How To Spot Them ; Fakes Vs Dupes
You spot a gorgeous designer bag, products from a popular cosmetics brand or even a pair of shoes and fall in love with it/them, you go in for a further look and begin to notice a few things that seem off, Is it fake ?
Image from Wix.com
The difference between the two; a fake is a cheaper imitation often of a designer product or products from a popular brand. Fakes not only seem identical in terms of the packaging and overall design, they also bear the brand’s trademarked name and logo. This is why selling and buying fakes is illegal and can get you arrested in some countries. Italy recently amended their laws in regards to fake goods: buyers of fake goods can now be fined KSH 1.2 million (yes, over a bag, or shoes)
A dupe bears the same design as the original product, but they never bear the brand’s name or logo. Instead they bear the manufacturer’s name. Dupes are perfectly legal (provided the products’ design they imitate is not patented. As is the case with Christian Louboutin red bottoms.) In most cases, if you’re purchasing them online, dupes’ names’ often include the term “dupe”. This informs the consumer that what their buying is not the original designer product but a similar and more affordable version of it (and most importantly legal version)
So now we know how to identify a dupe, but here’s how to identify a fake; I believe there are two tell-tale signs, the price and the location of sale. Designer items are expensive (shock,lol), with So Kate Louboutins retailing slightly below one thousand dollars (about 100K in shillings) Even on sale, the price can only be decreased by so much, so if you come across a pair at a throw away price relative to the actual cost, chances are it is fake.
Image from wix.com
Another indicator is the location, Designer brands often have particular outlets that sell their products, and so do popular brands selling other things (for example, apple products) , you simply need to go on their website to find their physical stores or buy them off the website directly. You can also check the websites of stores known to stock those brands. Such as Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus and for original makeup check Macys.com and Sephora.com
So what should we do if we want that cute purse but don’t have hundreds of thousands to spend on it? Get a dupe! Not only are they much more affordable (waay waay waaay more affordable) it is also the more ethical (and legal lol) option.
That is all for this post,thank you for checking it out ! hopefully you found some of the info on here helpful. If you would like to see more posts, hit the subscribe button here.
- Xo Alex.
