ideal off the bat I will tell you that this post may get lots of of you truly worked up. The truth of the matter is that a writer from the Miami Herald took a trip to Chinatown while checking out nyc on a search for an variety of fake bags for herself, family, as well as friends. Her composing style is witty as well as fun, however the message behind her post truly is bothersome. Elaine Pasekoff, the author, provides a play by play of exactly how she went about getting the fake handbags. What I discover a lot of disturbing is the blurb under the seemingly pointless “Illegal Business” titled “Homework”. The homework section involves a listing of how-to’s for getting prepared to get a fake bag. The listing is intense as well as ultimately, leads people to discover much better methods to support the unlawful producing as well as distributing of counterfeit handbags.
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While getting a counterfeit purse will not get your handcuffed, manufactures as well as distributors are in truth criminally liable for trafficking knock-off purses. This includes those who hold the ‘popular’ (though I have never been invited to one) handbag parties; who are liable for their involvement in their selling of counterfeit products. as well as what can occur to these makers as well as distributors of knock off handbags? They can in truth be prosecuted for violating trademark as well as copyright laws. Wal Mart settled with Fendi after selling 12 fake Fendi bags at Sam’s Stores.
Ultimately, lots of question why the Miami Herald, a widely-read as well as dependable newspaper, would enable a story such as this to publish. After all, fake purses are unlawful as well as breach trademark laws, copyright laws, as well as trademark infringement.
The cab pulls over at the corner of Canal as well as Mott. It is 9:20 on a Friday morning in late November. even before my feet are planted on the sidewalk, a small Oriental lady sidles as much as me as well as whispers the words I had come to hear, “Coach, Coach!”
”Yes,” I flash a sunny smile.
The quest has begun.
Up from Miami, I am on vacation, taking a side trip to new York City’s Chinatown trying to find artificial high-end purses. I’m particularly chasing Coach: a duffel bag for my college-age daughter; a patchwork carry for my girlfriend; the pouch for my office intern; the hobo for my sister; as well as a satchel for an unknown teen woman I had chosen in my office’s charity gift exchange.
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My guide, barely five feet, is warmly dressed in a quilted nylon jacket, well-worn denim as well as trekker’s boots. Her black hair has reddish stripes as well as she is wind-burned, certainly because of long hours subjected to raw gusts as she stalks her prey: out-of-towners as well as locals, college women as well as 50-ish women, all intending to score the best bag — knockoffs so exquisitely made that Coach-anistas may be stumped. For this, I am a lot more than ready to be led down Canal, zigzag with Elizabeth, cross Bayard as well as hike up Mott.
SHOWROOM No. 1: full of the type of enjoyment only a bargain buyer can understand, I comply with three paces behind my guide as we pass storefront windows hung with dripping Peking ducks, vegetable markets with create I cannot begin to name, as well as fashion jewelry stores ablaze with milky jade as well as garish gold.
Finally she leads me into a sparsely merchandised tee shirts shop. My guide knocks on the wall. Amazingly, a door, heretofore unseen, swings open. Megérkeztem. Crammed into a space barely 10 by 12 feet, are numerous counterfeit purses: Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada as well as Chanel. The product is suspended on wall hooks from floor to ceiling: bit clutches, huge totes, handbags of every size, plus carry-on suitcases, wallets as well as sunglasses. everything makes me dizzy.
I scan the space intensely. I begin taking down some candidates, assisted by an very useful saleswoman.
Ah, that a person lovely. new style this season,” she assures me. genuine leather, you inspect inside. You check.”
Slowly, carefully, I work the room; my stack of maybe’s” growing. Suddenly, the door bursts open as well as a figured out Oriental lady leads two American women briskly inside. They are both blond, generously sized, as well as are pulling big wheeled black suitcases.
These gals understand the ropes. They scan the room, zeroing in on 10 handbags in the time it had taken me to choose one.
Suddenly, a 40-something Oriental guy appears with a calculator. He surveys their stash, as well as moves the calculator within inches of the taller woman’s face.
”How much you want to pay?” as well as it begins. The lady punches in a price. The guy looks apoplectic. ”No, that crazy,” he moans. “That just for three purses, you got there 10.”
”Here’s what I’m going to pay,” she parries. Back as well as forth they go, the calculator gets stabbed by one pair of fingers, then another. Finally, leaving a number of of their choices on the floor, the women turn to go. ”OK, OK,” the guy concedes. ”What your last cost for this one?” as well little, as well late, as the women march out without a backward glance, their guide trailing behind.
Now I, too, need to deal with that dreaded calculator. In the end, I get three handbags as well as have to leave a few of my choices behind. however I understand my odyssey is only beginning. just as the three handbags are being stuffed into a huge green-black garbage bag, my reliable guide magically re-appears.
”Want to see a lot more Coach?” kérdezi. I nod.
Off the primary streets she goes barreling, me five paces behind as well as having a hard time to keep up. We weave down narrow alleyways where less dedicated buyers may not have dared.
Without warning, my guide slows, as well as sprints up three steps leading to A cut Above. This hair beauty parlor may have looked contemporary in the ’80s, however now it looks threatening. The disco-purple chairs are empty, looking as if they hadn’t held a client for weeks. (Even so, black hair litters the linoleum floor.) The lone ”stylist” murmurs something to my guide in an Oriental language. She answers without pause or eye contact.
SHOWROOM No. 2: In a cramped hallway directly across from an untidy bathroom, my guide knocks on what appears like a utility-closet door. The door opens as well as I step into a small wonderland of artificial designer bags. A smaller scale replica of Showroom No. 1, this location features an assortment of Coach, Prada as well as Chanel completely different from the ones at my very first stop.
Within minutes, much to my amazement, the two blonds arrive. ”Honey,” the shorter one cackles at me, “We’ve got to stop satisfying like this.”
They get down to business. I, too, get to work. as well as this time, I discover the elusive patchwork tote. When my guide senses I am prepared to do the tally, the ”stylist” appears. He names his number, I name mine as well as we appear to be in deadlock. Instinctively, I take out three $10 expenses as well as hand them to him. Surprisingly, he accepts the money without one more word. My guide provides me with one more black-green garbage bag, my carry inside, as well as off we go.
We end up in a fashion jewelry arcade. My guide winds her method with stalls brimming with jade items: bracelets, earrings as well as pendants, bonsai trees as well as little multicolored landscapes. She stops, walks into one of the stalls, as well as knocks on the wall. It’s showtime again.
SHOWROOM No.3: There are my blond buddies, this time around deep in negotiations with an overweight 20-something man. The women seem not to notice me. No matter, I have no time to lose. I swiftly total my objective by choosing a number of bags that are close matches to the ones on my listing — as well as some other ”brands” for myself, too. I feel a sense of achievement akin to completing a 5K. With barely a haggle at stop No. 3, my purchases are tucked inside yet one more green-black garbage bag.
”More Coach?” my guide queries.
”No, thanks,” I shake my head gently.
I came, I saw, I purchased. I was prepared to leave Chinatown. The experience expense me $215: $195 on six purses, which if authentic would have been $3,040 retail, plus $20 for a cab.
As I head for the door, the tall blond shoots me a quick glance. ”Doll,” she merrily suggests, “We have to do coffee.”
unlawful BUSINESS
There’s a dark side to the counterfeit handbag trade.
For instance, Marcia Van Wagner, a deputy comptroller for new York City, estimates the general knockoff market costs her city ”$2 billion in lost revenue” yearly.
In Miami, Zachary Mann at U.S. Customs states that annually his company seizes ”pirated products with a domestic value of around $100 million” nationwide, adding that the “yearly trade in counterfeits is a worldwide issue in the numerous billions of dollars.”
The underground market ”has a unfavorable effect on the united states in lots of ways,” states Harold Woodward, director of field operations in Miami for U.S. Customs.
”We don’t understand the producing processes utilized, or the chemicals utilized to create the merchandise,” he says. “Many counterfeiters use products that are prohibited or extremely regulated in the United States.
”Morally, there is the possibility that the counterfeit product was created in sweat shops using kid or slave labor,” Woodward says.
Even so, while legislation enforcement targets makers as well as sellers of counterfeits, laid-back purchasers are unlikely to be busted.
— ELAINE PASEKOFF
HÁZI FELADAT
Before your trip, inspect the official brand web sites as well as ended up being familiar with the styles. when in Chinatown, right here are a number of things to check:
“¢ test every zipper, unsnap each snap, as well as make sure every closure operates smoothly.
“¢ look at the labels or tags, aS is, és keresse meg a helytelen írást, mint például a Gucci, egy „C” -nel.
¢ Győződjön meg arról, hogy a bélések varrva vannak, és nem ragasztva vannak.
„¢ A nagy hamisítványok szimulálják a hitelességi címkéket a pénztárcákon belül, és gyakran márkás logókkal rendelkeznek a cipzár húzásain, valamint tartalmaznak monogrammal ellátott védőszövet -tároló táskákat.
¢ megakadályozzák a kézitáska eladókat az utcai sarkokban, különösen a Ground Zero vagy a Times Square környékén. Általában rossz minőségű hamisításuk van.
Cikk, valamint a kép Miami Herald segítségével.
További információ a hamis pénztárcákról, amelyeket itt fedeztek fel.