fake brands form someone that in the business

[Whokilledme]

I'm here speaking personally for those who wanting to know or like/hate about counterfeit clothing, Just read a article here and believe a lot of people here do not know what happen and relationship between it, it will be a relative long article and feel free to ask questions

I have to declared
1) All names and country given are without any attempt of racist or any other kind that might make you reader feel uncomforted

2) All the content are true and can be proven

3) I do not make any statement of agree or disagree of manufacture, dealing or any business activity of counterfeit goods

I was born outside China and my girl is Chinese, and I was surprise by thee amazing replicas when I was in China about 2 years ago (and since than I live in China in varies of city that produce the goods), and I do have many many experience in this area with a lot of connections that involve in the replica business

First,

The fake clothing was original started by western people particular (black American, and some south African) which I do have quite a bit of research over it, and confirm is true, the market start about 7 years ago, now is growing to become one of most important business in that city, however most people who buy are Americans mostly and some in Europe and South African, ofcourse later this few year more and more Chinese are into this copy business and with strong support with foreigners, which provide them with sample even material, all they do is using cheap Chinese labour to produce something alike to make profit

At about 2004 and later on the Korean, Taiwanese, HongKongese and some Japanese are into this market, with some very high quality fakes. And some of the quality is remarkable which I even personally wear them because of the price and availability

WHY counterfeit good started

I personally living somewhere in western country for over 13 years and I sort of understand how it started, with heavy marketing especially luxury brands, the price can be ridiculous high in some country, for example, the country I stay in only get supply form left over stocks, and price twice as high in US, in this case many smart business man started to produce there own, not only for business but in a way it increase the style and possibility for owning some stylish clothing, this happen to South Africa for example quite a lot.

Also a lot of people cannot afford the price of the real thing, mainly the currency value
Example $1 US can mean nothing for you but it can buy u a really good meal in China, the average income of city I now stay in china is $130, but they do have same desire when they exposure to all this massive brand bombarded advertising? Whose fault?

The article is getting long and boring, anyone interest please post here and I will keep write on, by the way I can tell what is fake what is not, if you need help with particular purchase maybe I can help

 

[babygreenspots]

Originally Posted by Whokilledme

I'm here speaking personally for those who wanting to know or like/hate about counterfeit clothing, Just read a article here and believe a lot of people here do not know what happen and relationship between it, it will be a relative long article and feel free to ask questions

I have to declared
1) All names and country given are without any attempt of racist or any other kind that might make you reader feel uncomforted

2) All the content are true and can be proven

3) I do not make any statement of agree or disagree of manufacture, dealing or any business activity of counterfeit goods

I was born outside China and my girl is Chinese, and I was surprise by thee amazing replicas when I was in China about 2 years ago (and since than I live in China in varies of city that produce the goods), and I do have many many experience in this area with a lot of connections that involve in the replica business

First,

The fake clothing was original started by western people particular (black American, and some south African) which I do have quite a bit of research over it, and confirm is true, the market start about 7 years ago, now is growing to become one of most important business in that city, however most people who buy are Americans mostly and some in Europe and South African, ofcourse later this few year more and more Chinese are into this copy business and with strong support with foreigners, which provide them with sample even material, all they do is using cheap Chinese labour to produce something alike to make profit

At about 2004 and later on the Korean, Taiwanese, HongKongese and some Japanese are into this market, with some very high quality fakes. And some of the quality is remarkable which I even personally wear them because of the price and availability

WHY counterfeit good started

I personally living somewhere in western country for over 13 years and I sort of understand how it started, with heavy marketing especially luxury brands, the price can be ridiculous high in some country, for example, the country I stay in only get supply form left over stocks, and price twice as high in US, in this case many smart business man started to produce there own, not only for business but in a way it increase the style and possibility for owning some stylish clothing, this happen to South Africa for example quite a lot.

Also a lot of people cannot afford the price of the real thing, mainly the currency value
Example $1 US can mean nothing for you but it can buy u a really good meal in China, the average income of city I now stay in china is $130, but they do have same desire when they exposure to all this massive brand bombarded advertising? Whose fault?

The article is getting long and boring, anyone interest please post here and I will keep write on, by the way I can tell what is fake what is not, if you need help with particular purchase maybe I can help

As a consultant based in Beijing and involved in researching counterfeiting, I don't know where to begin in picking this apart.

That part about black Americans is racist. It is obviously also ridiculous to suggest that most of the consumers of counterfeit goods are American. The domestic market could never thrive with such a small customer base.

China and other countries have been producing good counterfeits of a range of objects for millenia. Counterfeiting of luxury goods goes back much longer than seven years.

Clearly, I'm insulting my own intelligence by responding to this post.

 

[Whokilledme]

PS: racist will not be the issue here, I can write all about racist in counterfeit good for another good forum, the point I trying to raise is, the relation that have to be aware of is the Western are putting so much pressure into Chinese, without a thought of looking what is really happening, who are the one really counted for? The mass advertiser? The people who started this in China? The very large amount consumer which not even based in China? I'm not a local Chinese but it really make me doubt what is happening?

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by Whokilledme

I'm not a local Chinese but it really make me doubt what is happening?

could've fooled me

 

[cookieoflife]

Rip off goods starting only 7 years ago? Huh, it must've been a miraculous anomaly that over 13 years ago I was able to find streets full of fake Coach wallets and Burberry bags in Hong Kong. Or that my parents remember much of the same thing. And you can not be serious when you place the root of most counterfit goods on Black Americans. I mean, even if you equate the rise of "ballin' culture" with the rise of counterfeits, you're still at least a decade off.

The only thing I agree with in your "article" is that the fakes are getting good. Like, seriously good. On my last trip to HK this winter break, some street vendors were selling Fendi bags with actual holograms, pretty good craftsmanship, and authentic badging. The only ways you could tell that these weren't legit was that they cost the equivalent of $40 and that the holo was a little smudged.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by cookieoflife

The only thing I agree with in your "article" is that the fakes are getting good. Like, seriously good.

It's alarming just how close they are getting. I'm a member of a few anti-counterfeiting groups for luxury goods brands and with Louis Vuitton, for example, we've discussed the recent phenomenon of bags called "superfakes," which can cost as much as half the originals and are nearly indistinguishable from them. These are not your $10 Canal Street plastic bags that fall apart in a week; you literally have to get down to counting the number of stitches or weighing the zipper pulls in some cases to tell the difference. I can only assume that as other brands become very popular, these "superfakes" will come out as well.

But, as for the OP, as several other members have noted, there is more generalization than fact in there. I'm not sure if some of that is a result of typographical errors that make the meaning more difficult to ascertain, but the issue is far more complicated than just a group of Westerners and Africans getting together in 1999-2000 and deciding how great it would be to counterfeit luxury goods.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Whokilledme

PS: racist will not be the issue here,

It will if you keep posting ignorant bullshit like that.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

there are bags called "superfakes," which can cost as much as half the originals and are nearly indistinguishable from them. You have to get down to counting the number of stitches in some cases to tell the difference.

Yes, some fakes can fool long time employees of LV, Gucci, Chanel, Etc............

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

Yes, some fakes can fool long time employees of LV, Gucci, Chanel, Etc............

Yep; traditionally LV would always unofficially authenticate a bag for you if you would take it in to the store. Lately, though, there have been a number of cases where employees okay'd a bag that later turned out to be fake (and, even then, the bag had to be literally taken apart or compared 1-on-1 with the same model in the store to tell the difference). As such, many LV stores have stopped this "perk" policy and, of those that still do it, in many cases only the store managers (and sometimes not even then) are really qualified to do it.

But, of course, these bags are not as common as the Canal Street fakes, but they are becoming more and more prevalent, especially as LV becomes more and more popular. Because they NEVER have sales or wholesale their goods, I suppose some people just assume that paying half-price for a new bag is a better deal. Personally, I have no idea; paying $500 or more for a fake bag just seems absurd to me. I'd rather have a used one or just save my money until I could get the real thing, if it meant that much to me...

 

[hughjoen]

This reminds me when I was in Beijing last year on business, I saw a NorthFace pullover that look exactly like the one my niece has for $15 versus $60 at REI. One of my colleagues there told me these pullovers were directly from the manufacturer of the Northface in China so they are real. Are they making the superfakes from the leftovers from the actual manufacturer of NorthFace? Also he told me not to buy high end goods like Gucci from Gucci store here because, the employees are switching store items with the superfakes so they can keep the original for themselves.

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by hughjoen

Are they making the superfakes from the leftovers from the actual manufacturer of NorthFace?

Honestly, I don't know about Northface, but the added difficulty here is that many of these European luxury goods companies now circumspectly produce much of the items in China and then ship them to Italy or France, sew on a button or a zipper, and mark it "made in Italy" or "made in France." So, perhaps some of these superfakes are, as you mentioned, coming straight out of the facilities that are making the real bags. Prada, for example, doesn't even fudge it anymore; there are any number of items in their collections now clearly marked "made in China."

For those that are not, I also read that in some cases former employees were even brought in to help. Of course, I have no idea if that is true, but it would make sense. I've seen a few of the superfakes and, truly, you really have to spend a lot of time and effort to tell the difference (which most people simply won't do). I suppose the counterfeiters realized that there was a lot more money to be made in getting $200 for a fake bag than $5, just by taking a little more time and effort on their part.

As for buying goods from authorized boutiques, I'm not sure I agree with your colleague. If you are talking about resellers, "select shops," wholesellers, or anybody except for Gucci (orXXX luxury company) -controlled entities... then yes, I'd be wary. But, the factory-owned flagship boutiques (like Gucci, Prada, or LV in Shanghai or something) would have an awful lot to lose if an item they sold in their store was fake.

I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen, but these brands spend a lot on trying to maintain a certain image and control over the products kept in their own stores... As well, employees of these stores have to sign a number of legal documents and agreements such that "keeping the real bags for themselves while selling fakes" would get them not only fired, but with a nice lawsuit added on top. Finally, the fact that such a "switch" could be perpetuated would mean that everybody from the floor-staff to the store managers would have to be in on the deal, which I just don't buy. It hardly seems worth it to risk your job, a lawsuit, and potential jailtime for a $500 handbag.

 

[mr monty]

"The fake clothing was original started by western people particular (black American, and some south African) which I do have quite a bit of research over it, and confirm is true, the market start about 7 years ago,"

I'm black and that was a big secret to me. Where were the factories/sweat shops located at 7 years ago. You are saying we made the fake goods, sold them to Asians (they had all the retail shops), and then we would buy them back?
You are full of Sh*t! Fake Designers (lV, Gucci, Coach, etc.) has been around for over 20 years.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by mr monty

"The fake clothing was original started by western people particular (black American, and some south African) which I do have quite a bit of research over it, and confirm is true, the market start about 7 years ago,"

I'm black and that was a big secret to me. Where were the factories/sweat shops located at 7 years ago. You are saying we made the fake goods, sold them to Asians (they had all the retail shops), and then we would buy them back?
You are full of Sh*t! Fake Designers (lV, Gucci, Coach, etc.) has been around for over 20 years.

Evidently you missed the memo.

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by cookieoflife

The only thing I agree with in your "article" is that the fakes are getting good. Like, seriously good. On my last trip to HK this winter break, some street vendors were selling Fendi bags with actual holograms, pretty good craftsmanship, and authentic badging. The only ways you could tell that these weren't legit was that they cost the equivalent of $40 and that the holo was a little smudged.

These are the Grade A fakes.
Fakes in China comes in many grades. Grade A uses real leather etc etc.

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

As for buying goods from authorized boutiques, I'm not sure I agree with your colleague. If you are talking about resellers, "select shops," wholesellers, or anybody except for Gucci (orXXX luxury company) -controlled entities... then yes, I'd be wary. But, the factory-owned flagship boutiques (like Gucci, Prada, or LV in Shanghai or something) would have an awful lot to lose if an item they sold in their store was fake.

I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen, but these brands spend a lot on trying to maintain a certain image and control over the products kept in their own stores... As well, employees of these stores have to sign a number of legal documents and agreements such that "keeping the real bags for themselves while selling fakes" would get them not only fired, but with a nice lawsuit added on top. Finally, the fact that such a "switch" could be perpetuated would mean that everybody from the floor-staff to the store managers would have to be in on the deal, which I just don't buy. It hardly seems worth it to risk your job, a lawsuit, and potential jailtime for a $500 handbag.

It is probably true that the employees sign contracts prohibiting that. But given that:

a. China view laws differently from Western countries. Many Chinese businesses after flagrantly breaching their contracts, brazenly turn around and claim that they can 're-negotiate' their contracts or that contractual terms are merely 'guidelines' to be followed.

b. It is so easy to just switch bags secretly when the store is empty and put original tags and paperwork on them.

I would be wary of buying branded goods in China. Anyway, its very very pricey there.