Posted on 12/13/2011 1:48:17 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
December 12, 2011, 9:02 PM HKT
Latest China Knock-Off Craze: Luxury (Shopping) Bags
The ability to flaunt Gucci and Chanel shopping bags has long drawn Chinese shoppers to luxury labels. But now China’s high-end show-offs are figuring out that there’s no need to spend thousands of yuan for a bag that’s available online for a mere fraction of the price.
According to a report in the state-run China Daily, shopping bags emblazoned with names like Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada and Burberry have become the latest must-have among Chinese online shoppers – and in true China fashion, most of them are fake.
Online peddler Wang Xuesheng sold more than 600 Louis Vuitton-logo sacks in one month on e-commerce site Taobao.com, the report said. Cost per bag: 3 yuan, or roughly $0.50.
“I used to produce paper bags for people who had created their own brands for online stores but later I noticed an increasing demand for paper bags with logos from high-end goods,” the China Daily quoted Mr. Wang as saying.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
P!
I buy my coffee from sette/undice, my clothes from Chez Costco and my ride is a Honda sportsvagen. And I’m damn proud of it. Up yours, status hogs!
These knockoffs have been available in Thailand for at least a decade, although now there are copyright police that have driven the trade underground.
I’ve seen people locked up at the Meadowlands Flea Market (outside Giants Stadium) here in NJ for this stuff; the State Police start locking them up at one end of the lot, while at the other end there is a frantic scramble to load up the vans and beat it.
My wife pointed out to me milk in the dairy section from China the other day. Despite knowing everything comes from China I was still surprised. We’ll have to start checking babies soon to see if they have a made in China sticker on them when they’re born!
I think all any govt/police force can do is harass the sellers and keep them moving around. I imagine those folks in NJ will get fined which they may or may not pay, get their products confiscated, and be at it again another day. That’s what happens here except the ‘fine’ is usually a bribe to the cops - amounts to the same thing.
The product is easy to smuggle in; the demand is there; there is no practical way to identify buyers after the purchase or show criminal intent during it; and it is a crime nobody can work up much indignation about or sympathy for these companies.
A friend of mine worked for years for a high-end clothing company; one problem they could never address was the theft of tags. People would steal them, and sow them onto cheap Asian crap, and it would look like the real deal.
There is definitely pressure from corporations to deal with this; there are an increasing number of arrests outside Giants & Jets games in the same area for unlicensed merchandise.
Dairy products, just about all vitamins used in supplements, much of all processed seafood and chicken products, honey, fruits and vegetables (not so much fresh, but processed ingredients), etc. etc.
The Chinese need the western markets just as much as we need their products. Their economic survival depends on them.
Since you mentioned honey, it reminded me of an article I saw recently that said about 75% of all honey sold in the US didn’t qualify as honey because all pollen had been filtered out. We only buy local honey anyway.
...a lot of supplement, but by no means are "just about all" of the supplements in the U.S.A. sourced from or formulated with Chinese ingredients.
There are quite a lot of U.S.A. formulators and manufacturers who use high-quality ingredients made in the U.S.A....or Europe.
All quality OEM and contract manufacturers are very strict regarding COA's (Certificates of Authenticity) of the ingredients and original sourcing.
On another note, its all about the quality standards, GMP and SOP, of the sourcing lab and the final mixer.
Was it 1% powdered melamine, or 2%? Seriously, I dread to to think about the conditions in Chinese dairies or the likely contaminants. Meanwhile, the FDA is worried about a few dairies in the U.S. that produce raw-milk cheeses.
Hopefully products from China are tested for Melamine now since we instituted limits on the allowable content. However, I don’t trust the products from China because they have proven time and again they will take whatever available shortcuts there are in their manufacturing/production processes. I just assume the products are adulterated with something that is bad for me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.