Chinese authorities say they have dealt with numerous cases of counterfeit LV bags and Alexander McQueen watches, which were falsely presented with "authenticity" certificates.
On March 15th – World Consumer Rights Day – the Yangcheng Evening News published an article about how manufacturers and sellers in China transform counterfeit goods into genuine ones. Some customers accept buying fake branded goods, while others are deceived into purchasing counterfeits.
According to the article, when visiting the Zhanxi shopping district in Guangzhou, consumers may encounter salespeople who specialize in soliciting the purchase of counterfeit designer goods. Within a radius of less than 100 meters, there are approximately 10 people engaged in this activity. They will lead customers to stores selling fake designer products, often hidden within office buildings to avoid detection by authorities.
The tactic of these counterfeit rings is that when they see a luxury item selling well, the factories buy genuine products to use as samples for mass production. The shops here sell all kinds of counterfeit products, from every brand imaginable, such as Hermès, LV, Gucci, Nike, and Adidas.
For example, an authentic Alexander McQueen watch costs 6,200 yuan (approximately 21.3 million VND), while counterfeit versions range in price from 160 yuan (approximately 550,000 VND) to 380 yuan (approximately 1.3 million VND). Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1 shoes are rare and expensive, but for just 380 yuan, consumers can own a pair identical to the original.
A shop in Guangzhou is allegedly selling counterfeit designer bags. Photo: Yangcheng Evening News
For 1,300 yuan (4.4 million VND), buyers can carry counterfeit LV bags, the official retail price of which is 25,600 yuan (88 million VND). They even come with a receipt and a certificate of authenticity from a "store in South Korea." Buyers can even look up the store's information and the origin of the goods online. The fake bags become "authentic items in overseas stores."
Authorities in this country believe that the network producing and disguising counterfeit goods as "authentic products from overseas stores" is sophisticated and professional. The stores provide complete documentation including purchase receipts, instruction manuals, tags, boxes, and warranty cards. These "certificates of authenticity" are sold for 30 yuan (approximately 103,000 VND).
To deceive buyers, sellers may collude with people within logistics companies to falsify shipping information. Therefore, a designer bag manufactured in Guangzhou could be presented as a "handbag" from an official store in Hong Kong, South Korea, or other European and American countries.
According to lawyer Liao Jianxun from a law firm in Guangdong, under the Trademark Law, using another person's trademark without the owner's consent constitutes trademark infringement and may even be a criminal offense. He urged consumers to report counterfeit goods to the police or market regulatory authorities.
According to Chenbao , in recent years, police have arrested and prosecuted many cases of using fake invoices to defraud consumers. Jiangsu police once arrested a woman surnamed Xu for allegedly defrauding a victim surnamed Wang of 22,000 yuan (approximately 75.5 million VND). According to Wang, trusting Xu, who was a student studying in France, she transferred money to Wang to buy a limited edition Hermès bag. Upon receiving the bag, she had it authenticated and found it to be fake, so she reported it to the authorities. Xu confessed to buying the fake Hermès bag and the accompanying documents and invoices online and reselling them to Wang for profit.
Despite Chinese authorities cracking down on trademark infringement rings, counterfeit distributors remain rampant. This is partly because both sellers and buyers haven't yet firmly rejected counterfeit goods. On the other hand, with low production costs but high profit margins, these production and supply chains don't miss the opportunity to make money.
As reported by Anh (according to Yangcheng Evening News )
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