How many of you have purchased something that was a knock off? I admit it, I purchased knock off Chanel sunglasses this past summer from a vendor next to me at a local fair. Imagine my surprise when I came across this blog and the video it shows.
The buying and selling of counterfeit products is costing American businesses $200-$250 Billion dollars a year and the loss of 750,000 jobs according to The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is not only the knock off of sunglasses, purses and watches you can find on any New York City street corner, but it also carries over into cosmetics, movies, music and even clothing and footwear like Air Jordans.
This issue is no longer in major cities like New York City, but it is something I have found delving over into my small town in Northeast PA. My first encounter with counterfeit handbags was during an in home demonstration I was doing at a hostesses house. In the middle of the show, in walked two women who were friends of the hostess, both with their arms overflowing with purses. Without saying a word, they lined up the handbags down the hall and then announced to my guests that they had knock off’s for sale and that if anyone wanted to purchase them, they needed to do it right now. I was taken aback by their audacity to interrupt me, but even more shocked when 15 of the 20 women raced for the hallway.
Since this first encounter, I have found more and more people signing up to be vendors at our local fairs to sell everything from counterfeit Gucci handbags to knock off brand name clothing. Locals are keeping them in business with their willingness to pay for these items.
Now that I know what buying a knock off is doing to our economy and more so that I am putting people out of work, I won’t be buying anything other than the real deal.
What about you, have you ever purchased a knock off product?
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