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

[Cates]

This discussion has taken a hard left and has turned into a pi**ing contest.


It is illegal to SELL them. It is not illegal to BUY them. Until that changes, counterfeit anythings will continue to be sold. On Canal Street, online -- wherever. Supply and demand.

I am not so desperate that I would buy a replica. I'll hold out until I can buy the real deal. But to imply that someone who makes a meager salary doesn't deserve nice things BECAUSE of that is about the snobbiest, most hoity toity comment I've ever heard.

I don't recall anyone saying that people who make a meager salary doen't deserve nice things. They were simply stating that buying fakes is morally wrong and illegal.

Fakes/Knockoffs/whatever you want to call them fund terrorism, promote child labor, and are just plan tacky IMO. They should just go to a Coach outlet and buy the real thing at a discount. Or go to TJMaxx where there are TONS of nice leather bags at a reasonable price.

 

[irishlass1029]

I (guessing the "some people" reference is me) never said I thought counterfeiting was right -- ethically or otherwise. All I said was that as long as designer goods are priced too high for the average Mary or John Doe to afford, does that mean Mary or John isn't entitled to own those designer items? Sure, they could save their money for weeks, months, years until he or she can travel to the boutique of their choice and purchase the item of their choice. OR -- she could buy a 99.9% mirror image replica for a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy. I'm not saying that's right or wrong because I can't be someone's conscience, nor do I want to be. I'm just saying that is the mindset of many. If one can buy a mirror image replica for $120 and the genuine bag is $1,200.....they'll go with the $120 every time. The backstory of the why's and should not's is moot.

Well that's the key word right there. This has become a society full of people with an entitlement mindset. And you're probably right, to people who think like that, it is moot.

I would rather have a $10 bag from Walmart that's not trying to look like it's anything but what it is than a closetful of imitation/replica/fake/knock-off/inspired bags. And I've carried them, believe me, and with my head held high.

 

[KathyB]

we're not judging anyone's economical position.

Sometimes I wonder......the tone implies if one doesn't earn six figures, they're not deserving of genuine designer duds and accessories.

Again, yes, it is illegal to SELL counterfeit goods. It isn't illegal to BUY them. Until that changes, people will continue to buy counterfeit items.

 

[Swanky]

hmm, well you should never assume

IMO, NOTHING will ever stop people from buying them, even if they became illegal to purchase in the States, which BTW it IS illegal to possess them in Europe, hopefully we'll catch up soon.

 

[adoptastray]

And then to add levity to the whole subject, here's how Paris Hilton likened promiscuity to fake Prada handbags:

"I've only ever done it with a couple of people. People make up stories, but mostly I just kiss. I think it's important to play hard to get. Nobody wants the fake Prada bag -- they want the brand new bag that no one can get and is the most expensive. If you give it up to a guy he won’t respect you. He’ll want you much more if he can’t have you."

 

[Compass Rose]

^ tee hee, tee hee, giggle, tee hee!!!!

 

[tadpolenyc]

And then to add levity to the whole subject, here's how Paris Hilton likened promiscuity to fake Prada handbags:

"I've only ever done it with a couple of people. People make up stories, but mostly I just kiss. I think it's important to play hard to get. Nobody wants the fake Prada bag -- they want the brand new bag that no one can get and is the most expensive. If you give it up to a guy he won’t respect you. He’ll want you much more if he can’t have you."

so she was just "kissing" in her little video? is that what we're calling it nowadays?

 

[sweetneet]

I haven't read throught the entire thread, but this one really got me. Making fakes and replicas is stealing. Plain and simple. The people who make them are thieves. It would be like someone stealing my TV from my home. Would you buy that just because other people had one like it and you thought you "deserved" to have one, too?

I don't think anyone thinks that people without enough bucks to plunk down for a designer bag is any better or worse than anyone else - or any more or less deserving. We have certain rights as human beings. Owning a Chanel or whatever isn't one of them. It's a privilege that you earn, not a right that you're born with.

That said, I am not one of the people who can afford to "plunk down mega $$$" without a LOT of budgeting, scrimping and saving for a long time first. But at least when I finally get it, I know it's the real thing and that I've earned it and that it wasn't purchased from a thief.

Just my 2 cents.

very well said!!

Also, i am confused as to the repeated references as to how the "average Mary" could be somehow "desperate" to buy a replica. As a college/grad student, for over a decade i barely made enough $$ to cover rent, textbooks, and food. I don't recall anyone putting a gun to my head saying I needed to purchase and carry a designer handbag. the thought that i "deserved" to carry a $1000 hand bag and therefore had the "right" to own one never crossed my mind. and those who do have this mindset clearly have some major entitlement issues going on.

and the post about Paris Hilton reminded me.... the reason why people buy fakes isn't always about not being able to afford the real thing. Have you seen the "Celebrities carrying fakes" thread in LV subforum?? There's pics of Paris amongst several other celebrities (hardly hurting for money) sporting *hideous* fakes.

http://forum.purseblog.com/louis-vuitton/celebrities-using-fake-bags-21917.html

 

[sweetneet]

hmm, well you should never assume

IMO, NOTHING will ever stop people from buying them, even if they became illegal to purchase in the States, which BTW it IS illegal to possess them in Europe, hopefully we'll catch up soon.

yeah, the show this morning mentioned how in France the anti-counterfeit rules are much tougher, people can actually be fined major $$$ for simply possessing counterfeit items.

though i don't know how much the risk of fines would discourage people from buying. at MIT a few years ago a student was fined $3000 by the RIAA for downloading tons of illegal music ...yet after that i still knew of a ton of students that continued to download away, as if nothing had happened.

 

[gro3602]

My final thought on the subject is this: just because someone can go to a designer shop and plunk down mega-$$$ without a second thought doesn't make them any better or more deserving of the finer things than someone who would probably have to scrimp and save to buy ONE item and if that same scrimper and saver decides to buy a replica instead and use the rest of the money to pay a house payment, rent, electric or water bill, they shouldn't be condemned for doing so. In this economy, saving money is the name of the game.

 

[friponne]

...as long as designer goods are priced too high for the average Mary or John Doe to afford, does that mean Mary or John isn't entitled to own those designer items?
...OR -- she could buy a 99.9% mirror image replica for a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy. I'm not saying that's right or wrong because I can't be someone's conscience, nor do I want to be. I'm just saying that is the mindset of many. If one can buy a mirror image replica for $120 and the genuine bag is $1,200.....they'll go with the $120 every time. The backstory of the why's and should not's is moot.

- Yes, I'm 'fraid so. It DOES mean that Mary or John is not entitled to own those items, simple as that (whether or not they would deserve them (i.e. whether they'd deserve a better paycheck) is an alltogether different matter).

- "99.9% mirror image replica" bags (aka the legendary "superfakes") aren't being sold for $120, but rather at the genuine bags' retail-prices - that's the whole point of them: full deception. Neither they support terrorism / child-enslavement etc.; they are made by accomplished craftsmen (as urban legend has it, by moonlighting factory-workers or ex-employees...) - good materials, good craftmanship, but you're still pretty much robbed out of your $$$.

 

[friponne]

I don't know about anyone else here on this forum, but I'm goin' out to git me sum of that there fake Botox that only costs $69. Heck. I know it's fake because it's cheap, but I'm sure I'm not hurting anybody....only myself. Besides, everyone will think I look good, and only I will know that my Botox is made from turpentine and chicken pee, and so, I'm going to run out to the fake Botox store right now. Now, where did I missplace my Looooie Voooooeyton.....

LOL that's a good one! Puts a double-spin on it all, as real Botox gives you a fake forehead to begin with...

 

[foul temptress]

All I said was that as long as designer goods are priced too high for the average Mary or John Doe to afford, does that mean Mary or John isn't entitled to own those designer items? Sure, they could save their money for weeks, months, years until he or she can travel to the boutique of their choice and purchase the item of their choice. OR -- she could buy a 99.9% mirror image replica for a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy.

They could buy the mirror image fake, but then they STILL don't own a designer item.
You want a designer item?
*Save up.
*Use a credit card.
*Take out a loan.
Work for it for heavens sake.
No one is "entitled to own those designer items".

If you buy a fake, you are now the proud owner of a fake.
Not a designer item.
How proud are you gonna be carrying that?

 

[KathyB]

Wow.....amazing. Simply, frickin' amazing.

 

[tadpolenyc]

They could buy the mirror image fake, but then they STILL don't own a designer item.
You want a designer item?
*Save up.
*Use a credit card.
*Take out a loan.
Work for it for heavens sake.
No one is "entitled to own those designer items".

If you buy a fake, you are now the proud owner of a fake.
Not a designer item.
How proud are you gonna be carrying that?

a loan? for a bag? you make it sound as if owning a designer bag is the end all be all. it's.just.not. i don't know what else to say to this post, so i'll just sit here incredulous instead. <--- me.