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

[BleuSaphir]

Because they feel they can and that enough for them for what ever reason that justified them to buy the counterfeit good.

But really, It just not okay for a seller/maker to make the same identical product slapped with brand name that they wanted to replicate as the real deal for profit at for lesser/greater than what is the actual authentic product was going for. It just stealing with out giving any credit or benefit to the actual maker.I also think it okay to buy a product that can look the same or inspired for a lesser price or greater than as long as it not stamped with some well known brand name but with their brand name.

It also just remind how LV launch iphone 6 folio in damier pattern;I like it, but not willing to spend $$$ for it. Later on, I went online to find a wholesale supplier for cheap cell phone covers to someday sell for my ebay account. I found a wholesale supplier that had the damier abstract print iPhone 6 cover, but without "Louis Vuitton Paris" in the checkered pattern. Had white, black, brown-can also customize a complete different color. I totally wanted it, was willing to order the 300 minimum volume-just for the sake having that unique abstract pattern in brown. LOL I thought it never was passing to be the real deal of LV, it just a plain abstract print that the original entity made. But too bad I just found out the supplier has discontinue the phone cover model!

 

[LoverField]

The way I see it, there is no way to ethically justify buying fakes. Having said that, I would like to offer perspectives in an attempt to answer the original question of why people buy fakes to the extent that it has become a thriving industry:

1. The quality of the superfakes have improved so much that, even a professional authenticator cannot tell it is fake just by simply looking at the outside of the bag. They have to look at minute details and serial numbers. This I think makes it really tempting for some people to buy the fakes.

2. As already mentioned, the ridiculous price hikes --- if the price reasonably reflects the flawless craftsmanship, that's not so hard to digest. However, the leaps of price hikes these days seem to reflect the high cost of marketing that the companies choose to engage in. The money these companies pour into building, decorating, and maintaining those fancy boutiques have to come from somewhere, not to mention the extravagant fashion shows and all the celebrity gifiting in the name of visibility marketing. I think this turns off some people and in turn might give them incentive to turn to the less expensive option without much dent in their conscience.

3. The public's passion for famous prestigious brands --- in Korea about 10 years ago they arrested this man who was the top counterfeiter of Vuittons. I am not saying what he did was OK, but one of the reasons he gave why he engaged in this act was interesting: he at first passionately made and sold his original designs. But he said people just would not buy his "no-name" designs. They were all flocking to designer brands. Meanwhile so many artisans around him were making big money making fakes. So he sold his soul to the devil and started making superfakes. I found it sad because there are so many no-name brands in Korea that make exquisitely designed and meticulously crafted bags. I actually take more pride in carrying these unique original designs than with my real Chanels.

All in all, I am immensely enjoying reading this thread. Everyone's perspectives and opinions are really interesting and refreshing, on both sides of the argument. And please do not think that I am defending an illegal act by any means. I am just trying to analyze this phenomenon as objectively as possible. If my comment offends you, I apologize in advance. Thank you everyone!

 

[gabby1987]

People who buy fakes often either 1) don't know they are fake, or 2) think that no one else can tell - often times, their friends cannot tell, and they'll achieve status in their own groups. What happens is people who can actually afford the authentic version of their bag, CAN tell the difference, and feel the person wearing the replica is trying to put on airs.
I have a few comments on this....too many women feel pressured to buy designer bags - not because they necessarily "love" them, but because their are too many shallow adults stuck in their petty "teen clique" years, that judge others by the designer they wear. This is ridiculous. For all you know, the woman carrying a cheap bag could be putting herself through law or med school, and the woman carrying the Hermes bag could be tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Besides this, a woman is not inferior simply because she is wearing a Walmart's bag, nor is she superior simply because she is carrying a Kelly. I think if their was less of this shallow form of judging, women who legitimately cannot afford high end bags, wouldn't feel they need to buy fakes.
Just so everyone knows, I'm 100% against fakes. To me, wearing them would be supporting stealing from the company.

 

[monbaglady]

The price of a good fake is so high that you might as well fork out a bit more and buy the real deal...

 

[StereLau]

In some countries though (especially in asia) the price of fake bags are really cheap & quality has increased in past few years. And boy everyone can get them so easily.. I mean, recently i saw at a local online shop almost exact copies of the LV palm spring lines less than $30, free shipping. Sure they're not leather but the lines' leather trimmings are in black so without close inspection it's difficult to tell the difference.. goodness, even the positioning of the canvas is correct! And if one wants the real leather ones they call "premium quality" are available at the next shop for around $90. These are almost exact replicas but usually they only give dustbags. Even "the mirror" ones that comes with the box and paper bag and cards and receipts that need experts to tell the difference with close inspections are sold at around $150. All free shipping. Is the quality different in first hand? The descriptions said "real pictures" and the reviews told which shops where you can actually get what you saw. The goods take around 3 days to get to your door and you can even claim the shop if the bag has issues.
I know that overseas the prices of fakes are crazily expensive plus hefty shipping cost..
So i agree that somewhere there must be something fishy going on..
Bad.. bad business..

 

[JenJenH8Fakes]

I find that most women who wear fakes move on to the real thing at some point and discard their fakes.

I've personally never bought a fakie. My first designer bag was a "cheapy" Furla.

To each their own.

 

[MJDaisy]

I was in NYC last weekend and staying really close to Chinatown, so naturally I was around the counterfeits. They keep most of the "good stuff" off the street, but I did see some things out in the open and saw a few women looking at the stuff. While I didn't touch anything so not sure what it felt like, I have to say what I did see looked authentic (especially a gucci disco crossbody in black). While I personally would not carry fakes for moral reasons, I was surprised to see how authentic they did look, at least from a few feet away. It made more sense to me. I guess the chinatown fakes are more authnetic looking than the blatant obvious ones i see in my area. I don't think that makes it right, but it put a new perspective out there.

 

[dooneybabe]

Well, I don't know, but it seems like a lot of people who can't afford the real thing still buy a fake so they can make others believe they can afford it. Obviously that's not always true but it's interesting, I think a lot of designer loyalty is a psychological thing or maybe a pride thing from being able to afford something. I actually have one fake LV but I didn't buy it, someone gave it to me, and I wear it once in a while for fun - but I tend to tell people it's not real (though I think half the time they don't care anyways). I think fake producers are getting really clever and wise with their reproductions though, so buying a bag secondhand makes me very nervous sometimes! All of mine are real except the LV, because I got them from a friend who authenticates bags for a living.

 

[indiaink]

Designer handbags always has a very unique and special designs, unfortunately not everyone can afford it, so what theyll do? buy a fake/replica ones. sometimes buying replicas isnt always about trying to impress other people, maybe one simply wants to have the design. but yes I do hate when people buy cheap fake designer handbags .... If you like a design of a bag but cant afford the real price, at least you should buy a good replica! spent more than 20$ !
I personally owned a few of authentic handbags and often I found myself wanting the same bag, the same design but in another different colors, but I honestly wouldnt and couldnt spent so much just for different colors, so what I do? I get myself a knock off replica/fake with mirror quality as the authentic ones .... does anyone can tell the difference?? NO ! but when they asked, I always told them the truth which are authentic and which are fake/replica, do they judge me? some does and some doesn't ... and when the do judge me, do I care? NOT AT ALL

We don't condone replica bags in this forum, sorry!

 

[Dooneysta]

People buy replica handbags because they desire status and for whatever reason (not being able to afford it being only one) decide not to pay for a real one.

Putting aside the bias you have on a handbag forum, replicas cannot be ethically justified. Sorry. They just can't.

I'm NOT talking about 'inspired' looks. That is a whole different category. Zara and H&M and Forever 21, etc, all exist in this category. If they sell a pair of pantaloons that look similar to some that Lagerfeld did last fall, it's not the same fish because Zara's not selling you a pair of pantaloons that say 'Karl Lagerfeld' on them. Quilted handbags are common. Everyone is not normally sticking the distinctive CC logo on them though.

When you manufacture and sell something that is meant to look EXACTLY like the original, you are stealing. Sorry if you think that's not the case, but I'm not sure HOW exactly you can argue that the replica manufacturer is NOT stealing from the designer. You're just trying to find a way to argue that stealing in this way isn't so bad, which is different.

Yes, it's very human to want something that's expensive for cheap. I mean, who doesn't!
And there's nothing 'wrong' with a person who can't afford a pricey version of an item.

But I don't think that's what people are getting at with the whole 'if you can't afford it then buy something else' line.
Nowhere else is 'if you can't afford it it's morally acceptable to steal it' acceptable unless you're...i don't know, stealing a loaf of bread to feed your dying toddler, Les Miz style.
If I want the new season of Game of Thrones but I'm of limited means, it doesn't then become okay to boost it from Target, buy a burned copy off a guy in an alley, or watch it on my neighbor's cable that I'm stealing.

Have we really sunk so low that we even have to argue about that???
What if you had to deal face to face with the real cost of your bag..?
Although not every single fake is, it's settled fact that a huge piece of the fake market supports and or/is the fruit of organized crime (ie mafia, yakuza,etc), terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and human traffickers.

People who kingpin fake manufacturing are making them with slave labor and using the proceeds to buy and sell other people for labor, the sex trade, etc. Some of the people they're buying and selling are children.

If you had to walk to the back of the warehouse and be handed your replica meekly by the abused cowed child who sewed it and you had to hand the money directly to a guy who then tells you he's going to use it to buy teenage girls in Thailand to resell for sex, are you actually still going to feel positive about it??

To each his own is not really a proper reply, in my opinion.
Yes, in a perfect world, if we really weren't hurting anyone to buy a replica, I might do it myself and I sure wouldn't care if anyone else did. If no one ever used the money from manufacturing fakes for abusing other people, and if the designer didn't get hurt in any way, then okay.
Except, well, they do. It's also shocking how many people justify it by saying, Michael Kors is filthy rich already; what difference does it make if I buy something someone stole from him?
If you saw a guy shoplift a wallet from the boutique and he offers to sell it to you when he walks out, would you buy it? If you would, you have a problem. If not, are you able to articulate why it's not the same thing if he has a booth set up next to the boutique door and he's selling nice looking fakes?

Right, not everyone will buy from him. But enough people will that that store's numbers are gonna go down. And down.
Eventually what are the options? Let's assume they cannot for whatever reason evict his booth.
To keep the store open, they have to cut costs since they are making less. They could do something easy at first like close earlier, save on utilities and payroll. Eventually they'll have to cut more hours or lay people off altogether. If they don't do that, they could raise prices...but that'll just encourage more people to check out the cheap fakes, maybe. So they can cut back on materials or move to a cheaper manufacturing market. Prices don't go up but they kinda do cause your REAL bag is lower quality than before.

And so on.

Plus, you know, there's just the principle that taking someone else's idea is wrong. You don't like it when the tool you work with presents your idea as his, or takes credit for work your team did. If he gets a raise because of the work he stole from you, won't you be EXTRA steamed off..??
Why does Michael Kors have to take it and you think he doesn't deserve the same common courtesy you're asking for?

There is NOTHING WRONG with people who can't afford expensive stuff. I wanna say that again. But 'I can't afford it so I'm going to buy stolen goods' is NOT a morally justifiable stance unless you're talking about something way more vital than purses and Blu-Rays and sunglasses.

I suspect that's what the people who said 'I look down on/can't respect people who buy fakes on purpose' mean, not that they judge 'poor' people for being broke. I mean, I HOPE that's what they mean...

Sorry to write a novel about it, but this topic has interested me for twenty years. It's fascinating to read the expanse of opinion.

 

[Julieamina]

Not trying to come off as negative or anything but I genuinely want to know why people purchase fake luxury goods... especially ones with monogram (LV, gucci, etc)

I just recently got into luxury handbags (bought a YSL medium envelope, LV speedy b 25, LV clemence wallet, LV mini pochette) at the boutique. It makes me feel so good spending my hard earned money buying the real thing, inspecting every detail of the bag and sipping champagne at the store. I used to buy contemporary (kate spade, tory burch) or designer inspired (fashion drug and amazon) when I couldnt afford luxury. I love admiring my bags and taking care of them, they're my style and I know I'll be able to wear them for years. I noticed lots of people on youtube advertise wearing fakes and people will be in the comments saying "it looks so real!" "spending a lot of money on a purse is for narcissists" "why would i spend $2000 if i can get the same design for $20"

but why would you spend $40-400 on a FAKE Lv monogram speedy or chanel flap bag if you claim you dont care about luxury or fashion? Why would you want people to think you have chanel money if you didnt? Why not buy secondhand? Why do you feel the need to show off fake designer if you dont even care about fashion/craftsmanship enough to save up? I dont know.... but people i hang around actually follow fashion and own bags them selves... I know I would feel so embarrassed carrying a fake bag around the bars/restaurants/lounges I frequent in Las vegas/LA

I know some ppl say they "like the style" but you can find a similar style from aldo, fashion drug, amazon or other brands.

Have you ever bought fakes? Do you really think a $50-200 fake chanel can really look and hold up as good as the real thing??

 

[Amazona]

Well, one thing I've heard from the Youtubers who do videos on fake bags, they think a fake is a great deal (compared to the real thing which has a guarantee etc) and they think they get respect for carrying a designer bag fake. Not one of them has considered that fakes are made by criminals and the way they treat the environment and their workers isn't exactly nice. They just want "the look" but don't want to pay for the real thing. Just get a bag of a similar style without the brand naming and call it a day.
But being that people are pretty stupid in certain things, they think their B- ja A-fakes won't get recognized on the street by people who know their brands.
It has happened that a person has brought their fake bag to a store that sells the real stuff and thought the staff was really impressed by their fake. I don't really know how stupid a person can get but this must be one of the prime examples...
Then there are those who just want to impress but don't have money do they have to stoop to the level of buying fakes to keep up with their friends/coworkers/other people near them. As in, you gotta look like you have money. Some people seem to think that's important.

 

[MagpieInTraining]

there's a difference between unknowingly buying a fake and knowingly buying a fake in my opinion. The former is when you get scammed when buying preowned bags and you don't even know it. I just feel bad for people with whom that happens. The second is not acceptable at all, but people do it because they want to portray a certain image of themselves.

 

[sdkitty]

Some people just want the look and don't care that much abut quality/child labor,etc.
I met a woman one time (friend of DH's sister) who had lots of money but not much sophistication IMO. She had a collection of LV bags but also had at least one fake that she really liked......go figure. She got it from some backroom street vendor as I recall.

 

[Sonmi999]

When this subject arises, people always talk about all the awful things behind the fakes market - child labor, unsanitary work conditions, human exploitation etc. However, the same people buy stuff at fast fashion stores, which have the same things behind them, so I don't get it.
I think that to each their own. I like to buy real stuff, I like to know more or less where my money is going when buying handbags. I like knowing that if I have a problem with one my bags, that the store will stand behind it. However, I won't deny I still shop at Zara, F21, etc., so I can't say I don't support this type of market, because it boils down to the same things.
Or maybe you don't buy at fast fashion stores, but, for example, your smartphone was possibly assembled somewhere that has the same issues.
Of course, fake bags are still stealing the design from the luxury brands, but that's another story. I'm focusing on the dark aspects regarding human conditions in this market.