The Counterfeit Report

[Strange]

http://www.thecounterfeitreport.com has good info on counterfeits in a dizzying array of product categories (including -- I kid you not -- Bell Helicopters).

Of particular interest to folks like us are the reports of fakes in the horological industries. No surprise that there are tons of fakes out there, so it's good to arm yourself with some info on reports of fakes, visual identifiers for both real and fake products, and manufacturer's contact info.

Caveat emptor indeed.

[M. Montaigne]

This is most excellent. Thank you for sharing!

[whatmeworry]

That's fascinating... The idea of fake alcoholic drinks rather terrifies me

[Der Amf]

That's fascinating... The idea of fake alcoholic drinks rather terrifies me

In certain sections of the vintage wine market the presumption is that more of the stuff being bought and sold is fake than not. One guy alone is estimated to have put $100m worth of fakes onto the market.

I can direct you to a 7300 post long thread on a wine forum if you're interested....

[Spooky]

In certain sections of the vintage wine market the presumption is that more of the stuff being bought and sold is fake than not. One guy alone is estimated to have put $100m worth of fakes onto the market.

I can direct you to a 7300 post long thread on a wine forum if you're interested....

That sort of thing never really occurred to me. But I'm the kind of wine lover who walks into the shop with ~ 100.00 and walks out with 2-3 bottles. Much more than that would scare me.

And thanks Strange, that's a really interesting link.


Edit: Fake canned corn-->> http://www.thecounterfeitreport.com/...-Products.html
I can die now. I have officially seen all there is to see.

[Der Amf]

That sort of thing never really occurred to me. But I'm the kind of wine lover who walks into the shop with ~ 100.00 and walks out with 2-3 bottles. Much more than that would scare me.

And thanks Strange, that's a really interesting link.


Edit: Fake canned corn-->> http://www.thecounterfeitreport.com/...-Products.html
I can die now. I have officially seen all there is to see.

In China they also fake Yellow Tail as well, which is still a sub $10 wine I think

Chinese wine marketing, btw, is quite amazing. They'll put any rubbish on the label. My friend and I were in a large supermarket and found a red wine called "E-mail". The year usually relates to the year the winery was founded rather than the vintage. Their entire market for imported wine is raddled with fakes, at every level.

[M. Montaigne]

Not to mention scotch.

Outside of the usual suspects, Mackinlay's (of Shackleton fame) is a pretty popular fake.

[Strange]

First Rule of Economics: if there's enough demand for it someone will produce fakes. No product or product category is exempt from this. If some schmuck can make a buck from hawking fakes they'll do it, no matter whether it's fake Rembrandts or fake namebrand toothpaste.

Certain countries that shall go unnamed take a very cavalier attitude towards intellectual property rights, patents, and trademark protections. Why the rest of the world doesn't gang up and beat the snot out of them for this is a mystery for the ages. The costs to legitimate businesses from this stuff is in the squintillions, so it's not as if it's a merely academic issue.

Let's not forget the demand side either. Credulous or blithely unconcerned consumers hoover up this stuff like there's no tomorrow, and that this fuels the market for fakes either doesn't occur to them or doesn't matter to them. These people need to be educated about the real costs of the counterfeit market. I think if they realized how many first world jobs are lost to the counterfeit trade perhaps they'd be a little less insouciant about buying fakes. Then again, given that a substantial portion of the human population are solipsistic jagoffs who can't or won't see beyond the tips of their noses, perhaps not.

[pepperami]

(of Shackleton fame)

He was made in ireland yet labelled British. Born just a few miles from my house

[Nokie]

Very informative.