[LINK] Not a good week to shop in Beijing

[Kim Holburn]

On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 12:07 PM, Scott Howard <scott at doc.net.au> wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 6:11 PM, Jan Whitaker <jwhit at janwhitaker.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> <http://www.theage.com.au/world/copyright-convention-spooks-beijings-pirates-20120627-212tg.html>Question:
>> are the products sold with the brand labels sewed in
>> knock-offs or just extras made in the same factories where the "real"
>> branded items are made? What makes a fake a fake? Is a rose by any
>> other name -- etc etc.
>>
>
> They are a combination of all of the above, but most are NOT the real thing.

I've bought real goods at knock-off prices.  Sometimes it's extras
made during a contract run, sometimes they keep making them after the
contract runs out. They could also be seconds, rejected by the
contracting companies' QA guys.  Of course they don't have the QA guys
riding them after the contract runs out so the quality tends to go
down as time goes on.  Margins are so thin they start using the evil
glue or the evil dye or the evil paint.

> I've been to the area in Ho Chi Minh City where there is shop after shop
> selling not fake goods, but rolls and rolls of the fake labels to sew onto

Actually, the labels are probably not fake but real labels made for
the original products.  Just sold separately for manufacturers.

> the fake goods, as well as extras like "YKK" branded zippers (which clearly
> are not real YKK's), branded buttons, etc, etc.
>
> In many cases they are not "knock-offs" as such, but just random goods with
> brand-names on them.  I'd love to buy a replacement for my "North Face"
> backpack I bought in Asia several years ago, but after much digging I've
> confirmed that North Face never actually made a model that looks like what
> I have.  You'll also find many shops selling the exact same item under half
> a dozen different brands, based simply on the different tag that's been
> sewn onto it.

I once found a reversible jacket that was Nike on the outside and
Adidas when you turned it inside out.

> Quality varies.  I've got some some "fake" items that I bought over 10
> years ago that are still functional, and others that fell apart after a few
> weeks.

Weeks! I bought a pair of caterpillar runners that fell apart after a block.

> Specific to Silk Street which is covered in the article, they have been
> trying to crack down on counterfeit items for several years, especially
> since they moved into the new location from the old Xiushui Market about 6
> years ago, with the real push being due to the influx of tourists
> purchasing the fake goods and taking them back to their home countries.
> They are gradually starting to win, but there's still a very long way to go.

I used to watch the occasional clamp down. Stalls would shut and then
a week or so later everything would be back to normal.

>  Scott.
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link



-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +61 2 61402408  M: +61 404072753
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request