Fake bags are still a huge industry, with 500 million counterfeit handbags, belts and wallets worth $1 billion confiscated just last year. But a new survey indicates that shoppers are less likely to buy fake designer goods than in the past because real designer items are now more affordable.
The survey, done by coupon site VoucherCloud, polled 1,921 across the UK and found that 52 percent of people who have bought fake designer goods in the past say they don't do it anymore. The biggest reason? Finding name-brand items at cheaper prices is easier than ever: 62 percent of designer-loving shoppers say they never buy the items full-price.
They find designer goods on the cheap by either waiting for seasonal sales (52 percent), using "discount codes" (44 percent) and shopping at outlet-type stores where name-brand goods can be found at a discount (39 percent). Hey, we're Loehmann's lovers, too.
Affordability aside, the desire to have "the real thing" also plays a part in shoppers' willingness to pony up. According to VoucherCloud, 39 percent of respondents said they wanted to be able to tell others their stuff was real; 33 percent said they avoided fakes because they didn't want to break the law.
Of course, fake designer goods are still wildly popular, particularly with the growth of online shopping. Luxury brands now have to fight cybersquatting, whereby counterfeiters sell rip-off merch under misleading domain names. Just last year, Coach won $257 million in a cybersquatting case, seizing 537 domain names selling fake items with a "Coach" label.
But for those who would like to avoid fakes and choose the real thing if they can, it's never been easier to get a good deal. Between luxury flash sale sites, online sample sales, discount retailers and resale websites, label lovers can score designer swag at a (relative) steal. Now if only we could convince Net-A-Porter.com to start putting things on sale...
Read more about VoucherCloud's findings in the Sunday Times.
Counterfeit Goods Around The World
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Open Image ModalA woman looks through a display of purses on Canal Street in New York, Tuesday, June 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalView of counterfeit goods after it was destroyed by French Customs, in a custom warehouse in Chilly Mazarin, south of Paris, Tuesday June 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalPhilippine officials, led by Ricardo Blancaflor, left, head of the IPOPHL (Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines) destroy fake handbags during ceremonial destruction of thousands of sunglasses, DVDs and counterfeit goods Friday June 14, 2013 at the police grounds at suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalWorkers sort out fake rubber shoes for destruction during ceremonial destruction of thousands of sunglasses and DVDs and counterfeit goods Friday June 14, 2013 at the police grounds at suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalA French customs agent shows off a counterfeit luxury bag on June 11, 2013 in Vertou, western France, before its destruction among some 3000 others counterfeit products seized in the last few months. (FRANK PERRY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalA Burmese man waits for business at a shop selling counterfeit Chinese made items at an outdoor market in the Golden Triangle, situated along the Thai- Burma border on November 12, 2012 in Tachiliek, Myanmar. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalFrench customs agents look on as counterfeit suitcases are destroyed on June 11, 2013 in Marseille, among some 36,000 other counterfeit products seized in the last few months. (BORIS HORVAT/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalA French customs agent shows counterfeit biscuits on June 11, 2013 in Marseille, before their destruction among some 36,000 other counterfeit products seized in the last few months. (BORIS HORVAT/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalThis picture taken on March 14 shows a Chinese policeman walking across a pile of fake medicines seized in Beijing in recent months, which were later destroyed. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalA woman eats among a display of purses for sale on Canal Street in New York, Tuesday, June 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalCounterfeit goods are displayed at the French custom direction of Marseille on January 31, 2013 after being seized in a clandestine workshop. (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalA Philippine National Police APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) is used to destroy thousands of sunglasses, DVDs and counterfeit goods during ceremony Friday June 14, 2013 at the police grounds at suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalMovies copied onto DVDs are displayed for sale at an outdoor market selling counterfeit Chinese made items in the Golden Triangle, situated along the Thai- Burma border on November 12, 2012 in Tachiliek, Myanmar. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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