Buyers beware, especially when buying designer items with deals that seem too good to be true, here is a guide on how to identify knockoff items.
The counterfeiting boasts a $461 billion industry and most of these items have a lower quality in materials and appearance. Most fake items listed online will include replica, imitation, or inspired by in the listing description.
The tightness and color of the stitching can be a dead giveaway for knockoff items. Imitation items can also have stitching with uneven lines. Most designer bags have the logo stamped on the inside of the bag, while most fakes do not have this.
The logo can also give information on whether an item in an imitation piece, through the change in font or color for the logo. Many authentic items will have serial or style numbers to trace the origin of the item.
For sunglasses the nose plugs can tell you where the item is from with most authentic design houses making their items in Italy, sometimes in France. Knockoff watches can be hard to determine whether authentic, most will have malfunction issues such as the hour or minute hand ticking with incorrect hand placement.
Knockoff are known for having low-quality materials making some hazardous. Fake bags may fall apart, but imitation pieces of technology can be. Since many knockoff technology items are made with improper means and materials, with reports of fake items over-heating and sometimes causing fires.
Another hazardous knockoff can be found through fake makeup, often using cheap packaging with non-regulated, toxic ingredients. The packaging can fool, but the consistency is a dead giveaway.
In 2017 there was a case of fake iPhone chargers that had the risk of fire and shocking users. These phone chargers were in the UK and 98 percent of the fake chargers tested could cause a fire or lethal electric shock.
Check out the videos to learn more about knockoff goods and how to spot a fake.
