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

[jadeaymanalac]

For me buying designer items is never about showing how rich I am or how successful I am. I simply love well designed purses/shoes with good material and craftsmanship. Many people believe a $50 fake can look exactly the same as an authentic one. Trust me, they never look the same.

Same here. I don't buy real designer handbag to be a show off. I buy them because I like them and it give a satisfaction or feel of accomplishment when I got the bag I really want. My bag are like my medals of achievements of self-control, saving up and hard work. Buying fakes will give me that kind of feeling.

And you are right, a $50 knocks off will never be the same as the real deal and I am so happy I have learned that in very early age.

 

[*schmoo*]

People buy fakes probably ignorant of what exactly goes into the making of them.

"I remember walking into an assembly plant in Thailand a couple of years ago and seeing six or seven little children, all under 10 years old, sitting on the floor assembling counterfeit leather handbags,’ an investigator told me … ‘The owners had broken the children’s legs and tied the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn’t mend. [They] did it because the children said they wanted to go outside and play.’ ”

http://www.adnas.com/company-blog/child-victims-counterfeit-trade

 

[Drunk Shopper]

I'm guilty of buying a couple of fakes when I was younger (ie :: stupider) when I was in NYC. The "Tory burch" fell apart before I made it back to the subway - my "chanel" lost its clasp within the month. I felt really foolish not only for spending so much on something so cheap, but for thinking it would feel like the real thing. It felt like claiming something I hadn't earned! I could have gotten a nice small leather bag from a lesser known or newer designer for the same price (although the experience was bizarre and worth it).

That all being said, I won't be purchasing anything but the real deal from now on, but I have no problem with people buying designer "inspired" pieces. It's a good way to try out the trend without committing, and a celine luggage lookalike is hardly offensive as long as you're not trying to pass it off as the real deal. I'd prefer people just buy inspired pieces rather than counterfeits.

 

[annlouisegrace]

i think they choose fake handbags because the price ... but they forget about the quality. And that will make hurt themself one they, because it will broke quickly.

 

[Drunk Shopper]

I also read an interesting article about the markets - basically, those who buy fake bags will most likely never be the target market for the real ones. Which is another reason it doesn't really hurt the industry too badly. They're not going to buy authentic either way, whether fakes existed or not.

 

[hlia]

They want the look of it but cant afford the price. Either way, if rhey truly want a designer bag, they can start saving and just purchase one when they have enough money.

 

[snoflinga]

I also read an interesting article about the markets - basically, those who buy fake bags will most likely never be the target market for the real ones. Which is another reason it doesn't really hurt the industry too badly. They're not going to buy authentic either way, whether fakes existed or not.

I think one way fakes hurt the industry is that it devalues the real brand. If we look at LV, their damier and mono print style is copied on so many cheap bags in mall stores, that I'd side eye any LV bags with that print. I would be very careful with buying any bags from LV with that print for this reason. I don't buy fakes and wouldn't want anyone to think I did.

 

[barskin]

I've never understood this, but why do people insist on buying fake knock offs of designer anything, especially bags? In my opinion I could never get any satisfaction knowing that I was toting around a fake bag or fake watch or fake anything. If I can't afford to buy it, then I'd rather buy something in my price range instead of posing like I can afford something I can't.

Some people argue that they'd rather spend their money on something else like fixing their house or going on vacation, and would rather carry a knock off instead, and then have the nerve to make fun of people that buy the real thing. What they don't realize is that people that can usually afford a real $2,000 bag, can also afford to fix they're house and go on vacation too, without having to sacrifice one for the other...it's all relative.

Buying knock off bags and seeing women with knock offs doesn't make any sense. It's like a guy wearing a fake rolex, you just can't take him seriously, or respect him for that matter. I would rather see him wearing a timex...the same applies to women. If you can't afford the bag, stick to coach or kate spade or something, right? You're fooling no one but yourself, where's the satisifaction there?

Thoughts anyone? I don't mean to stir or churn, but I just had to!

I guess I agree with you, and I say this because I do have a few fake Vuittons, and I never use them. Why? Because I feel like an idiot actually carrying one. I have many gorgeous handbags that are quality bags, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, DKNY, Ralph Lauren an the like. They cost in the $300-400 range retail, and I get them on sale or at Marshalls or TJ's. I carry these bags, and I don't feel like a phony baloney putting on airs
I wish I could afford an LV vernis Alma or a Prada Luxe Tote. I can't. I just posted a picture of the Coach Madeline that I bought at Lord and Taylor for a really reduced price. If I can afford a real - and exquisite - Coach bag like that, why do I need to pretend to be anything else?

 

[Spoiledlttleldy]

People buy fakes probably ignorant of what exactly goes into the making of them.

http://www.adnas.com/company-blog/child-victims-counterfeit-trade

Watching this makes you heartsick. Anyone caught selling (or knowingly buying) fakes should have to sit through a documentary showing how horrible the counterfeit underworld really is. Anyone who would, after being made aware of the conditions under which these bags are made, still purchase even one should be slapped upside the head with a brick filled Walmart tote.

 

[barskin]

I have an addendum to my "fake" opinion. Sometimes a bag style is so old and iconic, like the Kelly, that it is made by other manufacturers. So that is my reasoning why I have no trouble with my Kelly "style" handbags. They don't say Hermes on them, and I don't pretend that they are Hermes bags. They're just pretty. Both are Italian made leather bags:


This one has no branding:

and this one is branded Saks Fifth Avenue

 

[francinederby]

I'd take someone more seriously if they were wearing a bag they found in the bargain bin at WalMart than if they were wearing a fake designer bag.

 

[Pimpernel]

I´ll hazard another guess - maybe because the fakes at a flea market stand look prettier or "safer" to them (everyone has them so they must be OK) than the nameless bags offered at the next stand for the same low price?

I know of an executive woman who bought replicas as a kind of dry test run for a few weeks outside of work to check out if the bag model suited her, fit all she needed, was easy to handle, worked with her clothes, etc, before deciding to spend (or not) the big $$$$s on the real thing, and then gave the fake to her cleaning lady if it hadn´t broken apart already. At work, over the years I saw her with very few different bags (the real ones), so I guess it was a weird but effective way for her to buy just the bags that she was sure would work for her. I´m not judging her - it was a very pragmatic if unscrupulous way to shop. I asked her if she did the same with her shoes, but she said it was a different thing and it didn´t work for shoes...

 

[Manelieht]

I sat next to a girl with a fake LV Damier Ebene bag the other day. I asked her if it is real and it wasn't. It looked worn, but great quality, real leather handles and all.

She said she has a few real designer bags but that LV exceeds what she wants to spend on a bag. She really does like the design though and so she went for a fake.
I think many people buy fakes for that reason.

Really there is no bag that has the same print the Damier Ebene or Azure has. So I can understand people are conflicted. They like the design but not the price tag.

I also read about LV partly producing in China and then having the parts assembled and finished in France? Not sure if this is true but I have seen it claimed on several handbag blogs.

 

[BPC]

I sat next to a girl with a fake LV Damier Ebene bag the other day. I asked her if it is real and it wasn't. It looked worn, but great quality, real leather handles and all.

She said she has a few real designer bags but that LV exceeds what she wants to spend on a bag. She really does like the design though and so she went for a fake.
I think many people buy fakes for that reason.

Really there is no bag that has the same print the Damier Ebene or Azure has. So I can understand people are conflicted. They like the design but not the price tag.

I also read about LV partly producing in China and then having the parts assembled and finished in France? Not sure if this is true but I have seen it claimed on several handbag blogs.

Could be true. "Sourced from" and "made in" are two very different things.

 

[Pillow8]

I am guilty of buying 2 reps just recently and it took me a while before I share my thoughts in this thread.

I am an authentic bag collector for many yrs and what pushed me to try a rep is the recent Chanel price increase. I have saved a lot for what I consider my holy grail bag. But just when it is within my budget's reach, they increased the price which brings me back to square one. I was so upset so as protest, I tried a rep thinking (1) i'll only carry it in a place where there are not a lot of people to see (2) carry it to a place where people have untrained eyes to spot a rep & (3) i can dispose of it when I dont like it. Hunting for the best rep gave me that thrill to find the best mirror image and increased my knowledge about the bag through research. However, no matter how good a rep is and even if people can't tell the difference, a rep cannot give me something that only an authentic can...pride. I have been used to carrying an authentic bag that when I carry the fake, I always feel like hiding. My bf is not a fan of my collection (he said it was excessive) but when I told him I bought reps, and why I did that, he said the price increase is to maintain that level of exclusivity which is part of what I am paying for. He does not support the expensive bags but he prefers I buy only original.
I regret buying reps as I can't enjoy carrying the bag. I realized I just wasted money as I could have bought a real LV cles with the amount I spent on the reps.


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