At first, she couldn’t believe it when she bought the bag. The shop assistant had promised her that it was genuine leather and it was “the real deal”. But a few weeks after she had already purchased it, she had started to suspect that something wasn’t right. She discovered that the colour of the leather wasn’t quite the same as the other bags she had at home, and the stitching seemed to be off.
When she took it to a professional leather expert, he confirmed that this bag was nothing more than a clever copy. The attention to detail was near perfect and the craftsmanship of the bag wasn’t too bad either, but eventually he could tell it was a fake.
I feel so sorry for her, she had saved up for months to purchase that designer bag, and had spent what could have been a substantial amount of money on a knockoff. I have to point out sadly that these fake bags make up a large part of the market. It’s almost easier to find a replica than an original. This is frightening, considering that most of the money disappears into international rings that undertake no tax.
I knew it was only a matter of time before these unscrupulous counterfeiters would get involved in the market of designer women bags. It’s outrageous that people are leading people to think that they are getting the real deal, when they are only getting something that looks like it. Except when it comes to quality, it’s like day and night.
How can we call out people that are peddling these fake bags and encourage them to make sure that they are selling the real thing? We should demand clear labels and tags with the brand’s name on them and insist on money-back guarantees. And in some cases, maybe even lawsuits! Anything to reduce the prevalence of these dodgy knock-offs.
The next time my friend needs to buy a designer bag, I am almost certain she’ll think twice before doing so. My advice to her was to only purchase from an authorised retailer, which she promised she would do next time.
However, counterfeiters can be pretty creative and savvy with their craft. Nowadays, their documents, tags and packing can even fool most expert buyers. To protect ourselves from getting cheated, it’s best if we acknowledge the signs and take the necessary precautions to make sure we are purchasing the real thing. We should look out for slight imperfections in patterns as well as misspellings, low-quality fabric and mismatched stitching.
Also, it is always prudent to check reviews online from honest customers. After all, most of us don’t want to end up getting ripped off and throw our hard earned money away on something that isn’t even real.
Apart from that, designers should also make sure that they continue to innovate their handbags regularly so that we can differentiate them from the counterfeits that often follow the original launch. If they can manage to keep ahead of the market, they may be able to prevent their products from being reproduced illegally.
Additionally, governments should also take their part in fighting fake handbags. Laws should be set in place to make sure these scammers don’t benefit from their illegal practices while innocent customers suffer.
It’s sad that today’s market is flooded with counterfeit items, but I think a company’s reputation should never be put in jeopardy because of these scammers. We should be vigilant and do our homework in order to make sure we are not being taken advantage of. The best way to avoid getting deceived is to stay informed and be wary of anything that appears too good to be true.