The replica industry

The replica industry .

The founder of www.networkvintage.com, by Vintage Gurus, Helene Valentin, was once at the waiting list for a pair of Prada two-toned lacquered boots with a matching bag. “When it was my turn at the waiting list, the replicas were all over the place. I wore them a couple of times, but all the fakes ruined part of the fun ” .

However tempting it may be to buy an excellent replica of the wonderful bag with a long waiting list and overdraft to match, or the extraordinary pair of shoes that you will only wear once or twice, but occasionally take out of the cupboard to give them a loving admiring glance, www.networkvintage.com neither buys nor sells any replica items.

We are not talking about the 10€ ”Rolex”, light as a feather, you might buy after a glass of rosé at lunchtime, on a summer holiday .

We are talking about an industry of replicas, which, seriously, undermines the quality work of proud craftsmen all over the world, who can spend more than a month on making that perfect piece of lace for your dress, or the shoe shop that hand stitches every single seam in your pair of shoes.

Aside, from the obvious ethical issues, when buying fakes, there’s no way of knowing whether we’re funding terrorists, illegal drugs or child labour. We do, however, know, that the global amount of money spent on fakes is far beyond the souvenir Rolex, that might work for an hour, before it falls apart.

The global replica industry has an estimated turnover of 7% of all annual world trade, according to The International Chamber of Commerce, making the total counterfeit or pirated goods worth an estimated 600 Billion US $. Some fakes are so well made, that the evaluators have to have the fake in their own hands, as the replica is so accurate that it can´t be identified from photographs alone.

Unfortunately, the counterfeit industry isn´t limited to luxury goods. It also manufacturers electronics and spare parts for cars, bringing lives in danger. Food and beverages are produced illegal as well; in March 2016, 85 tonnes of olives was confiscated in Italy, as it was painted with Copper Sulfate to enhance the colour.

10.000 Liters of fake alcohol was destroyed in UK in one month, along with chocolate and sweets aimed at children .

If you have a more, professional interest, it is possible to contact www.lipcic.org where Interpol offers, a course in International Intellectual Property Crime.

An old cliché says, that if a bargain is to good to believe, it usually is.

If you find a bag you want to place a bid on, at i.e. eBay, you can contact Purseforum at purseblog.com or Etichelerauthentications.com, where you can send the photos from the listing, before you place your bid. The fees of a few Euros are well spent, as in most countries it is considered a serious crime, to posses illegal goods, of any kind .

We wanted to link to some of the sites that offers counterfeits, here, but the brands close them as soon as they appear, one had 2000 different replicas of Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags, alone .

Lego has a department in Denmark with 20 full-time employees, that sues any kind of replica of the popular little plastic bricks.

Cartier invites the International press to an event every year in China, where they bulldoze thousand of fake watches in the streets.

The reason that the fake industry exists is of course, money, as this article from Financial Times explains :

“Incredible increase Chanel presented her 2.55 flap bag in February 1955 and it is the oldest and most wanted bag from the Chanel collection. The most popular design of Chanel at the moment is the Classic Flap, which is a reinterpretation of the original 2.55 by Karl Lagerfeld. In 1955 the bag retailed for a prize of €199, quite an expensive bag of the time. In 1990, the price of a classic Chanel was €1030 ; the slowest growth in value the Classic Flap bag has ever experienced. From this period onwards, Chanel started to use different pricing strategies and the price tags started to skyrocket. The worth of the bag was €1470 by 2005, €2550 by 2010, €3940 by 2012 and eventually €4260 by 2016. This means that the value of the bag has increased with 71,92% over 6 years.”

There are certain signs to look for , you will see a couple of the more obvious examples here …