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With out-of-towners streaming in to take part in NYC's holiday festivities and shopping, those guys on the corner, with the easy-to-pack-up displays of fake purses have been sitting pretty. Yesterday, the NY Times examined the busy Canal Street counterfeit purse trade, which was bustling. While most woman can't (and won't) pay $1,000 dollars for a new purse, many might have opted for a less expensive key ring or coin purse that might go for $150-200, just for a little bit of the Louis Vuitton or Chanel experience. But in the article there were chilling words to high fashion labels, as "Carol from Summit, NJ" said, while buying a seriously faux Dior coin purse, "You'd have to be out of your mind to pay what they charge for these things uptown...I like the fact that it's a knockoff. It makes it kind of cute."
NYC Comptroller William Thompson says that New Yorkers are losing more than $1 billion in taxes because of the counterfeit trade (here's a PDF of the report, "Bootleg Billions"). And taxing counterfeit bags or DVDs is not part of the solution. And the best counterfeit story we've heard is that the knock-offs of those basic, black Kate Spade bags are so good (or the real ones are that shoddy) that some women have gone to department stores, returning the fake Kate Spade bags for refunds, leaving the buyers to find out what happened much later.
Gothamist on counterfeit purse bust and the Jelly Kelly, a fad of seasons past.
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Yeah, you'd have to be out of your mind to pay more than $1000 for a bag, but I don't see how that then justifies buying a knock off. I can't afford a Mercedes, so does that mean I should steal one?
i work on broadway between walker and white - the streets that are filled with little nooks where hundreds of chinese women stand around with trash bags over their wares, waiting for the word "go". then they run (and i do mean run) back to canal street to fight for position. then, if cops arrive, they run back to walker street, where they do it all over again. it's funny - that is, unless you make a living selling handbags, perfume, watches, sunglasses, or the like, in which case it's infruriating.
The "stealing a Mercedes" analogy isn't really correct, since if you steal a Mercedes you are depriving someone else of one, whereas if you buy a knockoff bag you are not. We're talking knockoffs here, not stolen merchandise.
Also, the "we lose $1 billion in tax revenue" argument is a little oversimplified. Do the fake bag sellers spend their profits in the city? There's tax revenue for you. Would the people who buy fake bags have bought real ones? Most likely not. Not saying there's not lost tax revenue somewhere along the line, but it's more complex than they make it out to be.
Drew
So, let's say I can't afford a $10 movie ticket (or don't want to pay it; some people who buy knockoff bags are perfectly capable of paying for the real thing.) I sneak in to the movies on a quiet weekday and take a seat. The theater is not busy and my seat would have been empty anyway. No big deal right?
What if I buy a book, photocopy it, and return the original to the store in perfect condition? I'm not depriving anyone of the book, right? No harm, no foul?
Knockoffs are, in effect, stolen merchandise. Someone is stealing a design, market research, a pattern, a material style and reaping the benefit. That the real designer bags cost hundreds or thousands of dollars - or that authors get big advances and movie producers tons of royalties - makes no difference. It's theft.
Calling it straight up theft is a little overboard I think. Would a "legitimate" knockoff, ie one that sells in Century 21 but still fits your description of theft (same design, pattern, style), be ok then? What about movies or other creative products that are unoriginal knockoffs?
If it's theft (which it may be), it's theft of the name or brand. That's why knockoffs in stores are ok: they're not actually using the original brand name, whereas these bags usually are.
So yeah, I guess it's theft, but of a brand image or cachet, not something material.
Drew
The thing most people don't realize is most so-called knock-offs are made in the same factories that the "legit" ones are made in. Yes, there is definitely counterfeit merchandise out there, but if a factory has an order to make 2000 Kate Spade bags and then they make 3000 Kate Spade bags, all of the bags are the same. The difference is the first 2000 are sold officially. And the last 1000 is sold unofficially.
And the tax revenue argument is bullshit. If you calculate the amount of city resources that are being spent to combat this supposed problem, I think the costs easilly negate itself.
Brand names need to protect their brand. But they also get tons of free advertising and brand awareness from knock-off items. It all works out in the end and people are too harsh on bootleggers.
Von Dutch is reaping disturbing margins by selling trucker hats that cost $5 to make for $60. That is the real rip-off.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, of course, and plenty of clothing and fashion is simply derived from other people's ideas. A certain style of dress or bag is popular and suddenly everyone, from coutoure fashion houses to mass market retailers are copying it, hoping to get in on the trend.
But we're not talking about similar designs or styles. We're talking about manufacturers who slap "LV" or a big "G" or a fake "Kate Spade" label on a bag or "UGG" sticker on a pair of boots and call it the real thing. That's theft.
And again, whether Von Dutch sells their hats for $10 at a $5 profit or $100 at a $95 profit is irrelevant. If you don't think it's worth it, don't buy it. Their is no markup index that determines when it is okay to steal.
I have a REAL coach, a REAL dooney, a gucci, 3 louis vuitton's, a dior and a chanel. and countless wallets. I love buying knockoffs. end of story.