Today's market is overflowing with various fake products or counterfeit consumer goods. These items are usually of poor quality and not durable. Often consumers mistakenly think they are originals due to their uncanny similarity. As such, they end up paying more for inferior quality products. With the advent of e-commerce websites, the number of fake sellers online is increasing significantly.
Thus, consumers are more concerned and afraid about getting scammed. While there are several measures to stop counterfeit items from spreading, these measures face immense challenges, making them difficult to implement.
WHAT ARE COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS?
In layman's terms, counterfeit items are consumer goods of inferior quality. Counterfeiters utilize brand names to sell their fake items in the market. For instance, Finnish smartphone manufacturer NOKIA's counterfeit product's name was 'NOKlA.' Although the name may look similar, the original's 'I' is replaced with an 'L.'
Most people use the terms' counterfeit' and 'knock-off' interchangeably. Yet, they do not represent the same legally. Knock-offs usually refer to items similar in design and shape to the original brand but do not use their name and trademark.
On 29th March 2018, Wade Shepard rightfully mentioned in his Forbes article that "Counterfeiting is now the largest criminal enterprise in the world." The counterfeiting examples include fake apparel and accessories, electronics, cosmetics, wine, cigarettes, etc. The appalling counterfeit consumer goods are, perhaps, counterfeit medicines and contaminated food. Also, some scammers even print fake currency notes. Many people have gotten into trouble because of such issues. CopyKitten is a straightforward app that lets you report counterfeit products in the market quickly.
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE BUY COUNTERFEIT ITEMS?
Some people question how such a business exists if it does not make profits. Sadly, there are millions of people who buy these fake items. It leads to the question - why would anyone purchase counterfeit goods? People have numerous motives behind making such purchases. Some reasons include:
- They do not know that it is a fake.
Some people find it difficult to differentiate between an original and a fake. So, they may unknowingly buy it. However, they can report it using CopyKitten if they find out, to ensure that others do not fall into the same trap.
- Fake goods are considerably cheaper.
Since fake goods are of inferior quality materials, the makers can charge significantly less than the original. So, people can save a lot of money by purchasing phony items instead of paying for authentic products.
- There is social pressure to follow the trend.
Social and peer pressure is a nasty thing to deal with in modern times. People need to follow the newest trends to blend in with their social circle, even if they do not have the means. Therefore, they end up buying such products.
- Some people do not care if the products are counterfeits.
Some people do not bother to look into the originality of the items they buy. They mostly rationalize such purchases by questioning why they should be bothered to spend more on a product if they can get it cheaply.
IMPACT OF COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS ON THE ORIGINAL ITEMS
Authentic businesses have been drastically affected by the emergence of counterfeiters in the market today. The existence of such fake products causes severe problems to genuine enterprises. The critical consequences of counterfeiting include:
- Significant loss of sales.
As mentioned above, there are many people who knowingly and unknowingly purchase fake items. As a result, the authentic manufacturers suffer significant losses as they cannot sell their genuine products to those customers.
- Their reputation is tainted.
In the example of Nokia mentioned above, similar-looking names or the use of the trademark will make people think that they have purchased the original item. Yet, they have inferior quality fake products in their hands. So, they will provide poor reviews of the existing brand, even though it is not that brand's product. Such word of mouth spreads like fire and harms the company's reputation in the long run.
- The authentic manufacturers have to cope with the aftermath of counterfeiters' actions.
As the customers think that the product is genuine, they may be unhappy with the quality. So, they may visit the corporate branch of that brand and demand a refund or compensation. So, the authentic company has to manage the fallout. It wastes their time, money, and other resources.
- The cost of fighting back.
Whenever a company finds out that their products have counterfeits, they take legal actions to protect themselves. Unfortunately, such actions are very costly and take a lot of time. Today, consumers and enterprises alike can use CopyKitten to report such counterfeiters.
WHY ARE PEOPLE AFRAID OF FAKE PRODUCTS?
Owning fake items can wreak havoc on anyone's life. People who buy such items unknowingly have already lost money on them. And, they are stuck with a product of inferior quality. In many social circles, using counterfeit products is frowned upon, harming a person's reputation.
Perhaps, the most significant reason is their safety concern. Yes, as there are counterfeit medications and contaminated food in the market, people likely feel threatened. Even though science has made progress, medicines are pretty expensive. So, accidentally buying counterfeit medications means that they are compromising their health while losing money too.
Also, a person can fall into a difficult situation if they own fake currency notes. Due to the widespread nature of counterfeit banknotes, many shops and supermarkets had to install note detector machines to identify the forged notes. Whoever is apprehended using forged notes they are immediately reported to the authorities for further action.
SOLUTION FOR COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING IT
There are various ways to fight this growing issue, but the solutions face challenges too.
- Using Smartphone Applications
Users can easily report a fake product with the help of some premium cogent smartphone applications. Copykitten is the most effective app which helps you report fake products without any hiccups! It’s easy to use and can be useful in giving the solution for Counterfeit Products.
It is easier said than done. Raising awareness of the increasing counterfeit items is easy. But, implementing it is challenging. How can someone identify if the thing is genuine or fake with no prior knowledge of the product? Due to the uncanny similarity, it is incredibly challenging to differentiate the products. As such, counterfeits cannot be identified easily.
The global marketplace, Amazon, is fighting back against counterfeiters through machine learning. They are spending over $400 million in Brand Registry, Transparency, Project Zero, and Intellectual Property Accelerator to deal with the amazon counterfeit products. However, implementing such technologies is tremendously expensive. Plus, many developing nations cannot afford such technologies yet. Additionally, many people are not well-versed in the use of such technology either.
The destructiveness of counterfeit items has impacted billions of lives around the world. Fighting such a situation is becoming increasingly difficult. So, CopyKitten Enterpise Solution has launched this tool to fight back hard. The easy-to-navigate app allows anyone to report fake products easily. The company will then contact necessary parties to take action against it. You can become part of the global counterfeit item cleansing drive and get rewarded using brand loyalty programs. Download the app from PlayStore right away, or visit their website here.