To be honest, when I moved into Guangzhou, China, I was overwhelmed by pervasive and rampant knockoffs. If you don't keep up with trends, you won't even recognize some products as knockoffs in Guangzhou. Actually, it happened to me once. While I was hanging out downtown, I happened to find a cheap but lovely casual bag. I couldn't help but buy it. After a while, I found out that there was a small familiar logo inside the bag. Upon browsing the internet, I found that genuine ones had gone on sale about six months before. On top of that, regarding knockoffs, there were both substantiated and unsubstantiated stories swirling around Guangzhou. I heard that a well-known Japanese cosmetic company had found out that there had been a few counterfeit products even at directly-managed shops in reputable department stores in China, and the reputable stores had been intentionally selling them to make a better profit. When I first rented a flat in Guangzhou, the landlord, who was from a moneyed class, strongly advised me that I should buy expensive, imported goods.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Knockoffs
I lived in Guangzhou, China from 2006 to 2008. Every time I came back from China to Japan, I would be subject to suspicion when passing through customs at the airport in Japan. I'm sure you can guess why. A few days ago, it was reported that the number of counterfeit products which had been confiscated at customs in 2010 was the second highest level, and the ones from China had reached 90% of the total.
To be honest, when I moved into Guangzhou, China, I was overwhelmed by pervasive and rampant knockoffs. If you don't keep up with trends, you won't even recognize some products as knockoffs in Guangzhou. Actually, it happened to me once. While I was hanging out downtown, I happened to find a cheap but lovely casual bag. I couldn't help but buy it. After a while, I found out that there was a small familiar logo inside the bag. Upon browsing the internet, I found that genuine ones had gone on sale about six months before. On top of that, regarding knockoffs, there were both substantiated and unsubstantiated stories swirling around Guangzhou. I heard that a well-known Japanese cosmetic company had found out that there had been a few counterfeit products even at directly-managed shops in reputable department stores in China, and the reputable stores had been intentionally selling them to make a better profit. When I first rented a flat in Guangzhou, the landlord, who was from a moneyed class, strongly advised me that I should buy expensive, imported goods.
In Guangzhou, the rampant knockoffs would make me wonder what I was supposed to believe every time I shopped. I had nothing but prices to rely on. Actually, the quality of goods was directly proportional to the price. As for chemical products like detergents and food, I had no choice but to buy expensive ones for safety. Because of these circumstances, living cost there was much higher than I had expected.
To be honest, when I moved into Guangzhou, China, I was overwhelmed by pervasive and rampant knockoffs. If you don't keep up with trends, you won't even recognize some products as knockoffs in Guangzhou. Actually, it happened to me once. While I was hanging out downtown, I happened to find a cheap but lovely casual bag. I couldn't help but buy it. After a while, I found out that there was a small familiar logo inside the bag. Upon browsing the internet, I found that genuine ones had gone on sale about six months before. On top of that, regarding knockoffs, there were both substantiated and unsubstantiated stories swirling around Guangzhou. I heard that a well-known Japanese cosmetic company had found out that there had been a few counterfeit products even at directly-managed shops in reputable department stores in China, and the reputable stores had been intentionally selling them to make a better profit. When I first rented a flat in Guangzhou, the landlord, who was from a moneyed class, strongly advised me that I should buy expensive, imported goods.
