A friend of mine recently asked me where to buy fake bags in NYC and honestly, I was at a loss for words. I knew that such things existed but finding where to buy them? I didn’t have a clue. Plus, I’m not one for supporting such activities – it just wasn’t worth it for me!
But since he was adamant and so persistent on buying one, I figured I could help. I searched around a bit, asked in a few local forums, did a bit of digging from the good ol’ Google and finally found a few interesting places. Tiny shops in Brooklyn, selling almost real-looking knock-offs. I thought, “well, at least he won’t get ripped off!”
On one of the sidewalks near Center street was a tiny shop, much like a hole-in-the-wall, where bags were being sold out of black plastic bags. I thought it was quite dark alleyway-ish, in all honesty. But he was a man on a mission and was unbothered by the sketchy ambience; he got right down to it. The bags were all pretty much the same – almost indistinguishable from the real deal, but standing next to it, you could see faux materials being used and you could easily spot the tell-tale signs.
We moved on from there and found our way into a mall a few blocks away. It was almost surprising – the level of the knock-offs was much higher in the mall. They all looked so real, with perfect logos, colors, materials, etc. They were cheaper too – my friend was over the moon. Although his suspicious browsing (which he insists wasn’t suspicious at all) wasn’t appreciated by the old man sitting in the corner. He gave us a few looks of suspicion too!
We then went further into the alley of Chinatown. This was a much more bustling street, with vendors clumped together in a span of about a block and all selling all sorts of things – bags, purses, wallets, shoes, clothes, the works. Again, the bags were incredibly similar to their real-life counterparts, but there were a few differences. The material was a bit off, the seams were poorly done, the logos were a bit out of shape – so you knew not all was real.
All in all, my friend got his bag and left very happy. His mission of buying a fake bag in NYC was successful – albeit a bit shady. I must admit, these places have their pros and cons. Yes, prices can be way cheaper, but so can the quality – and working conditions might be questionable too. Ultimately, I’m still not advocate for buying knock-offs, but I know that there’ll always be someone in need of something like this.
Now, off to the 4 expanded sections:
The Brooklyn Scene:
We started at the Brooklyn scene, where I found several interesting shops in the area. The shops weren’t the most stylish, and they weren’t the busiest either, but they had their stock of knock-offs. All the bags were a little less than perfect, but this was exactly what my friend was looking for.
The bags were made with quite good-looking materials, which could almost pass for the originals. Even if I knew they weren’t real, I had to admit they were pretty convincing. My friend had no doubts that they were good enough for him.
The mall shops:
Next stop was a mall in the same area. Now this was more like it. The shops here had more high-end and expensive looking bags. But that wasn’t the only difference; the quality of the bags were much better too. Everything was perfectly aligned and counterfeited, from the logo to the materials used.
My friend was very impressed, but he was more impressed when he heard the price. Everything was much cheaper there than it was anywhere else. Of course, the shop keeper wasn’t too pleased when he started ‘testing’ all the bags before making a purchase.
Chinatown Vibes:
Finally, my friend and I decided to go to Chinatown. Here the streets were a lot more busier and the shops a lot more cramped. Most of the vendors didn’t even have proper shop fronts. The only way to identify them was by the piles of bags on the sidewalk.
It was quite chaotic there, with so many people and so many bags. Unfortunately, most of the bags were of lower quality. The material was soft, but it wasn’t quite leather and the logos were a bit off. It was difficult to find something decent in the middle of the mayhem.
Online Shopping:
After considering all the shady offline options, my friend decided that his best bet was to shop online. He found several websites that were similar to eBay, where people were selling fake handbags.
The bags looked really real, arguably better than the real ones. You could even find good quality customer reviews and the prices were quite reasonable. My friend felt much better purchasing a bag online than going out and buying one of the dodgy knock-offs.
In the end, my friend was a happy customer. Even though I still urge caution when it comes to buying fake bags in NYC, I’m glad that he managed to get something that he was satisfied with.