Buying counterfeit bags is not only illegal but also contributes to a darker, underground part of our society. Every time you decide to go for a fake or counterfeit handbag you should consider what you are really investing in and opt for ahandbag that comes from a brand that you know and trust. Most of the population is not even aware of the serious issues that are linked to fashion goods. It is also hard to resist saying no to a handbag that is an exact and more affordable replica of the original.

Buyer Opinion

For people who don’t know what is really going on, the argument is that luxury companies can afford to lose a customer to a counterfeit, or that counterfeits are just the handbags that didn’t make the final cut in the production room.

For others, they get duped into buying a counterfeit only because the copy is so well made and the buyer doesn’t notice the small differences that make it a fake. And there are so many out there that fools even the best buyers.

What is worse, the increase of super fakes online is continuously growing to make the market saturated with fraudulent sellers. In the UK, it was reported that 69% of online buyers received fakes with only half of them being refunded by the online platform where the product was listed.

Big Brand Defense

Although luxury items sell for prices that seem obscene to many, companies have worked hard to get to where they are now. They have hired, trained, grown teams across the world and worked. This all falls apart when a person sees a Louis Vuitton bag - which is actually a fake -  break in front of them.

Louis Vuitton takes huge measure to protect their product. According to an article about counterfeiting on BBC, a spokesperson from Louis Vuitton reported, “Louis Vuitton believes that it is essential to preserve the house’s ancestral know-how and the work of its craftsmen by fighting the illegal networks that infringe on human rights, the environment, and global economy.”

The majority of counterfeit goods sold online makes the process for fraud prevention significantly harder for brands. Amazon, the world’s leading online marketplace, is plentiful with “potentially dangerous counterfeits and other knockoff goods”, according to a report in The Guardian.

Amazon and eBay

Legally, Amazon has watched its own back by declaring that it is not responsible for third-party counterfeits, making it a sheild against liability. Amazon takes care of the entire process between sellers and customers including storage, shipments and processes payments, but it never claims to be the owner and leaves the responsibility of decision making to the buyer - this is what keeps them at bay from being accountable.

In 2008, Ebay - on the other hand - had to pay a whopping $61 million in damages to LVMH fashion house due to its hosting and selling a huge number of counterfeits - 90% of their goods online. Unlike Amazon, they take a commision of the sales. But after this drama, eBay changed its policy to a more fixed-price marketplace with access to brand-name products and the revenue those brands can bring.

Piracy Industry Grows

Piracy has been around for a long time, particularly in the ’80s when the handbag “branding” boom began. The brand you supported and strutted around with on your arm, shoulder or wrist made a statement about you. Particularly for women who were on the rise in the business world. The temptation to buy a fake was just too strong.

The industry has grown so much since then. Remember those pirate tapes and DVDs of films recorded in the cinema with a camera? Even though online piracy downloading has basically removed these items from the market stalls,  counterfeit retail has still taken over and exploded to a $38 billion industry - and it is funding crime.

Investing in Crime

Counterfeiting brings in billions of dollars a year which makes it a perfect reason for organized crimes and syndicates to get involved. By being part of the production of counterfeit goods, these groups increase their funding for criminal activities. The multiple channels where counterfeit retail is sold also allows for these groups to sell drugs and weapons as well as create a space for their money laundering, corruption, and possible homicides.

Michael Schidlow, head of Financial Crime Compliance and Emerging Risk Audit Development at HSBC Bank, stated that there’s a “more layered story at play” highlighting that cheap luxury goods may have been produced by a victim of human trafficking or child labor.  Larger, trustworthy brands are audited, investigated and must report how they do business. With counterfeit, there is no way to know where your handbag is coming from.

So consider the options before you set off to buy a counterfeit or replica handbag! There are so many other brands out there that you can trust if you cannot afford a luxury. Otherwise, save up, and make your purchase a special one.