ASA 141 | April 13, 2019
Week 3 Blogpost
'When the Original is Beyond Reach'
The article 'When the Original is Beyond Reach' caught my attention as I was unaware of how the counterfeit market is such a problem globally. I wasn't aware of the impact it had on people and nations across the globe or how it's even a crime to begin with! Most love luxury for its beauty, quality and individuality; however, when someone replicates the authentic product and sells it for a far more cheaper price, then the authenticity as well as value of the product drops. The study conducted by Hennings et al. looked through the psychological and behavioral aspects of why consumers give into luxury or counterfeit products in Germany and South Korea. This study was fascinating to me since Koreans looked down upon counterfeit goods due to social norms or not being accepted into the community while Germans don't purchase counterfeits due to poor quality or going against ethical means. Just purchasing the same type of product differs between nations and so do the justifications for buying or not buying counterfeits.
I can understand why the counterfeit community makes so much money and as the consumer demand for counterfeit increases, these companies won't stop making them. When someone loves a product so much and can't afford an arm and a leg for a designer bag, then settling for a replica does the job, but is the tradeoff really worth it? I could see why designer brands find it offensive when their design gets copied and sold as counterfeits; however, it's understandable that such things would happen as consumers come from all sorts of demographics and since designer labels are unattainable for many who admire their looks then that's where the counterfeit community comes in to fulfill that consumer's desire.
Whenever I love the uniqueness and design of a luxury brand, but can't afford it I always ask myself if I'm willing to purchase the replica, but I stop myself. For me, buying a replica doesn't mean I'm scared people will look down upon me or I wouldn't fit in socially, but rather I imagine how I'll be paying for something that won't be as functional or durable and feel kinda bad for wearing a designer knock-off of something that was created by someone who had a vision for creativity, then it was just stolen and someone else is now taking the credit for it. This leads me to ask, would you be willing to buy a counterfeit product?
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