Sunday, January 31, 2010

Blind Consumers in Counterfeit Fashion


Several years ago my brother bought a pair of Air Jordan XIII from eBay. While eBay has been a reliable source when it comes to buying items especially clothing such as shoes, but unfortunately, he was a victim of buying a counterfeit shoe. This was first identified when a family friend took notice of it and much to his disbelief and embarassment it was true. The incident didn't harm my brother's well being overall in the long run, but it does still harm the credibility of him from the perspective of others that noticed that he bought q pair of fake Air Jordan XIII foolishly on eBay.


Breaking down a fake or authentic pair of Air Jordan XIII

The one thing including the person that posted this video is that they are collectors (of the Air Jordan brand) and know what's real or not in through understanding the design of the product. At the same time, this coming from people who "have a desire for the real thing (Decker 11)." It's easy for an internet consumer to not take into detail what they are getting themselves into once they purchased a counterfeited item. The first thing that always that appeals to the consumer is always the price which stands out and usually that catches their eyes and this was the case for my brother. Also, the most important aspect of this is that the seller would do everything in their power to convince the consumer that it's a real product (www.prlog.org).

It's important for individuals to be educated of this matter and know the in's and out's in purchasing items such as the Air Jordan XIII shoes that I mentioned. I personally ran into several websites that features the best advice for these situations and the best advice I've seen is to report such matter to especially in the case of eBay. While Decker's article mentions about the awareness of counterfeiting have been pushed aside from the authorities and consumers, reporting such matters have to be raised (17). I do believe that this is something that everyone has to cooperate and prevent such measures in harming the creator's work.

On the other hand, I've been more careful with what I'm purchasing regardless it's from the internet or at a store. I know there's a certain purpose to go against consumerism especially in terms of materialism especially from corporations like Nike, but I think copying for the benefit for the seller for profit is bad as they take advantage of the buyer by deceiving them. I do believe there is a certain code and a set of rules can be made to counteract measures in consumerism especially in this case for fashion. In the end, I'm all for the support to fight counterfeiting as it discredits and harms the vision of the creator that put their work behind it to make their work in creating fashion for their appeal of their audience.

Andrew Legaspi
Blog #3

Works Cited
From Reader:
Melissa A. Decker. “”Knockouts of Knockoffs:” the Global Implication of Fashion Piracy.”

Other Outside sources:
Quick Ways to tell if the Air Jordan XIII is authentic or fake.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X2NH1qRge4. Youtube.com. Posted by jStar25 on February 27, 2009.

http://www.prlog.org/10458760-top-ten-tips-on-how-to-spot-counterfeit-designer-clothing.html

Image
http://blog.sneakersandshoes.com/2007/11/03/charles-barkley-alpha-force-1-mid-part-ii-11-10-07/