Don't be duped by counterfeit items
WHO doesn’t love to come across a favourite brand-named product at a bargain price?
If you wait for the sales or are lucky enough to come across a special offer, you can sometimes score a bargain on a brand you love. However, experts warn that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Counterfeit products are very common among big brands, duping users into thinking they have bought the real deal when what they have is a poor imitation.
“You can find a counterfeit version of almost every popular and valuable product on the market,” says German consumer specialist Christine Lacroix.
So how can you make sure you don't fall foul to this kind of scam?
Firstly, if an item has been discounted, the reduced price should still be relative to the original retail price. If the price seems drastically low – say, 50% of the usual market price – then exercise caution, as it may be a fake.
However, price is not always an indicator of a fake. “Although counterfeiters like to advertise at bargain prices, they also know that customers become suspicious when the goods are too cheap,” says Lacroix.
“That’s why they like to set the price a little higher so that people do not get suspicious ... it could even be that the counterfeit is offered at the same price as the original.”
Unfortunately, there are some very convincing counterfeit products out there that can be hard to spot. They may bear all the markings of your favourite brand, so spotting fakes can be difficult.
In Germany, the Plagiarius association awards an annual prize for the most convincing fake on the market, in a bid to raise awareness of how closely counterfeit items can imitate the real deal.
This year, first prize went to a set of counterfeit kitchen cutters thought to have been produced in China. “The quality of the counterfeits was nowhere near that of the original,” says Lacroix. “The blades of the counterfeits were blunt and broke easily, and the plastic used contained toxic substances,” she says.
Customers hunting for bargain electrical goods should check whether the product has been certified, says Guenter Haering, a German customs officer. Inferior packaging and missing warranty certificates should also make buyers suspicious.
“But this is not necessarily always the case. The fakes are getting better,” says Haering. With some goods, nothing seems wrong until you start to use them.
The biggest marketplace for counterfeit items is the internet. “There are many rogue traders out there,” notes Haering. It is is not always easy to tell if a manufacturer website is genuine or not, as often they are copies of the real website.
There is a simple rule of thumb for this: Never proceed with a purchase without checking the full contact details of the company.
“If there is no information about the seller, you should stay away,” says Haring. “Even spelling errors in the contact details and on the website can be an indicator of dubious providers.”
Some companies also provide hints on how to recognise original goods, and you can contact the manufacturer if you believe you have been sold a fake.
Although a lot of fraudulent products are found online, you can also use the internet to equip yourself in the fight against fakes.
“User reviews can be helpful,” says Lacroix. Poor reviews alongside glowing reviews should be viewed with suspicion, he says.
Also, keep an eye out for unusual domain names or endings. These online abnormalities may be an indication of a website selling fakes. – dpa