Why do people wear fake bags?

[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.

 

[gillianna]

From people I have met through the years that buy and wear fake bags they have thought that people are impressed because they own a designer bag even though many scream fake in every way. Some think the fake bag they were gifted or bought is real because they never went to a store to see the real bags in person and can’t tell the difference. Some don’t care and feel a 25.00 fake bags serves its purpose. There are a lot of wealthy people that carry fakes in bags and jewelry it is not limited to people who can’t affort to spend big money on authentic items.

My friends in high end retail told me many stories of quite a few of their clients carrying fakes and confiding in them the prices and how they can fool anyone because they were rich. My best friend was given a fake LV by her older sweet little old lady friend. She kept the bag because her friend made the effort to think it was her style and would like it. She basically wore it when visiting her friend and did not feel bad about it being a fake. Another person I knew had a rich nasty husband who bought her fake bags as gifts and she thought they were real. It look awhile for me to convince one close friend a plastic leather purse she received as a gift was fake. It fell apart with her first use. So some people can’t tell real leather and plastic leather apart? They just see a logo emblem so it has to be real.

While it is easy to think people need to be aware of the child labor, crime with fake products most people don’t care. And this happens more than one things in the manufacturing of many other products. Labor in other countries is bad for many people not just the replica industry.

 

[jellyv]

There are hundreds of posts and hundreds of threads on the subject. If you use the Search function you will see them. Check them out.

Just a few examples of the many discussions:

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/another-thread-on-people-carrying-fakes.640847/
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/fake-bags-why.774191/
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/why-do-women-who-wear-fakes-assume-all-women-wear-fakes.511720/
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/who-carries-fakes.867035/
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/why-am-i-annoyed-with-fakes.778215/
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/people-who-buy-genuine-items-and-fakes.761403/

 

[Tapenade]

[QUOTE="oshinex, post: 35139693, member: 146705"

Im going to stay on the topic of the article because I think this is worthwhile discussion, but I just want to highlight this straw man argument.
[/QUOTE]

The real difference between people who insist on buying authentic and those who buy reps is the value they put on the brand. There are lots of reasons to value that brand differently. Someone may value the way an authentic bag signals your wealth, and therefore feel like people with fake bags are sending fake signals about their economic status. Somebody may really enjoy the chase of a bag via Hermes and be willing to pay for the pleasure (which makes the authenticity of the brand valuable for them), while somebody else enjoys the risk and thrill of buying reps (which makes the fakeness of the brand part of the value for them, since the underground nature of reps makes them more exciting). The article itself shows that the TPR crowd and the RL crowd have radically different social and emotional relationships to brands.

The argument about Hermes labor conditions is a straw man argument, though, if you don't care about labor conditions more generally. I love Hermes' labor conditions, and think everyone should have the same. But it's a bit thin to claim that as a motivation for buying a $20K handbag, if you don't care that you also buy things made by workers who don't have the same conditions.

 

[rose60610]

Insecure teenagers knowingly buying fake bags is one thing, but I've never understood adults buying a counterfeit. It isn't like buying a faux fur where you're not fooling anybody and everything is legit. On the other hand, some men (and women) buy counterfeit watches. I think it all boils down to insecurity if one knowingly buys a counterfeit item. Or maybe as a joke. I don't think the "average" person even knows what a Birkin is, plenty of affluent people I know haven't heard of "Hermes" period but pay for luxury cars and/or real estate in cash. I can understand somebody buying a fake bag of any sort without realizing that it's a copy of a famous brand, whether it be Hermes, Gucci, LV, etc. To us bag enthusiasts it looks bad, but I'm sure some of the buyers just see them as no-name bags and flat out just don't get it.

 

[jellyv]

The real difference between people who insist on buying authentic and those who buy reps is the value they put on the brand.

I can readily think of a few other differences, all significant. I won't even mention discretionary income and sensibility concerning illegal trade and IP theft.

 

[Kfka_btsea]

I've seen multiple posters on other threads saying that people buying reps must be poor and billionaires don't buy reps, and my takeaways from are that:
- There seem to be an awful lot of people here who are either billionaires or who are well acquainted with them
- "Rich" people are clearly a homogenous group with no distinction for culture, wealth vs income, and different levels of rich (say net worth of $XXm, $XXXm, $X,XXXm+)
- "They / You can't afford it". This seems to be an almost automatic response when one disagrees with their opinion, almost thrown out like it's a virtue. Being rich isn't a virtue and rich people are often not virtuous.

I've worked for (only with the older generations) / socialized (mostly with the younger generations) with some of each "tier" of rich. People at all levels can be super cheapo. Also for most part, women who "belong" to any of these tier usually don't control the money. Their husbands do. So that full amount actually isn't at their disposal.

I don't think anyone at the $X,XXXm+ and $XXXm levels gets reps. These women almost never do real work and their main sources of identity usually stem from being featured in Tatler / heading some acceptable organization (that gives them prominence and multiple more chances to be featured in Tatler) and basically socializing with other rich women, who can be pretty *****y. They would rather die than besmirch their reputation by owning a rep of any mainstream "luxury" item. Also it is literal pennies to them.

$XXm. Here's where it gets interesting because I'm pretty sure that women at the lower end of this range do buy reps. Yes they can afford it, but everyone tends to: (1) loves a good bargain (2) loves to feel smarter, whether real or not. If you've ever bragged about snagging an awesome designer item at 80% off, this is in the same vein. A few anecdotes:

- Cousin in law's mum, their family is at least in the low $XXm. This lady is a shopaholic and I've hear that her European holidays are basically planned around outlet locations. She buys both real and fakes. It irritates the heck of cousin in law, who once took an item gifted by her to the boutique only to be embarrassed when they were told it was a rep

- Relative's boss in HK. White* and head of a "small" (ahem, private) Swiss private bank. Obviously earns alot. For her birthday she received a package delivered by ?auxiliary police? type couriers because inside were individually selected diamonds for her to make a full bracelet. Courtesy of her very rich, very much older boyfriend. Yet she also made frequent trips across the border and came back to the office bragging about all the cheap reps she got there. She dressed in reps head-to-toe

*There's this stereotype that reps are common in Asia when it seems that most of them are actually made for export... I've heard that Chinese society self polices for reps. The joke was, when it rains, see who shields the handbag and who uses the handbag as a shield.

 

[QuelleFromage]

Also for most part, women who "belong" to any of these tier usually don't control the money. Their husbands do. So that full amount actually isn't at their disposal.

I don't think anyone at the $X,XXXm+ and $XXXm levels gets reps. These women almost never do real work and their main sources of identity usually stem from being featured in Tatler / heading some acceptable organization (that gives them prominence and multiple more chances to be featured in Tatler) and basically socializing with other rich women, who can be pretty *****y. They would rather die than besmirch their reputation by owning a rep of any mainstream "luxury" item. Also it is literal pennies to them.

Nope just nope.

Plenty of women in tech (not as many as there should be), media, Hollywood, fashion making a great deal of money.

Plenty of women with a great deal of money who do have a sense of identity.

Excluding late in life trophy wives, women whose husbands/partners made the bulk of the family money absolutely do have control of spending.

And plenty of billionaires/wives of billionaires do carry reps. I'm not a fan of it but it's absolutely a fact.

 

[A1aGypsy]

Yeah. I mean - whole lot of stereotyping going on there. Yikes.