FabSugar

Are You More Tempted to Buy Fake Goods in a Weaker Economy?

FabSugar — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:00:22 PDT

While some of fashion's greatest have been hit hard from troubling economic times, one sector has profited during the demise: counterfeits.

"If you're a luxury brand and you don't think you're being counterfeited, you're living in a cave," said Harley Lewin, intellectual property lawyer. "It's a constant fight."

With consumers not being able to afford the "real thing," the counterfeit market has gained monetary momentum in the past couple of years selling fake shoes, bags, and other goods online and in stores. Such illegitimate business - which mostly comes from China - cost retailers about $250 billion a year and 750,000 lost jobs. That said, brands are suffering while impostors are reaping the benefits of hard times. Are you tempted to buy fake goods during tough times?

Knockoff Perfumes Made With Pee, Might Support Terrorism

BellaSugar — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:00:11 PST

The headline basically says it all. Good Morning America did an investigation and found that counterfeit perfumes, which often end up being sold in kiosks, on the street, and sometimes even at the mall, can contain disgusting, dangerous substances like urine, antifreeze, and bacteria. And even worse, the proceeds from them often go to organizations that fund terrorism, drug cartels, and child labor. Doesn't smell so nice, right?

The trouble is, it's hard to tell whether the perfume you're buying from a vendor is real or not, and if you pick up a bad batch, you might end up spending more on doctor's bills than you would have on the real thing, plus you don't know where your money is going. Perfume is one of those things that's really personal, but given this information, I'd say try to buy something less expensive, or experiment with nicely priced essential oils, instead of hitting the knockoff stand. Check out the investigation below:

Organics Industry Plagued by Recession and Scandal

YumSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:30:45 PST

It's only January, and the organic industry is already having a bad year. Not only have producers been losing consumers due to the hefty price tag of organic food, but the industry has struggled to maintain its integrity.

With organic feed prices at an all-time high, farmers in the UK are lobbying the government to temporarily relax organic feed standards to assist livestock producers who are currently paying twice as much for organic feed as they would conventional. In California, state investigators have discovered that California Liquid Fertilizer, an organic farming treatment, had been spiking its fertilizer with a synthetic product banned from organic farms. The tainted fertilizer infiltrated up to a third of the organic market, including produce giants such as Earthbound Farms, for up to seven years. Following the incident, investigations have begun into other organic fertilizer distributors in different states.

With these issues now in the spotlight, it's my feeling that consumers will be left confused about organic standards of quality, and distrustful of industry practices. Does this affect your preferences about shopping organic?

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Connecticut First State to Tackle Counterfeit Olive Oil

YumSugar — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:00:47 PST

Everyone from health experts to Rachael Ray has touted the benefits of olive oil. As demand for expensive, higher-quality olive oil has grown, however, so has the problem of fraud. Last year, Connecticut officials discovered that some of that state's olive oil was a little too slick. As a result, beginning next month, the state will be the first in the country to set quality standards for olive oil. The state's new regulations prohibit additives and define virgin olive oil as "obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means . . . which have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decanting, centrifuging and filtration." California and New York have expressed interest in enacting similar standards because counterfeit olive oil poses a potential health risk to consumers. Some people experience adverse reactions from unscrupulous olive oil, possibly as a result of food allergies to soybeans, tree nuts, and peanuts.

Often, when I'm buying cooking olive oil, I look for bargain prices. Now I'll take more interest in the brands that I choose. Will you do the same? Does this type of criminal activity surprise you?

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Fake Ferrari Ring Busted

LibertySugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:01:16 PST

Italian officials arrested 15 people involved in selling imitation Ferraris online. Wannabes could buy the knock-offs for only $30,000, a fraction of what the real thing would cost. Predominately made with pieces from American Pontiacs, included only a few pieces from the real 328 GTB. 14 cars, along with altered authentication papers, have been sold.

This story makes me ponder why people buy luxury goods. Is it only important that everyone thinks you're driving a Ferrari? Or is the real thing worth the price tag?

Do you think you could spot a counterfeit sports car, as well as you could spot counterfeit Gucci sunglasses?

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Fab Flash: New York Police Crack Down on Counterfeiters

FabSugar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:00:22 PST

Yesterday morning, New York City police officers seized more than $1 million in knockoff accessories and fragrances bearing labels like Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Calvin Klein, and Coach.

Three buildings were raided on a block in Chinatown formed by Canal, Walker, and Centre Streets, which housed 32 storefronts illegally selling fake goods. According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, this is one of the largest raids on trademark copiers in the city's history, following a seizure of $45 million in counterfeit merchandise back in 2005. Crazy!

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How to Spot Fake Cosmetics

BellaSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:12:07 PST

Since many of you had questions after my first post about counterfeit cosmetics, I created a guide to spotting the fakes. Although you can find some good deals on eBay, fake goods are extremely prevalent. Watch out for phony MAC, Nars, and Bobbi Brown - although a few other brands pop up as well. Use this guide to protect yourself from bogus beauty, and be prepared to laugh and cringe while you browse through these fakes.

Beauty Byte: L'Oreal Sics its Lawyers on eBay

BellaSugar — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:00:37 PDT

Quick, call the crack team at Boston Legal! L'Oreal is taking eBay to court in five European countries, claiming that the auction site isn't doing enough to crack down on counterfeit cosmetics and fragrances. L'Oreal produces more than just its namesake products; it also owns The Body Shop, Lancome, Kiehl's, Shu Uemura and produces fragrances for Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Viktor & Rolf and Cacharel. In a statement, the company said:

"L'Oreal has been facing an increasing volume of illicit trade in fake fragrances and fake cosmetic products on some online auction sites."

I'm no Matlock, but my guess is that this lawsuit won't go far, because eBay is merely the conduit for the illegal sellers. If you're concerned about buying fakes, check out my guide to spotting them.

Black Market Makeup: How To Spot Fake Cosmetics

BellaSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:00:20 PDT

You might think that counterfeits exist only in the realm of "Mark Jacobs" and "Guchi" purses, but there are fake and black-market beauty goods, too. I love a bargain, so I wind up buying a lot of housewares and accessories on eBay. But when it comes to shopping for cosmetics, you've got to be careful. I've found quite a few counterfeit eye shadows, lipsticks, glosses and fragrances-all offered at prices that are too good to be true. While there are honest sellers out there, a few folks are out to make a quick buck.

Why is buying counterfeit merchandise a bad idea? There are a few reasons, but first and foremost is your health. If you don't know where a product really comes from, or what ingredients are inside, why would you let it touch your skin? Counterfeits also funnel money into shady operations, and-oh yeah-they're illegal. And on a less sinister level, the colors just aren't accurate!

To find out how to avoid buying fakes,

Common sense will take you a long way. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is! For instance, the 12 "MAC" eye shadows shown here were being auctioned on eBay for $24.99. Hmm, that's a pretty low price, considering a single shadow is $14.50 in the stores. Now, I can't tell whether those eye shadows are genuine or fake, but the price seems a little odd.

For that particular auction, I also looked at the seller's feedback, which had complaints by bidders who claimed the MAC shadows were fakes. The seller also had dozens of similar auctions; why would one person have literally hundreds of "new-in-box" eye shadows? Is there a possibility that this particular seller is legitimate and just being accused of selling fakes? Of course. But it's not a chance I want to take.

For most people, common sense will help you spot obvious fakes, but the counterfeiters are getting better and better at making their junk look like the real thing. This detailed guide has great examples of counterfeits lined up to the real thing, and I recommend it as an excellent reference.

What do you think? Would you buy counterfeit makeup to save a few bucks, or would you rather save up for the real thing?

Would You Ever Buy a Counterfeit Handbag?

FabSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:34:33 PDT

Thanks to hvnly34 for the poll idea!

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