4 ms·
> but lost an estimated $10 billion in potential earnings I hate the term "potential earnings". I agree some money was lost here, but potential earnings are a
by ythn 9y ago
> but lost an estimated $10 billion in potential earnings
I hate the term "potential earnings". I agree some money was lost here, but potential earnings are a terrible metric to estimate losses.
"X was pirated a billion times, and X sells for $3, therefore we lost $3 billion in potential earnings"
- LordKano 9y agoI agree. Counterfeit goods cost rights holders money but the way these losses are calculated seems to be dishonest to me. I think it's clear that some of the people who bought the counterfeit item would have bought the genuine article and those sales are lost but counterfeits are usually less expensive than genuine items and because they are less expensive, people who wouldn't normally buy the genuine article are enticed to buy the counterfeit.
- PhantomGremlin 9y agoSo now you're telling me that the Rolex watch I bought for $30 a few years ago on Times Square could be counterfeit? :) Exactly! I bought it as a novelty. It kept pretty good time for at least a few months. And it was so silly easy to buy. There were people on the sidewalk with a bunch of watches. I said I wanted to pay $20 for nice Rolex. They produced one within seconds. I let them haggle me into paying a few dollars more. I didn't cost Rolex any money because I wasn't about to pay $1,000 (or more, much more?) for a watch. I suppose Rolex would have a better case in the situation where someone is paying 50% of the genuine price and thinking he's getting a "deal" and not understanding that he's buying a fake.
- valuearb 9y agoWell the Pinkertons were also known for providing wildly inflated estimates of the confederate forces to George Mclellen. Why should they change now?