. She finds my bag obsession amusing.
She's a single mom with a teacher's salary. She's got more important things to worry about than whether her purse is legitimate or not.
And really it's no one else's business...

I have a friend who is the same way. She could care less about if a bag is real or fake. If she likes it and it's affordable to her she'll buy it.

I couldn't bring myself to ever buy fake designer stuff after reading something in Vogue (years ago) about it and the child laborers who are pretty much enslaved to make some of the stuff.

 

[Jaclyn Espinas]

some people are tricked, and really think it.is real.

the ones who knowingly buy it us because they don't want to spend their money, but they want to look like they did.they want people to know they have good,taste, that,they know about more high fashion than the stuff available at their income level.

the same reason people stuff a cheap above ground pool in the backyard during summer....it may not be real but it gets the job done.and its still impressive to some people!

I think some of them just wants to show that they own and IT bag or have a fashion statement

Some others probably love their bags too much they own real ones and carry the fake ones out cos they don't want to spoilt it LOL

 

[Amandarin]

While I own many real authentic handbags (Miu Miu, Chanel tote, Gucci, coach, mbmj, etc...) I recently bought a bag inspired by the Celine phantom. It's got NO logo (nothing with the words Celine on it) and I have no shame carrying it. I LOVE the phantom, but realistically it's not in my cards right now. And I know the motto is 'save up!' But that too, isn't possible and I want to enjoy the style while I like it. While I would never buy a bag that marketed itself explicitly as a company (a la fake Louis WITH the logos, etc...) I can't imagine judging someone over it. Sure I may scuff a little but does that make them less of a person to respect? No.

I find that in a lot of these comments people have the better then thou mentality. There's a lot of people who are 'disgusted' by fakes and say they 'make them sick' but you're most likely a hypocrite. I'm sure most people have pirated movies, music, Ebooks, ANYTHING you were suppose to pay for and didn't. Why is theirs a bigger issue than this issue?

Also, the child labor thing. Many people would be surprised HOW many products are made in a similar fashion.

 

[Amandarin]

Mah, my sister ha a replica~ look alike of the chloe Marcie, and she's had it for QUITE some time, and beat it around... And it's still together. Not every bag is one that decomposes after a month - you'd be surprised.

I wanted a beater bag for study abroad as I'm nervous about my expensive ones, thus the Celine phantom look alike

 

[Amandarin]

Also, it completely depends on the person carrying said bag - most people automatically think a scrubby person carrying a bag is fake, yet most likely if I was dressed to the nines and carrying a fake - most people wouldn't think twice

 

[sweetmags]

I don't like fake. If you can't afford a Hermes bag or a Chanel bag, go for some other bags that you can afford. There are tons of nice bags in mid price range. Why buy a fake bag to show to world to ruin yourself! I don't understand those ppl who buy fake bags either! I like a lot of nice quality bag w nice design in mid price range such as Alexander Wang, Tory Burch, Marc by Marc Jacob, or 3.1 Phillip Lim.

 

[doreenjoy]

Also, the child labor thing. Many people would be surprised HOW many products are made in a similar fashion.

Yes, including the Iphone.

 

[All Smiles]

IMO it all comes down to personal preference and circumstance. It's like asking why do people (not of the same religion as you) follow another religion. Doesn't make them right or wrong.

Yes there is ethical issues which need to be addressed but my general thoughts on it is that those who wear fakes fall into the following;

- they honestly don't know it is a fake, it's happened, I've read threads here of people being ripped off into purchasing what they thought was genuine.
- they can't justify spending the money. I guess same applies to allot of things for example, I cant justify buying a BMW because for the same price I can buy a top of the line, with all the trimmings and gadgets car from a non-luxe car manufacture and for me, spending that kind of money on a fast depreciating asset when I'm probably going to dispose of it in 5 years isn't worth it. Does it make me cheap, no. People of this mind set either try to pass it as real or don't really care if people know its a knock off.
- people who don't care what brand it's supposed to look like and bought it because it looks nice. I fell into this category when i was about 13, I went to vietnam bought a bag, didn't even know what Louis Vuitton was.

It does aggravate those who appreciate the brand and what it stands for, it's history and craftsmanship and it also brings up the ethical issue of counterfeits ruining the brand, funding organized crimes and terrorism.

On an individual basis, who are we to judge the decisions that other people make? With every decision you make there is an ethical dilemma. The best thing we can do as enthusiast/collectors/appreciators is be mindful of our own choices.

 

[Lawseenai]

IMO it all comes down to personal preference and circumstance. It's like asking why do people (not of the same religion as you) follow another religion. Doesn't make them right or wrong.

Yes there is ethical issues which need to be addressed but my general thoughts on it is that those who wear fakes fall into the following;

- they honestly don't know it is a fake, it's happened, I've read threads here of people being ripped off into purchasing what they thought was genuine.
- they can't justify spending the money. I guess same applies to allot of things for example, I cant justify buying a BMW because for the same price I can buy a top of the line, with all the trimmings and gadgets car from a non-luxe car manufacture and for me, spending that kind of money on a fast depreciating asset when I'm probably going to dispose of it in 5 years isn't worth it. Does it make me cheap, no. People of this mind set either try to pass it as real or don't really care if people know its a knock off.
- people who don't care what brand it's supposed to look like and bought it because it looks nice. I fell into this category when i was about 13, I went to vietnam bought a bag, didn't even know what Louis Vuitton was.

It does aggravate those who appreciate the brand and what it stands for, it's history and craftsmanship and it also brings up the ethical issue of counterfeits ruining the brand, funding organized crimes and terrorism.

On an individual basis, who are we to judge the decisions that other people make? With every decision you make there is an ethical dilemma. The best thing we can do as enthusiast/collectors/appreciators is be mindful of our own choices.

Hmmm... I think in your example here, the person who cannot justify spending money on BMW will buy Honda. This is completely ok because the person who does not want to buy an LV purse may opt for a Guess bag instead. This is different from wearing fakes though. To use your example, they would buy a Honda and change the logo at the front and rear end to say BMW.

 

[slowlikehoney]

^^^
True.
But I'm also pretty sure that if it were as easy to make fake cars as it is to make fake bags, a lot of people would buy those too.

Anyway, the fact is, if you don't understand why people do what they do, it's probably because you're not that person and you don't know what that person's circumstances and life journey has been. It's easy to say, "I would never do that!" But you're thinking of yourself as you are now with your own life story and circumstances. You can't really, honestly put yourself in someone else's shoes.

That's why it's really no one else's business or concern why people do what they do unless it's directly effecting your life in some negative way.

You can't say it's not right for people to judge you for paying too much for bags and suggesting you shop where they shop and buy what they buy and then turn around and say, that someone else should only be allowed to buy the bags you think they should buy based on what you think their lifestyle should be. I mean, you can, but it's ridiculous.

 

[RitaMarie]

I find that in a lot of these comments people have the better then thou mentality. There's a lot of people who are 'disgusted' by fakes and say they 'make them sick' but you're most likely a hypocrite. I'm sure most people have pirated movies, music, Ebooks, ANYTHING you were suppose to pay for and didn't. Why is theirs a bigger issue than this issue?

This is EXACTLY why i personally would never carry a fake bag and could not condone it. I teach technology and math to middle school and high school students. I explicitly teach copyright laws, patents, and fair use. I DO NOT priate movies, eBooks, or anything else, and I CANNOT carry a fake bag. I can't in good conscience tell my kids to do one thing and fail to uphold myself to those standards. It would be like being a drug rehab councilor with a drug habit - really NOT OK...

 

[RitaMarie]

-- people who don't care what brand it's supposed to look like and bought it because it looks nice. I fell into this category when i was about 13, I went to vietnam bought a bag, didn't even know what Louis Vuitton was.

This is definitely me! I needed something to carry my stuff and the small no-name leather crossbody bag I was using was starting to get embarrassing. I found a leather bag of the right general shape, size, material and color in a thrift store and dropped a whopping $5. It looked nice and did the job. Then I noticed that it said "Fossil" on it and I vaguely recognized it as a brand. I'm an obssessive compulsive researcher so I looked it up and learned that I had a fake Fossil. Now, I felt like I had a nice, pretty bag that I could NOT, in good conscience, use.

So I spent a BUNCH of time researching brands and how to recognise real from fake. And next thing I knew I was analyzing serial numbers and filling closet shelves with handbags. And now I have a little purse problem

 

[RitaMarie]

Begs a new question: What do you do if you inadvertently end up with a fake bag? You 've purchase something you thought was real and can't return it... or you have a fake bag from a time in yourlife when you did not know better or care...

And now you DO know better, and you DO care. What happens to the bag?