week 3- When the Original is Beyond Reach

Sapana Gautam
ASA 141
Week 3

In this article, Nadine Hennigs talks about the demand of counterfeit luxury goods, focusing on the respective differences between Germany and South Korea.  The results showed that South Korea deems luxury goods as being representative of one's social value while Germany deems them as having superior functional value.  In this case, Germans are more likely than South Koreans to confess to buying counterfeit goods, and South Koreans tend to buy counterfeit products that are harder to distinguish when compared to the original.

This article was quite an interest to me because it got me wondering about the consumer perception in America.  The perception differed between Germany and South Korea as their cultures differed; however, in a country as diverse as America, how would the consumer perception differ?  Are Americans less likely to confess to buying counterfeit products?  Are we more likely to buy deceptive or non-deceptive counterfeiting?  What is our top reason into indulging ourselves in counterfeit products?

Personally, I am one to buy non-deceptive counterfeit products as this article would define it.  I am not a big fan of the "big brands" because I believe labels are a false product of consumerism meant to trick people into buying more than they need to.  However, if a certain style of clothing or shoes are trending at the moment and a less known label creates a similar product to one created by a bigger brand, I am likely to buy it from the smaller label as long as it has good quality.  I do not expect the quality to be as high and rich as the big brand, but as long as it is durable and comfortable, I do not deem that as a valuable factor.  As a consumer of non-deceptive counterfeiting, I believe I am also more likely to confess into buying them; I see nothing wrong in doing so as well.  One should not be ashamed of their social status because at the end of the day, it is just an idea that was made up.  Buy what you feel physically, mentally, and financially comfortable in; forget the social norms!

Now I ask you: Where do you stand?