4 ms·

That’s not correct. Especially with low-tech products like clothing, you can easily buy fakes that have equivalent (or better) quality than originals at 1/5th

That’s not correct. Especially with low-tech products like clothing, you can easily buy fakes that have equivalent (or better) quality than originals at 1/5th of the US/EU price. You’re not paying expensive EU/US staff wages, company taxes, export costs, duties, design fees, branding and marketing costs. The base cost of a $120 pair of NIKE shoes is around $10 - it’s easy to find counterfeit Nike that cost $20 with great quality.

max76 8y ago
> You're not paying [...] marketing costs. While the average counterfeit probably spends 1/1000th the marketing cost Nike does per dollar of revenue, without any marketing there could not be any sales.
paganel 8y ago
> Especially with low-tech products like clothing, you can easily buy fakes that have equivalent (or better) quality than originals at 1/5th of the US/EU price. As a consumer I 100% approve of this practice, go Chinese clothes manufacturers! And I can use the $110 that I saved by purchasing a product/service from an industry that doesn't rely on rent-seeking (IP is mostly rent-seeking nowadays).
- westiseast 8y ago
  I kind of agree. Western consumers are so removed from clothing production that they’ve lost sight of how vast the gulf is between real and perceived value. Paying 10x or 20x the manufacturing cost for what is essentially a commodity item with zero technology or innovation is insane. That said, brand and design do have some value. There’s a reason why Chinese consumers and counterfeiters have insane appetite for western brands, but western consumers would struggle to name a single Chinese clothing company.
ryacko 8y ago
I have seen in Western outlet stores a greater likelihood of encountering clothes with threads hanging out or extremely minor misalignments. I assume it is the case in the East.
- fjsolwmv 8y ago
  Outlet stores are specifically built as places to dump manufacturing errors. Chinese factories are also able to manufacture excess high quality inventory beyond what their foreign customers order.

max76 8y ago

> You're not paying [...] marketing costs. While the average counterfeit probably spends 1/1000th the marketing cost Nike does per dollar of revenue, without any marketing there could not be any sales.

paganel 8y ago

> Especially with low-tech products like clothing, you can easily buy fakes that have equivalent (or better) quality than originals at 1/5th of the US/EU price. As a consumer I 100% approve of this practice, go Chinese clothes manufacturers! And I can use the $110 that I saved by purchasing a product/service from an industry that doesn't rely on rent-seeking (IP is mostly rent-seeking nowadays).

westiseast 8y ago
I kind of agree. Western consumers are so removed from clothing production that they’ve lost sight of how vast the gulf is between real and perceived value. Paying 10x or 20x the manufacturing cost for what is essentially a commodity item with zero technology or innovation is insane. That said, brand and design do have some value. There’s a reason why Chinese consumers and counterfeiters have insane appetite for western brands, but western consumers would struggle to name a single Chinese clothing company.

ryacko 8y ago

I have seen in Western outlet stores a greater likelihood of encountering clothes with threads hanging out or extremely minor misalignments. I assume it is the case in the East.

fjsolwmv 8y ago
Outlet stores are specifically built as places to dump manufacturing errors. Chinese factories are also able to manufacture excess high quality inventory beyond what their foreign customers order.