Your thoughts on FAKES!

[RobbieNEmmy]

Now, I have a clear-cut stand on the counterfeit issue. I know there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would ever buy a fake, and here are the reasons:

A) It is disrespectful to the history of the brand.

B) There’s no way that a fake is as durable as the real one is.

C) (In LV’s case) There is no, 150+ years of know-how, behind the fake.

D) They’re gross and usually very obvious.

E) Basically I don’t understand this—what’s the use replicating something that can never, in any way, shape, or form, be replicated?

…but what is your opinion? Take the poll and post your thoughts. ^_^

 

[chemlex]

I'm over fakes, I used to be a fan of them - and I picked up a couple a few years ago. Now, I can't even carry them because I like my real bags much better.

Fakes have gotten pretty convincing - just recently an older friend of my sister had a cute LV Cruise Collection bag.

She dared me to look at the inside of it - and I when couldn't even get the zipper to move smoothly, I knew it was fake.

But she was proud of it!

I think counterfeit goods are just society's response to the ridiculous prices that some companies are charging. I don't care how much history and "know how" is behind the brand - they don't cost nearly that much to make or market.

 

[ayla]

I'm just against fakes because of the human costs - since it is illicit activities, it's going to be kept under the radar so work conditions can't really be regulated. So yes, it could be small children in a poor country going blind by making fakes. Also, since once again it falls into that illegal aspect, distribution of fakes is also connected with criminal organizations, so purchasing a fake bag only serves to fuel this sort of illegal activity.

Annd.. you'd be getting a cheap bag that will likely fall apart. :\

 

[Cristina]

I've always thought fakes were tacky, but now that I know what's behind the counterfeit industry, I'm even more against fakes. It doesn't matter whether it's a handbag, shoes... any counterfeit merchandise. There are some great articles out there, I'll see if I can track them down and post them.

 

[bethany]

I think counterfeit goods are just society's response to the ridiculous prices that some companies are charging. I don't care how much history and "know how" is behind the brand - they don't cost nearly that much to make or market.

amen.
fakes are cheap and tacky, better to carry an isaac mizrahi for target bag than a false Chanel 2.55.
but on the other hand, several thousand dollars is absolutely heinious for some of the bags (not Hermes, obvivously) that cost that much. Instead of justifying an extra $1500 so that you're not supporting child labor, why not buy a handmade bag (or heck, a coach) and then donate the thousand dollars to an organization that will actively promote the closure of such sweatshops and/or one that will aid those children with food and a home so they don't HAVE to have a job? your money does more good that way...at least in my opinion.
Now, buying expensive bags for the sake of buying expensive bags is totally fine. I can't buy 8 LVs a year, but that's the budget of a middle class college student. for those who have much more, I don't grudge or judge their expenditures. if you can afford it, flaunt it!
but saying that several thousand more dollars are justified just because the bag was made in Turkey (by whom? in what conditions? who knows?) instead of China (again, who knows the origin of it) just sounds like its based on assumptions gotten from email forwards and stuff. you know a thousand dollars can buy food and medication for like a year for a kid in a developing country? seems more logical than sketchy 'child labor' bruhala.

 

[bethany]

on a side note, though, it really bums me out when I see people purchase a bag on clearance for like $3...just because I know that the retailer AND the manufacturer are STILL making money from the final selling price of that bag...that makes me shudder. I don't want to pay any amount of money for a purse that cost $.25 to make.

 

[helenNZ]

my 2 cents about fake bags:

hmmm, i think they're tacky... the only reason is because i've spent a little time research and visiting the LV store and almost passed out when the sales lady kept on bringing out stock for me to look at... AND i just think the REAL deal is so beautiful! I mean, this person (LV) has built an empire of beautiful bags... I do think its quitely flattering that there are FAKES out there, but it just looks WRONG WRONG WRONG!
Save those pennies and get the real deal It might take awhile but is just so beautiful! weee heee!!!!

 

[divina_lucilla]

i am against fakes because they steal otherpeople's ideas and regarding for example the fakes that sell in italy, police discovered that the money goes in places such as tunisi and marocco and goes to fuel the terrorism.
a part from that, there are many shops that sell very nice handbags with a limited price. i hear people justifying themselves saying "but vuitton costs too much!"...that is ridiculous, no one is obliging you to buy vuitton, why do you have to buy it fake?!

 

[divina_lucilla]

but it is true what said before, there are bags which cost too much. the price of some louis vuittons and guccis are really ridiculous....they don't correspond to the quality.
hermes, bottega veneta, tod's, gerard darel, borbonese, hogan, chloè and other few make bags have a quality that justifies the price beacuse of the leather and beacuse of the originality!

 

[chemlex]

i hear people justifying themselves saying "but vuitton costs too much!"...that is ridiculous, no one is obliging you to buy vuitton, why do you have to buy it fake?!

There are plenty of great, reasonably priced brands. Kors, Via Spiga, and Betsey Johnson come to mind. These brands all end up going on sale, so if you shop at the end of the season you can get an even better deal. And if you are spending over $50 on a fake, you could have used that money to get a great, real leather bag that isn't against the law.

People buy fakes because they want to fool people into think they have $1000s to spend on designer handbags. If they truly appreciated handbag quality, they would save up or buy different brands.

 

[divina_lucilla]

There are plenty of great, reasonably priced brands. Kors, Via Spiga, and Betsey Johnson come to mind. These brands all end up going on sale, so if you shop at the end of the season you can get an even better deal. And if you are spending over $50 on a fake, you could have used that money to get a great, real leather bag that isn't against the law.

People buy fakes because they want to fool people into think they have $1000s to spend on designer handbags. If they truly appreciated handbag quality, they would save up or buy different brands.

one of my italian friends told me that a girl in her university bought a fake gucci bag for 130 euros!!!! that is so silly....if she had gone to furla she would now have a great bag of good quality instead of a ridiculous bag that screams "hello, i am fake!!"

 

[Raspberry]

I get annoyed when some claim they want to purchase the bag "just for the look" or because they "like the style," and not pay the price. I'm also annoyed by those who defend their right to fakes by insisting spending hundreds/thousands is silly and materialistic.

First off, if someone truly wants a bag "just for the look," many respectable companies knock off the styles. One can find Guess, Payless Shoes, even Coach jumping on trend bandwagons with their versions of the it bags. That, I call buying a bag "just for the look." The difference between buying a knockoff and buying a blatant fake is, of course, the trademark on the bag. Paying for authentic goods means paying for gorgeous leathers, quality craftsmanship, prestige, the company's history, etc. On the other hand, fakes are consumed solely for the purpose of displaying the logo.

And is it just me, or is THAT more pretentious than any person spending $1000 on the real deal?

 

[classwhore]

I know there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would ever buy a fake, and here are the reasons:

A) It is disrespectful to the history of the brand.

How is it disrespectful? Isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

B) There’s no way that a fake is as durable as the real one is.

Who died and made you editor of Consumer Reports? I've seen 'real' bags fall apart.

C) (In LV’s case) There is no, 150+ years of know-how, behind the fake.

There's over 100+ years of 'know-how' behind General Motors. Have you seen their stock price and investor ratings lately?

D) They’re gross and usually very obvious.

The same could be said for britney spears and kevin federline, that doesn't seem to stop the tabloids from glorifying them week in and week out.

E) Basically I don’t understand this—what’s the use replicating something that can never, in any way, shape, or form, be replicated?

Wow, that's funny, have you checked eBay lately? Pretty good replications if you ask me.

Tell me something tangible, not just regurgitating the company line. Are they handmade by old Italian or French matrons with 50 years of unmatched bagmaking experience? Is the stitching some exotic silk thread that can withstand 1,000,000 lbs of torque? Is the leather off the belly of some spoiled breakfast-cereal-and-brown-rice-fed oxygen-enriched Clydesdale horses?

Can anyone actually state something besides what's written in the glossy sales brocure?

 

[divina_lucilla]

classwhore i see your point but the truth is that there ARE companies that treat their leather in a particular way, and deserve the money. others just cost a lot beause of the brand (gucci, vuitton). the point is....why copy something? why those people that make the replicas don't invest their energy by creating other bags? and why do people that buy replicas don't save the money and walk into a furla store,for example? i have many furla bags, they are gorgeous and i am so proud of them. i am annoyed by my vuittons, they bore me now and i think some of them was just wasted money,TOO MUCH wasted money! when you copy a logo or the form of a bag you steal an idea, and that is not right.

 

[Raspberry]

I don't think imitation is flattery here. If that were the case, pirated CDs should be legal, as well as plagiarism on university papers and auctioning off a Monet copy as the real thing. Fashion houses pay their designers' wages and for advertising and marketing, while the counterfeit industry piggy backs it. How is this NOT disrespectful?

Real bags fall apart, just as fakes do. But a lot of times fakes are made of plastics that crack, for example. I think she just meant that fakes fall apart at a higher frequency, which I would agree with.

I don't understand how your GM example is relevant.

Just because the tabloids glorify them doesn't make Britney and Kevin popular. People don't read tabloids because they idolize them, you know. Most people laugh at them.

eBay. Right. Pretty bad replications if you ask almost everyone else on this forum.