# Why do consumers buy fake brands?



## Cristovao

What motivates people to buy fake brands 

Everyone has their favourite brands, but they still buy fakes of them, why 

People may have their own favourite luxurious brands. They buy the fakes of it to make impossible things happen?


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## maxiogee

I cannot understand why people buy fake brands, or why they buy brands which are likely to be faked.
Why do they feel they need the cachet of owning an XYZ?
I usually decline to purchase items which are explicitly branded by the manufacturer. In my youth only Levi jeans had such a thing, the orange stitching and the red tag on the pocket. Now it seems all clothing targetted at the highspending teenager carries free advertising.


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## KateNicole

Just because one wants a Prada bag doesn't mean he or she can afford one . . . and that's why people buy fakes.  I'm very against it though, as it is illegal (if the logo or brand name is copied almost exactly) and many are made in sweatshops by children.


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## tigger_uhuhu

In Mexico, the big one reason to buy a fake brand is that is cheaper than the original... (very much cheep!) 
Any way... there is no possible justification it's illegal!
Is cheaper, yes but is poor quality too!!!


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## cherine

The simple reason is, in my opinion, people want to have fancy things but can't afford them, so they buy the fake brand as the only possible alternative for them, as they don't want to dress as their financial means allow them to.
Another thing : Sometimes people don't really have much choice. In poor countries where people *need* technology but can't afford it, so the only thing they can, unfortunately, do is to buy "stolen" software. Most people in such countries have their computers runing with unlicensed software (except for companies, because those not only can afford the software, but are also subject to surveillance and run great risk if they use illegal software).
Of course this is an illegal thing, but can you tell me how can a person with an annual income of $1000 afford buying, let's say, an antivirus software annual license of about $50, an operating system worth at least $100, Office pacakage worth about $ 500 or something like that ? Designers need appropriate graphic designing software but can't afford them, at least till they make enough money to buy originals....

Tough choice, huh ?
And please don't tell me poor people better not use technology, being poor is no excuse for ignorance and illetracy, nor is it an excuse for using illegal stuff either, but what would you do if you were in their shoes ?


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## maxiogee

Surely part of the reason that the copy (of say a Prada handbag, or a pair of Levis) is cheaper is because it is shoddier and won't last as long as the real thing?


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## cherine

Of course, fake things are of third class, not only don't they last long but they're not as good as the original in the quality and in the making. I personally don't buy such things, there are many stuff that are very good though not made by "trade marks", and they sure are much much better than the fake ones.
The fake brands are mainly produced to satisfy those who long for "image" but don't have the means for that. So, if people would only care about more profound things, fake market can be closed.


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## maxiogee

My point was not about "profound" things. I was thinking that if a real Prada handbag sells for 800 and a fake one sells for 100, would not an 'ordinary' handbag which costs 100 be a better quality item than the fake, which is not only shoddy, but also overpriced shoddy?

People who are impressed by the fact that I have an XYZ item (whether it's a fake or not) are not people worth impressing.


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## cherine

maxiogee said:
			
		

> My point was not about "profound" things. I was thinking that if a real Prada handbag sells for 800 and a fake one sells for 100, would not an 'ordinary' handbag which costs 100 be a better quality item than the fake, which is not only shoddy, but also overpriced shoddy?
> 
> People who are impressed by the fact that I have an XYZ item (whether it's a fake or not) are not people worth impressing.


Precisely, that's exactly what I believe, sorry if I didn't express myself more clearly.
I think it's stupid spending money on fake trades just to show off, or to pretent being richer or more "classy" than what we really are.


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## Cristovao

I agree the point that people are buying fake brands in order to "show off", showing people that they're different. They are materialistic. Sadly, another factor is driving the growing fake brands purchases is that fake products are in very high quality with very cheap prices now. People could hardly distinguished between the real and fake brands, so why should they buy the real ones? This is their thoughts.


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## Rach404

Thing is, the fashions change so often, that by the time you've saved up to buy the designer item, it has gone out of fashion, and there you are standing with last season's cast-offs...I personally don't go for any kind of labels because I just cannot be bothered with the whole thing, but only rich people can afford to buy the real thing every time a new version comes out, so that's partly why people buy the fake versions...they can be replaced a lot more quickly...that's my opinion anyway.


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## hess-chan

I guess people want to have the designer products for low prices.

I don't buy brand names, and hence I don't buy fake brand names, but I know people who do. I think it's a bit strange because it's often not as good quality as the original, although it costs A LOT less!


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## Hakro

Why not? I have found that so-called brand products are very often made in low-cost Far East countries and the quality is rather unacceptable.


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## Cristovao

Set aside the luxurious clothing brand and think about some other things like fake CDs. In China, it only costs $0.8 for a DVD (It is in high quality that people can't even distinguish them). People would then think: Why should I buy the real ones as those are the same with much cheaper prices? 

Nowadays fake products have reached a "professional" quality level that make people buy them. Seriously, is there any people out there who would think on the sides of the manufacturers who produce the real brands?


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## mjscott

We buy fake stuff all the time. Drug companies spend millions upon millions of dollars to research the real stuff. For their efforts, they are given a patent for only 7 years or so to make up the money they spent on research. During that time, pills cost as much as $10 per pill, but you will buy them because they will help what's ailing you. After their patent runs out, the generic drug companies get the recipe and make the exact same product and sell it for a fraction of the real cost. Why should I insist on buying the real product whose company has not yet dropped its prices? I go to buy a cough syrup in the drugstore. The famous brand is right next to the drugstore chain's generic equal. I turn the box and read the ingredients and find that both have exactly the same ingredients in them. I'm not going to try to impress someone who is trying to snoop through my medicine chest that I buy the brand name cough syrup! Buying brand name stuff in the first place is for people who want to be duped into believing that they are purchasing a piece of art--when in reality the same sweatshops that make the knock-offs are sometimes making the designer labels, too--right in the next room! 

Today I watched a TV program where they were showing new beachwear. The bikini modeled on TV cost $7,000. Oh, yes, and if you wanted to accessorize, you could get this tiny belt to go with it for only a mere $500 extra. Get out of here! You would have to tell everyone you know--both on the beach and somehow cunnivingly weave it into everyday dinner conversation that your bathing suit for the season and accessorizing belt cost you $7500. If you didn't, no one would even know you didn't get it at Target or JC Penney's.

Paying for someone's piece of art on a runway is one thing. Those pieces inspire others--just like what your neighbor did in his front yard inspires you to try something new this season. There's nothing new under the sun--except for the saying by PT Barnum: _There's a new sucker born every day!_


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## zebedee

mjscott said:
			
		

> I go to buy a cough syrup in the drugstore. The famous brand is right next to the drugstore chain's generic equal. I turn the box and read the ingredients and find that both have exactly the same ingredients in them.



I think the psychology behind this example is a little different to the psychology behind the decision to buy a fake designer product.

The difference in quality between a real designer handbag and a copy is palpable at the moment of buying it. You know when you buy it that it won't last as long, you know you're buying an inferior product. Your only reason for buying it is to show off in public until the bag falls apart. 

Whereas the decision to buy generic medicine over brand name medicine is taken on the premise that you know the ingredients are exactly the same when you buy it. Same quality, lower price.

This is the point Cristovao makes when he says:


			
				Cristovao said:
			
		

> In China, it only costs $0.8 for a DVD (It is in high quality that people can't even distinguish them). People would then think: Why should I buy the real ones as those are the same with much cheaper prices?



Buying an original DVD or music CD means you choose to respect and admire the inspiration and genius that went into the creation of that particular work of art. Buying a copy means you don't.

We had an interesting debate about piracy in this forum last year, half in Spanish half in English. Anyone who wants to look it up is free to do so. Some very interesting ideas emerged about morality and legality, but sadly the thread had to be closed in the end as people's tempers overtook their capacity for cordiality and the tone of the thread went downhill. Guilty consciences, perhaps?


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## timebomb

I'm not into designer brands and all but let me tell you the experience I had when I was on vacation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with my family.  There's a street in the middle of Kuala Lumpur that is well-known for selling fakes.  It's a narrow street and makeshift stalls line both sides of the street and also in the middle.  Every night, it's jam-packed with tourists who come from all over the world to buy cheap stuff.  Whether it's designer branded bags like Christian Dior,  Timberland shoes, Nike footwear, S Dupont pens etc, you can find it there.  

My daughter who's about 18 bought a few fake designer bags for a fraction of the price of the genuine ones.  She loves the bags so much she sleeps with them in her arms.  Now, the designs of the bags are exactly the same as the originals.  The material itself is also of a very high quality.  In fact, if not for the low prices, it's quite hard to tell they are fakes in the first place.

Obviously, the difference in prices is the main reason why consumers buy fake products but there's another very good reason too.  My daughter's friend comes from a very rich family.  But her mother who can easily afford the genuine products also buys fakes.  Why, you ask?  Well, the reason is rather simple.

Because it does not matter if the designer bag you're carrying is a fake or not.  If you're rich, people will assume you are carrying the real thing even if yours is a fake.  Whereas if you're poor, people will assume you're carrying the fake even if what you have is the genuine item.  

I bought a S Dupont pen for myself.  It looks like the real thing and writes very smoothly.  The stall owner wanted 50 ringgit for it but I bargained it down to 25.  Even at half the initial price, I suspect I paid too much for it.   Haggling can be a fine art and for someone who isn't used to bargaining, you can end up paying a lot more than the regular shoppers.  But I'm quite sure, with this pen in hand, I will go on to produce great works of plagiarism  

Loh K L


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## LV4-26

Why do they buy fake brands? The main reason is surely because it's cheaper. Now, another question is why do they buy brands anyway ? And I'm thinking more precisely of designer clothes.
I buy clothes just because I can't go out naked. I don't mind if it's brand or not. But I know my children, when they were young, always asked for designer brand. I realized the reason pretty soon. My daughter had an argument with another girl at school who said something to her which was meant to be a supreme offense :
"And you can't even buy brands" (or maybe it was "and you parents can't even afford to buy you brands")
So here's one reason to buy brands : in order to be like everybody else.


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## nycphotography

mjscott said:
			
		

> We buy fake stuff all the time. Drug companies spend millions upon millions of dollars to research the real stuff. For their efforts, they are given a patent for only 7 years or so to make up the money they spent on research.


 
The patent is 20 years, exclusivity is 7. After 7 years, the generics have to license the product for the next 13 years. Or some such.

But the irony to me is that people who understand that if you spend millions designing the drugs then you need to recoup that, have no concept of the massive effort and expense behing designing the "designer" clothing. It's NOT the cost to manuacture. It's the cost to design, make many prototype samples, grade to various sizes, contract manufacturing, and get it made. Did you realize that most designer products start with TEXTILE design. They design and make the fabric, THEN they design and make all those little trim pieces, then they can design the clothes.





			
				mjscott said:
			
		

> Today I watched a TV program where they were showing new beachwear. The bikini modeled on TV cost $7,000. Oh, yes, and if you wanted to accessorize, you could get this tiny belt to go with it for only a mere $500 extra. Get out of here! You would have to tell everyone you know--both on the beach and somehow cunnivingly weave it into everyday dinner conversation that your bathing suit for the season and accessorizing belt cost you $7500. If you didn't, no one would even know you didn't get it at Target or JC Penney's.


 
If $7000 a fair price for a bikini? It depends. If the designer spent days making it, and it is made from expensive materials, and it is limited availability, AND you can easily afford it, then perhaps it is worth it. In this case, part of the cache appeal is that you have the only one, and you won't just happen on some other girl wearing the same thing. And yes, having a talented, creative person making by hand the things you own is in fact, very expensive. 

Consider the same thing in motorcycles: A bike costs $10-20k. But a hand made, customized car bike costs many _times_ more than that.

Interesting... you would have to shout out its cost to justify having spent it??



			
				mjscott said:
			
		

> Paying for someone's piece of art on a runway is one thing. Those pieces inspire others--just like what your neighbor did in his front yard inspires you to try something new this season. There's nothing new under the sun--except for the saying by PT Barnum: _There's a new sucker born every day!_


 
I think it's important to try to separate our own values from universal values. Those things are obviously worth it to SOMEONE, or else nobody could afford to make them. So it's really a question of "what is worth it to who, and why?" Rather than a blanket statement of "it's not worth it".

Perhaps the real suckers are the buyers of knock offs? Most people fail to understand that (in the US) the biggest part of the price of the knock offs is the cost of the "risk" of selling them. IF caught, there are fines, felony convictions, lawyers, jails, etc. All that has to be factored into the price.

If you want a $10 bag, go to Target. They have cute ones, many designed by talented designers like Mizrahi. They are priced fairly, and affordably, although everyone else will probably have one just like it.

If you want an exclusive bag that nobody else has, then you have to go to the boutiques (or in NYC, Bergdorf). And there you will be paying for the higher costs inherent in the low volume business model.


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## nycphotography

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> So here's one reason to buy brands : in order to be like everybody else.


 
And there ultimately is the greatest irony.... working so hard to be so different, just like everyone else.

In many ways, style is a lot like enlightenment.

It's a lifelong pursuit that you either choose to pursue or you don't.  

Every time you think you understand it, you discover that you only figured out a small piece of it.  While you may now see and understand things that used to be a complete mystery to you (although you surely thought you understood them perfectly), you still don't understand it all, and so go back to seeking understanding, trying to make sense from the seeming chaos around you.

Eventually, you reach a point where you understand many things, and the interralationships between them, and you also understand that there is so much more to learn.

Finally, you can buy neither class nor enlightenment, at the mall.


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## maxiogee

You may not be able to _buy_ them there, but they can often be _found_ there.


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## Cristovao

It is subjective whether someone buying luxurious brands are just to show off, or do I call it materialistic. In my opinion, everyone may have some kind of thoughts of showing off, telling people how good they are. However, it really depends on the level of people are showing off. It is only those who go too far who are being criticised. We are all human beings and it is very normal that we share some typical thoughts.

I don't disagree with people buying brands, but I really do not appreciate those buying the fake brands to show off. That is a lie to themselves!


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## jokker

nycphotography said:
			
		

> Every time you think you understand it, you discover that you only figured out a small piece of it. While you may now see and understand things that used to be a complete mystery to you (although you surely thought you understood them perfectly), you still don't understand it all, and so go back to seeking understanding, trying to make sense from the seeming chaos around you.
> 
> Eventually, you reach a point where you understand many things, and the interralationships between them, and you also understand that there is so much more to learn.


Chinese has three sentences that express the same meaning:
見山是山 Seeing a mountain is (exactly) a mountain.
見山不是山 When I see it again (next time), it's not a mountain anymore. (Or, it seems to appear not a mountain.)
見山又是山 Eventually, the mountain is a mountain to me.
*山 means mountain.
*見 means seeing/to see.
*是 means is/to be/being
I can't translate it precisely, but the meaning is very much like what you said. 

I respect other's choices to buy or not to buy a fake product. I buy what I need. Most of them are cheap and don't have brands. I don't mind whether they have brands or not, as long as they are good to use.


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## jess oh seven

because it is illogical and just plain stupid to pay hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros/whatever for something like a pair of shoes or a bag.


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## nycphotography

Cristovao said:
			
		

> It is subjective whether someone buying luxurious brands are just to show off, or do I call it materialistic. In my opinion, everyone may have some kind of thoughts of showing off, telling people how good they are. However, it really depends on the level of people are showing off. It is only those who go too far who are being criticised. We are all human beings and it is very normal that we share some typical thoughts.
> 
> I don't disagree with people buying brands, but I really do not appreciate those buying the fake brands to show off. That is a lie to themselves!


 
So how far is too far?  And who determines that limit?  And who decides if that decision as to the limit is _really_ too far, or if its just jealousy setting that limit?

Style is one of those intangibles that are almost impossible to quantify.  As soon as you reduce it to a formula, then it almost instantly becomes the next cliché.  How much is too much or too little changes with the whim of the season.

Here's a question to get us back near the original topic:

I'm not old enough to remember clearly:  Were Luis Vuitton logos as ubiquitious in the 70's as they are today?  

I ask because I was watching "High anxiety", and Mel Brooks nailed the LV clíché dead 30 years ago.  Madeline was covered head to toe with LV logos... including her car, and ever her teddy bear!


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## Cristovao

nycphotography said:
			
		

> So how far is too far? And who determines that limit? And who decides if that decision as to the limit is _really_ too far, or if its just jealousy setting that limit?
> 
> Style is one of those intangibles that are almost impossible to quantify. As soon as you reduce it to a formula, then it almost instantly becomes the next cliché. How much is too much or too little changes with the whim of the season.
> 
> Here's a question to get us back near the original topic:
> 
> I'm not old enough to remember clearly: Were Luis Vuitton logos as ubiquitious in the 70's as they are today?
> 
> I ask because I was watching "High anxiety", and Mel Brooks nailed the LV clíché dead 30 years ago. Madeline was covered head to toe with LV logos... including her car, and ever her teddy bear!


 
You're right, it would be very difficult to set a general limit on it. Therefore, I would say those ones who buy fake brands to show off would be very unacceptable whenever they make people around them feel bad and horrible.


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## Cristovao

Dear all, I have just found out some key comments of this discussion to create another poll, titled "a continuation post of why do consumers buys fake brands".


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## GenJen54

Since this thread has apparently worn out its shelf life, it is now closed.  Please add any further insight in the other thread.


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