Should you buy Designer Fakes or Knockoffs?

You can find plenty of designer knockoff items online. A knockoff is a copy or replica of an original item, usually sold for far less than the real item. The concept is simple, you can get these knockoff items at a significant discount to the original item saving you money.

I have travelled to the Middle East, Egypt, Thailand and have found these items in every country. For example, you can buy an unofficial Ed Hardy T-shirt and pay roughly $15 USD instead of going to the Ed Hardy outlet and paying $100. Same goes for Louis Vuitton handbags, you can pay $15-$30 instead of $2000.

Knockoff shops are harder to find in the Middle East, possibly because more people can afford the real thing. However if you go to the Souk (Market) you can usually find shops that specialize in doing this kind of business. In Thailand, knockoffs seem to be part of the culture as they (along with pirated DVDs) seem to be everywhere. Same goes for Egypt, which had the best selection of knockoff designer wear I've seen so far. However the quality was the weakest.

You can spot pirated designer clothes pretty easily if you look close enough. For example, look at the stitching underneath the Ed Hardy hat. The fakes that I've seen have cut lines as if the person were drunk. The real thing will have nice even stitching and clean cuts. However, my experience it is difficult to tell if someone is wearing a knockoff hat or t-shirt when you can't get close for inspection.

Bags are the same way, unless you can see the stitching or know exactly what you are looking for it is difficult to tell from a distance. In the case of Louis Vuitton the signature bag has exactly 5 stitches across the strap, whereas the fakes I've seen have 10 and obviously done by someone in a hurry.

Knockoffs cost designers money, and uses their intellectual property which is unfair to them. If you are unwilling to pay the price for the real designer shirt, hat or purse you should not buy the fake. Just take your business elsewhere and get a bag or shirt you like that is good quality and you can afford. You will look good and feel better about yourself.