By Carolyn Enting
Chanel replica bag posted by a Chinese seller on RepLadies. Photo: Screenshot
They're known as luxury reps or super fakes - counterfeits of designer accessories that are so good you'd swear they were the real thing.
These super fakes are being unwrapped in plain sight by influencers on Instagram and TikTok and purchased to order through online anonymous forums and chat groups.
One such forum, sub-Reddit group Repladies Designer, has 112,000 members and spent more than US$3 million on replicas in 2021 (according to a self-reported survey). A spin-off group, WagoonLadies, has $58,000 members.
Kiwi shoppers buying luxury fakes with the assistance of these chat groups include Auckland mum Rachel (not her real name). She bought a super fake Miu Miu bag directly from a Chinese seller she was connected to via WhatsApp through Repladies, paying $170 as opposed to $3000 for the real thing.
"You wouldn't know. Even the zippers are branded," she says.
"I haven't bought heaps. I'm just fascinated by it. I have friends who will ask me to find certain things, I'll find it and send them the link to buy it."
Pressure on super fakes sellers
Last week sellers went to ground as raids on counterfeit operations ramped up again in China. The activity follows the Pandabuy raid in April by Chinese authorities after reported legal action by 16 brands over copyright infringement. At the time many sellers halted operations, fearing repercussions.
They've begun operating again, though the heat is back on. Last month many sellers took their pages down and a WagoonLadies group moderator posted an "urgent announcement".
"We were told today that inspections of outbound items from China are being seriously conducted all over Guangzhou and areas where our treasures originate. The Shanghai Customs Bureau has stepped up inspections and surveillance of couriers and others associated in the rep trade as well.
"The seller tells us they expect these activities to continue for the remainder of the year, at the minimum. Arrests and raids are occurring frequently, as are surprise inspections. The whole route from seller to factory to courier to your door are all being impacted. The items searched for most at this time are Hermès and Chanel reps. Take that as you will."
They added: "It's dangerous to be a seller right now. The whole route is fraught with danger and exposure to the seller, the factories, couriers and to us the end customer... May the RepGods bless us and our sellers in these dark times… With information control in mind... we've decided to temporarily close the daily shipping and support thread and remove them from Reddit for now. Please understand, this is for ALL of our safety."
The news has caused purchasers on these forums to fret over the delivery status of their orders as well as the safety of their sellers who they describe as "genuinely nice people".
The psychology behind buying a dupe
Buying and owning super fakes has become more common and socially accepted around the world, including in New Zealand. Even wealthy shoppers who can afford the real thing are buying replica goods.
Liam Bowden, director of Kiwi acccessories brand Deadly Ponies, observes that buyer behaviour has changed.
"I know a lot of people who have worked for luxury retailers and I always find it very interesting to see how they work and the unusual dance that is played within the retail network with their customers. A lot of their customers will come in wearing their fake Rolex because they've got their real Rolex at home. Or they might be on a waiting list for a bag but they'll get a fake version of that bag until they get the real one," says Bowden.
"Also, a lot of the time you can't just go into these brands' stores and just buy it. There's a year-long or two-year waiting list for these products. Sometimes there's a discretionary waiting list where they might give it to certain clients. I've heard of clients flaunting their fakes in front of these brand spaces and being like, 'I'm ready to buy the real one when you give it to me. But until then, I'm going to be carrying around this'."
Cost is another driving factor. Super fakes aren't super cheap - a fake Birkin bag may still cost thousands even though it's markedly cheaper than an authentic one - but why pay more when you can't tell the difference?
"Some of the fakes I've seen are so well done," says Bowden.
"A friend bought a fake product into the store and as someone who deals with leather all the time, I could see nothing different whatsoever."
Liam Bowden of Deadly Ponies. Photo: Supplied
Most super fake bags and accessories are copies of luxury brands like Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Dior, though Rachel has seen Australian and New Zealand labels such as Zimmermann, Dion Lee and Karen Walker.
She draws the line at buying fakes of New Zealand and Australian brands, but doesn't have much sympathy for the big luxury brands.
"I'm not socially comfortable with the stealing of someone else's work aspect of it ... I can't fully justify it, which is why I haven't gone too crazy."
Buyers of super fakes find a lot of reasons to justify their purchases, including that many luxury brands are made offshore. In June, a unit of France's LVMH in Italy was placed under court administration in a worker exploitation probe alleging it had sub-contracted work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreated workers. (It is worth noting LVMH is not under investigation. It is the suppliers targeted by the probe that face accusations of worker exploitation.)
This doesn't justify buying a super fake says intellectual property specialist Natalie Harre, principal at AJ Park Law Limited.
"Find a different brand to support would be my view because otherwise you're just perpetuating it. If you're buying a fake but justifying it because the genuine is either too expensive or exploiting their workforce, I don't see how that justifies your purchase."
Read part 2 of our 3-part series on luxury super fakes on Wednesday.