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

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#3,377
I think buying fakes is a much lesser offense than making fakes. People who make/sell them should be busted and prosecuted for fraud. Dilution of brand value by fakes is a huge problem. Some people I know wont buy anything logo-ed like LV canvas or Prada because they think the brand has been diluted by counterfeits. I dont judge people excessively who buy fakes because some of them are truly misinformed. they want the look that everyone else is carrying around and they think no harm no foul. I did give a huge lecture to a friend ( who is in law school of all things) for buying a fake Gucci in Pakistan.. but now she understands that the bag has no resale value and she threw away her money, I think she learned :-) If someone made a bag legitimately of a similar design to a famous bag without directly copying the logo, thats a different story. Actual counterfeits make the real thing worth less, which pisses me off, not to mention all the labour abuses that they employ.
 
#3,378
Case in point.. I was out with a girl once ( dont know how into bags she was) and carried my Empreinte speedy which I thought was fairly low-key, you have to look at it closely to see that its LV, and she asks me "Is that real"? I was surprised that it was even in question.. Irritating to pay $3K to be asked if its real, and that is the fault of counterfeiters.
Another perspective though, I was talking about this very subject with a male friend, he buys fancy watches so no stranger to overpaying for jewelry-type items :-) He said these days there are fakes that are so good that even the store personnel cannot tell the difference. I said, that doesn't matter because I wouldn't want fake even if no one could tell, because I would know. He said it meant I was validating myself by the brand name, by the ability to buy a certain brand name, rather than the quality/appearance of the item itself. Ask yourselves, if the fake was such that no one without prior knowledge could tell, would you want it or not want it and why?
 
#3,379
I bought an imitation bag of a LV Alma, without knowing what it was supposed to be a dupe for till I came here. I loved the shape and everything but eventually overtime realized that it wasn't the right bag for me. I discovered this site and then found out about the Alma which I fell inlove with but knew it would never be practical for me and glad that I didn't buy an expensive bag.
My friend has fake MK bag down to the logo and lettering but I would never be caught dead with it since I know she can well afford the real thing.
 
#3,380
vanilla_latte said:
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Another perspective though, I was talking about this very subject with a male friend, he buys fancy watches so no stranger to overpaying for jewelry-type items :-) He said these days there are fakes that are so good that even the store personnel cannot tell the difference. I said, that doesn't matter because I wouldn't want fake even if no one could tell, because I would know. He said it meant I was validating myself by the brand name, by the ability to buy a certain brand name, rather than the quality/appearance of the item itself. Ask yourselves, if the fake was such that no one without prior knowledge could tell, would you want it or not want it and why?
Click to expand...

Your friend makes an excellent point. Although LV, Chanel, etc. want you to believe that their goods are hand crafted by artisans, they are made in factories. The book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster by Dana Thomas reveals that this "new" luxury is primarily about slick marketing with little to no substance.
 
#3,381
I wouldn't feel comfortable supporting counterfeiters, so I'd never (knowingly) buy a counterfeit bag. Counterfeiters, imo, damage brands (especially with the really, really badly done ones...). I like lots of bags I either can't afford or that aren't accessible to me, but that doesn't make a counterfeit bag look any better to me. I'm not super-knowledged in the world of counterfeiting, but from the little research I have done it boggles my mind how anybody would actually want to support that business. I guess I also look at it from an artist perspective - if I came up with something really cool that people wanted and it sold well, and then some copier came along claiming they sell "my" items, I'd be really REALLY pissed off lol. I wouldn't want that done to me, so I wouldn't do it to someone else.

I want to ask why not just save for the bag you want, but it's like....a lot of people just can't fathom paying $500+ for a bag, even if they saved up. So I can kinda see WHY people buy counterfeit. I think I just have a hard time accepting that most people just want to get x look for the super cheap price, and don't care about anything else.
 
#3,382
vanilla_latte said:
Case in point.. I was out with a girl once ( dont know how into bags she was) and carried my Empreinte speedy which I thought was fairly low-key, you have to look at it closely to see that its LV, and she asks me "Is that real"? I was surprised that it was even in question.. Irritating to pay $3K to be asked if its real, and that is the fault of counterfeiters.
Another perspective though, I was talking about this very subject with a male friend, he buys fancy watches so no stranger to overpaying for jewelry-type items :-) He said these days there are fakes that are so good that even the store personnel cannot tell the difference. I said, that doesn't matter because I wouldn't want fake even if no one could tell, because I would know. He said it meant I was validating myself by the brand name, by the ability to buy a certain brand name, rather than the quality/appearance of the item itself. Ask yourselves, if the fake was such that no one without prior knowledge could tell, would you want it or not want it and why?
Click to expand...

No, I would not buy it. I would prefer to buy a real cheaper bag as a Longchamp or a Gérard Darel than a counrefeit high end purse.
for people who might think my Speedy is a fake , I don't care at all. It doesn't hurt me.
I know mine is genuine and thgat's all that matters.
 
#3,383
I think people buy fakes for the same reason people get in trouble with credit cards, they want what they cannot afford. For the same amount as a fake LV, you can buy a nice MK on sale or some other brand. So there's really no excuse!
 
#3,388
Purchasing a Counterfeit bag and passing it off as harmless is completely ignorant! The purchase of these bags supports human trafficking, child labour, money laundering and terrorism.

When I see someone carrying a fake bag, it makes me so mad to know that they have proudly supported such activities all in the name of faux fashion. As someone who purchases designer bags for the quality, exclusivity, and design, I have a hard time understanding why someone would spend their hard earned money on some cheap, poorly made knock off? Throughout this threadI have read responses that justify purchasing a fake bag, but if you are able to justify Carrying that fake even after you know everything about where it came from and how it was made, then I have no respect for you.

If you cannot afford the bag, then please find an inspired bag, or save until you can afford the bag.

To understand why I am so impassioned, read the article below:

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/the-fight-against-fakes-0109_
 
#3,389
Wow, some people are acting like having a fake bag is the worst thing in the world.

If they want to have it and don't care. Then let them.
You don't like it? Boo hoo.

I personally don't own any and never will, but I won't bash anyone who does.

I have a tiffany's legacy engagement ring. And for the first few months, I hated when I found people who passed off their cheaper rings ad legacy's even though I know it wasn't. I found it insulting that my husband paid $40k for my ring and everyone was paying 5k and thinking it was as good as my ring. Then I realized how stupid that was. As long as I knew I had the real thing, I didn't care if other people didn't.
 
#3,390
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