Knock off purses. Why?

[KandD]

It is true only for relatively cheap brands like Coach or Juicy. I never shopped on Canal Street and I never bought online, well I never bought a single replica at all, but I explored couple of replica sites, they are all over internet. What I noticed is price is same for every brand, $200 on that side witch is pretty crazy for a fake. You can buy a real Coach for same money at some outlets. I guess people just do not know.

I bought a Coach offline a few years ago, I can't remember if it was Ebay or Overstock.com bidding site, but I paid $100 for it and as soon as I opened up the box I knew it was a fake! It only took one time for me to learn my lesson! LOL. I don't buy purses online anymore. But I did email the seller and she returned my money including my shipping costs.

 

[KellyNY]

Crisi, I think your end of life goals sound wonderful. It's great that you have enough money to live comfortably and that you want to help future generations with your money.

Here's my example: I may or may not end my life with millions. Right now I'm in the position of paying off the last of my and DH's school debt and a trip to Disneyland and Hollywood that I took my dying mother on - I couldn't afford it in the slightest and went on credit. It was her dream trip. I own my little car and have no other debts.

I have always been financially responsible, though far from wealthy! I put myself through two degrees working 2 or 3 jobs at a time in addition to full time classes to come out with as little debt as possible. Now I'm working part time in order to better care from my mum who I moved in with when she got her cancer diagnosis last June. Between DH and I we're managing and able to put about $2k a month to the debts - we'll be debt free in a few months!

So why did I "waste" money on an $800 bag?? Well, to be fair, it was on sale for $600... Each week I take $5 for myself, in cash, and put it in a jar. Along with some odd change and birthday and Christmas gifts it adds up. When I have a few hundred dollars I buy myself something I wouldn't otherwise consider. I have a beautiful pair of red bottomed heels and I carry a gorgeous purse. I buy something beautiful maybe once every two or three years. It's something just for me. DH has adopted a similar "splurge" savings.

As I said, we're on the right track, but may never have millions to leave behind. But that doesn't mean we won't make a difference. After my mum passes, we're going to South Africa. DH will complete his post doctoral studies and I'll be volunteering with a government organization as a professional volunteer. I'll be training other people as teachers to bring education to some of the regions and villages that otherwise would never have access to a teacher. Will I be paid a lot for those two years of work? Nope! But in way many people will never experience, I'll be making a difference.

People may want to judge me by my handbag, and for the most part I don't care, but I hope you can agree from my brief summary of my life and they would be quite wrong. It just goes to show that judgment in either direction is rather pointless.

P.S. Next big purchase, probably in the fall, is jeans! For $200. Maybe I should go to the other thread to defend myself...

Great example Ember, you can make a difference and treat yourself at the same time.

 

[crisi]

You never mentioned any charities you support now, all your projects stated in a future as per your posts. If you do, good for you, but you never stated that. I did not say you laugh at people who support charities, I said you laugh at those who besides charities and all saving/investment projects spend on expensive staff. Maybe where you live people do not wear them, I do not know, but here in NY where I live, it is pretty common. Sure some are replicas, and trust me you will never know difference, but many carry real things. Many wear inspired bags but you will never mistake them with real thing. Here, we are very openminded about what anyone wears or carry. It is common to see a person in BMW, wearing 99c flip flops and the other way around. People wear what they like, the key is nobody is judging.

Everyone judges, you judged me when you said "I couldn't afford it" - you judged rich people when you said we don't shop at Kohls. You don't know very much about me at all, but you were willing to make all sorts of assumptions about me and how I spend or don't spend my money - and have made all sorts of assumptions (also known as judging) throughout this thread.

I'm willing to bet plenty of New Yorkers judge you for what you wear and don't wear. I happen to know a few.

 

[KellyNY]

I bought a Coach offline a few years ago, I can't remember if it was Ebay or Overstock.com bidding site, but I paid $100 for it and as soon as I opened up the box I knew it was a fake! It only took one time for me to learn my lesson! LOL. I don't buy purses online anymore. But I did email the seller and she returned my money including my shipping costs.

It happens all the time. I read about Costco had some fake bags, do not remember what brand, they claimed they did not check them, possible. That is why when I will be ready to buy, I will buy from Macys or official retailer. You got bad replica, I guess, some good once, look exactly same.

 

[crisi]

Crisi, I think your end of life goals sound wonderful. It's great that you have enough money to live comfortably and that you want to help future generations with your money.

Here's my example: I may or may not end my life with millions. Right now I'm in the position of paying off the last of my and DH's school debt and a trip to Disneyland and Hollywood that I took my dying mother on - I couldn't afford it in the slightest and went on credit. It was her dream trip. I own my little car and have no other debts.

I have always been financially responsible, though far from wealthy! I put myself through two degrees working 2 or 3 jobs at a time in addition to full time classes to come out with as little debt as possible. Now I'm working part time in order to better care from my mum who I moved in with when she got her cancer diagnosis last June. Between DH and I we're managing and able to put about $2k a month to the debts - we'll be debt free in a few months!

So why did I "waste" money on an $800 bag?? Well, to be fair, it was on sale for $600... Each week I take $5 for myself, in cash, and put it in a jar. Along with some odd change and birthday and Christmas gifts it adds up. When I have a few hundred dollars I buy myself something I wouldn't otherwise consider. I have a beautiful pair of red bottomed heels and I carry a gorgeous purse. I buy something beautiful maybe once every two or three years. It's something just for me. DH has adopted a similar "splurge" savings.

As I said, we're on the right track, but may never have millions to leave behind. But that doesn't mean we won't make a difference. After my mum passes, we're going to South Africa. DH will complete his post doctoral studies and I'll be volunteering with a government organization as a professional volunteer. I'll be training other people as teachers to bring education to some of the regions and villages that otherwise would never have access to a teacher. Will I be paid a lot for those two years of work? Nope! But in way many people will never experience, I'll be making a difference.

People may want to judge me by my handbag, and for the most part I don't care, but I hope you can agree from my brief summary of my life and they would be quite wrong. It just goes to show that judgment in either direction is rather pointless.

P.S. Next big purchase, probably in the fall, is jeans! For $200. Maybe I should go to the other thread to defend myself...

It sounds like you are quite content with your purchase and it brings you joy. I'm happy for you. If I were into purses, I might choose to spend my money the same way. (I'm not universally frugal myself - I have a number of "handbags" worth of wine in my cellar.)

And, the honest truth is that if I see someone carrying a really cute purse or cute shoes - even though I myself would never spend 'significant' money on such things - I often say "cute purse!" Regardless of if its a cute $1000 bag or a cute Target bag.

What bugged me was the whole position of "laughing at" someone who carries a knockoff. If you are going to laugh at others, be prepared to be laughed at yourself. Because - as I said above - we all have our follies and foibles.

(Your points on the cost of counterfeiting are very good though).

 

[KellyNY]

Everyone judges, you judged me when you said "I couldn't afford it" - you judged rich people when you said we don't shop at Kohls. You don't know very much about me at all, but you were willing to make all sorts of assumptions about me and how I spend or don't spend my money - and have made all sorts of assumptions (also known as judging) throughout this thread.

I'm willing to bet plenty of New Yorkers judge you for what you wear and don't wear. I happen to know a few.

No, I did not judge you. Before you said you have that much of money and just described how you live, you sounded like a middle class, and I said only rich people can easily afford spending $1,200 like $20, and since you did not fall in this category, I said you cannot afford it. No judgement, pure statement. Yes, my rich friends do not shop at Kohls, I do, and the quality is not good. My friends get more expensive clothes that lasts much longer, while I keep throwing my Kohls staff away. So I speak from my experience. Some people in NY may judge me but mostly we do not care, you may know some of them but I live here, so give me a credit on that, I know what I am talking about, just like you know your area. So as you can see, I made some assumptions about you based only on what you wrote but I never judged. I made some statements about rich people based on my personal experince but did not judge. You on the other hand openly judge/laugh at anyone who does not save a single $$ like you.

 

[crisi]

RADLEY! I just love that little scottie and his adventures. No one in the US ever seems to know or care who made it, but I get comments on the cute scene on the bag all the time. Thankfully they are not popular enough to knock off!

They are really cute, and I covet your bag. And I haven't even seen it.

(I've had the chance to buy one when we've traveled and have passed it up - they are SO cute, and SO not what I need in a handbag - which is something to throw all my junk in with a strap long enough to sling over a big winter coat, that I don't get upset when the cat barfs in it or I scrape it against a salty car in the parking lot. I'm tripping over enough 'stuff' without adding really cute purses I don't use.)

 

[Miss Ree]

I am the same way with my Dooney's I love the D & B's but not the newer ones that are made in china but the Vintage bags that were made here of the AWL.
I also enjoy a few Coach bags but I don't that brand as well.
I don't carry knock offs but if that is what someone else prefers then by all means carry them and be happy !!!

 

[Boxley]

Nice!

I judge people who carry fake bags, and I don't feel a bit bad about it. I love designer inspired purses, and I think they are a great alternative for those who like the look of expensive designer purses but can't afford (or don't choose to afford) designer prices. In fact, back when those Louis Vuitton cherry blossom bags were so popular I bought a cheap cherry blossom purse which I loved - but it didn't claim to be an LV. It was just a cheap purse with a pretty pattern (which was similar to the LV cherry blossom pattern) on it. Actual knockoffs, though, that have the "designer lables" on them? Those are incredibly tacky and sleazy. I have much more respect for someone who carries a $15 Walmart special than for someone who spends any amount of money on a fake Louis Vuitton. So if you buy counterfeit merchandise, and support the theft of intellectual property, then I'll certainly judge you for it. If that makes me a snarky hag, I can live with that. I've been called worse.

Just remember everytime you laugh at someone for their knock off bag, the majority of brand names have the reputation of being made in sweatshops, your bags are not one bit better than those in counterfeit. (Examples of sweatshops: Prada, Gucci)

 

[jackie101]

Oh please, who cares if a purse is real or fake? If you like it and it holds your stash, what's the big deal?

There are more important things in life.

 

[Ember]

Just remember everytime you laugh at someone for their knock off bag, the majority of brand names have the reputation of being made in sweatshops, your bags are not one bit better than those in counterfeit. (Examples of sweatshops: Prada, Gucci)

You know, I had a very long response typed out when I went back and actually read the above post more closely. I'm a little unclear. Is your point that there is no difference between the problems within a legitimate company and problems of the counterfeit black market? Because that I would take serious issue with.

However, if the real crux of your position is that people shouldn't stick their noses in the air because they own a pricey bag, that's a very different position. Laughing at anyone for something like the bag they carry is very sad. However, it's not the same things as disapproving of the counterfeit industry.

 

[Evi]

hrm so here is my take if your buying a designer label why wear an obvious knock off. Like the fake LV from nyc so tacky but then here is the kicker.
My BFF of forever was in china with her husband and she went on some ridiculous shopping spree where they took her to buy pearls and knock of designer stuff. Ok so she bought top quality pearls for $200 that when we took them to Tiffany's and Mikimoto they said they were in the $5000-8000 range.
She also purchased LV knock off bags that when held right up to the ones I purchased at the LV flagship store in Champs-Elysees Paris sadly were indistinguishable so much so that we took them to the local LV shop and they couldn't believe they were fake but she only paid the equivalent of $15 per wallet and $25 per bag. She also purchased Versace clothing and shoes that we also took the store and they told us it was from there upcoming spring collection and that it was authentic. But no they were not authentic they were knock offs. truth be told you don't get that lvl of quality knock of in this country its funny that you can get it overseas. If you travel to China, Dubai or even in paris the lvl of knock offs is ridiculous. So do I shop knock offs? NO but you know LV just doesn't have that same charm for me anymore lol

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

As much as I enjoyed reading this thread I must say.....

THIS IS SOOOOO RIDICULOUS!!!

Really ladies? (Or gentlemen) Seriously?

These replies have nothing to do with the original post...but then again, this post was pretty pointless to begin with. WHat kind of responses was the OP really looking for?

I think drama and apparently, they got it.

Ya'll are defending how you spend your money(or don't) or how well you live(or don't) to people who have NO RIGHT to know!

So who are you trying to convince?

 

[wdwfan16]

hrm so here is my take if your buying a designer label why wear an obvious knock off. Like the fake LV from nyc so tacky but then here is the kicker.
My BFF of forever was in china with her husband and she went on some ridiculous shopping spree where they took her to buy pearls and knock of designer stuff. Ok so she bought top quality pearls for $200 that when we took them to Tiffany's and Mikimoto they said they were in the $5000-8000 range.
She also purchased LV knock off bags that when held right up to the ones I purchased at the LV flagship store in Champs-Elysees Paris sadly were indistinguishable so much so that we took them to the local LV shop and they couldn't believe they were fake but she only paid the equivalent of $15 per wallet and $25 per bag. She also purchased Versace clothing and shoes that we also took the store and they told us it was from there upcoming spring collection and that it was authentic. But no they were not authentic they were knock offs. truth be told you don't get that lvl of quality knock of in this country its funny that you can get it overseas. If you travel to China, Dubai or even in paris the lvl of knock offs is ridiculous. So do I shop knock offs? NO but you know LV just doesn't have that same charm for me anymore lol

The purses are the same because they came off the same line. Some go to the company and the others to the black market. The clothes are the spring collection that is just being shipped now.

 

[Ember]

As much as I enjoyed reading this thread I must say.....

THIS IS SOOOOO RIDICULOUS!!!

Really ladies? (Or gentlemen) Seriously?

These replies have nothing to do with the original post...but then again, this post was pretty pointless to begin with. WHat kind of responses was the OP really looking for?

I think drama and apparently, they got it.

Ya'll are defending how you spend your money(or don't) or how well you live(or don't) to people who have NO RIGHT to know!

So who are you trying to convince?

Really? I've seen threads on the DIS that discuss everything from how to pass time in ride line ups to how to get the best photograph of ducks, and yet you take issue with this thread to the point you need to put everyone down?

What on Earth is wrong with having a conversation? You may not care, but so what? I'm not "defending" myself in the sense you mean, I was using myself as an example. I've talked about my finances on the boards before as well as the situation with my mother for support in both areas. Heck, on this board, people post all the time about their money and how or why they spend it - it's a budget board after all.

I just don't get the need to step into what has been a very polite and rational discussion and start insulting people. Or maybe you just don't like the civil tone of things so far and thought you'd stir the pot?

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Really? I've seen threads on the DIS that discuss everything from how to pass time in ride line ups to how to get the best photograph of ducks, and yet you take issue with this thread to the point you need to put everyone down?

What on Earth is wrong with having a conversation? You may not care, but so what? I'm not "defending" myself in the sense you mean, I was using myself as an example. I've talked about my finances on the boards before as well as the situation with my mother for support in both areas. Heck, on this board, people post all the time about their money and how or why they spend it - it's a budget board after all.

I just don't get the need to step into what has been a very polite and rational discussion and start insulting people. Or maybe you just don't like the civil tone of thins so far and thought you'd stir the pot?

I was more or less referring to people putting OTHERS down by talking about what they can or can't afford.

And I honestly wasn't trying to put anyone down or insult anyone, and don't see how I did.

To me this disscussion started out on a bit of a sour note. Not a BLATENT one, but as you well know, a civil conversation can be unkind one.

I wasn't trying to stir the pot I was really just stating my opinion as was everyone else...and if I offended anyone in particular, I appologize.

 

[Scurvy]

Just remember everytime you laugh at someone for their knock off bag, the majority of brand names have the reputation of being made in sweatshops, your bags are not one bit better than those in counterfeit. (Examples of sweatshops: Prada, Gucci)

I don't laugh at people with counterfeit bags. I said I judge them, not that I laugh at them. I don't find theft of intellectual property to be funny. The justifications for the thefts are sort of funny, though!

As for my bags, of course they are better than counterfeit bags. Whether I carried a $15 Walmart bag or a $1500 LV bag, it would be better than a counterfeit bag. I don't care how much someone spends on their bag. I do care if they are buying bags that are illegal copies of actual brands, or actual designer bags that were stolen from the production line to be sold on the black market. I don't care what you can or can't afford, but I'm disgusted by people who support those who steal others' designs and products. To me, buying a counterfeit or black market purse is no better than buying a TV that you know was stolen from someone's house. You can try to justify it all you like; it still doesn't make it acceptable.

 

[Millermom0606]

I was kind of wondering #1 how this got on who makes what a year, and #2 how it is anyones business but mine and my DHs what we make a year and what we choose to spend our money on..... like who are you to tell me that bc we aren't millionaires I can't buy myself a $350 coach bag???

I don't care who carries what, I just find it really funny/annoying when people try to tell you somethings real (no matter what it is) when they've also mentioned it came from somewhere known to sell fakes...... (purse party, claires selling 'diamonds' kinda thing.... but saying its all real)

 

[Millermom0606]

I'd rather carry a $20 bag b/c I can afford it, and its cute.... than some fake one bc it says coach on it just B/C it says Coach on it.......... KWIM???

 

[Ember]

I was kind of wondering #1 how this got on who makes what a year, and #2 how it is anyones business but mine and my DHs what we make a year and what we choose to spend our money on..... like who are you to tell me that bc we aren't millionaires I can't buy myself a $350 coach bag???

I think some people posted this sort of thing, myself included, to challenge some of the assumptions being made. You're right in that it's no one's business, and you should feel no pressure to justify yourself, because you're also right in that it's completely unnecessary.