Similarly so, the problem seems to be very obvious on Instagram. Showcasing high quality counterfeit purchases from the Chinese marketplace, DHgate, the hashtag has over 17 million views with users flaunting everything from their fake bags to their take-off limited edition runners, all purchased for a fraction of the authentic retail price. On TikTok, the hashtag “DHgate unboxing” is one of the more popular trends on the viral video app. Today, we’re more exposed to the counterfeit industry, no longer is the shady trade limited to side streets in holiday hotspots and hidden on the internet for those on a quest to find some decent knock-offs, nowadays, you only have to open the likes of TikTok and Instagram for it to be right in front of you. These include money-laundering, document fraud, cybercrime, financial fraud, drug production and trafficking which is unfortunately, not surprising. This is a clear indication that consumers appetite for fake goods is not diminishing, but at what cost? Not only is the production of these products illegal, with manufacturing and working conditions not compliant with relevant safety standards, but Interpol has also revealed that counterfeiting is used by criminal gangs to support other types of organised crime. Taking into account the counterfeit products across a wide range of sectors, the report particularly noted that lost sales in the cosmetics and personal care sectors have increased by €2.5 billion in the EU since a comparable study by the EUIPO in 2019. This, in turn, is feeding into the estimated figure that the EU governments are losing €15 billion in lost taxes due to fake goods. In June of this year, the Irish Times published a report which stated that Irish businesses are losing more than €400 million annually due to counterfeit sales. Today, it’s not just the global brands taking the hit, yes “Chanel shoes”, “Louis Vuitton bags” and “Supreme t-shirts” still top the list as some of the most heavily targeted goods by counterfeiters, and equally, as searched by consumers, but those forging fake fashion are constantly trying to think ahead of the curve, targeting smaller brands with potential, undercutting their sales and hindering their businesses entirely. But 2006 was a totally different ball game to 2020, and now, the counterfeit industry is a much bigger beast than it was in the noughties. So I did it, strutting off in style with my Gucci bag, spelt Guccci I might add, but I didn’t care about that, because it looked real and I felt rich. Impressed by the vendor’s lack of fear, selling fake designer products only a stone’s throw from the legitimate stores themselves, I wondered to myself, ‘if he can get away with this, why would anyone pay thousands for a handbag, when they could grab a knock-off for less than a tenner off this brazen salesman?’Īs a teenager, my lack of knowledge on the counterfeit industry, my want to get a piece of the designer pie, and my need to impress my friends at school kept me from batting an eyelid at the bigger issue I was paying into by handing this man money. It was 2006 and I was on a holiday with my family in Rome when I spotted ‘Prada’ and ‘Gucci’ bags for sale on a rug down quite a busy street. I remember my first encounter with counterfeit fashion. If you shop smart by buying only what you need and will use, then you have the potential to save - otherwise, you're out of luck.Counterfeit fashion isn’t a new phenomenon, but 2020 has seen a surge in illegal knock-offs, with face coverings joining the booming trade of the rip-off retail world. Billie Blair, an organizational psychologist and CEO of Change Strategists, Inc., said that because of "membership fees, wastage from overbuying (products and such), the necessity to buy in quantity (canned goods that sit on shelves and have to be discarded), etc." most "warehouse clubs almost never save money for the individual shopper." In other words: if you are throwing away food because you bought too much of it, plus paying an annual fee, you likely aren't saving anything. Michael Clayman, editor/writer at Warehouse Club Focus, told The Motley Fool (via Fox), that the results of price reporting "show the dramatic savings a consumer receives by shopping at a club compared to the other two."īut here's the thing: it isn't just about price. The report points out that the prices are, indeed, lower at a place like Sam's Club compared to a store like BJ's or traditional grocery stores.
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