There’s more to selling counterfeits at your purse party than just offering low cost knockoff purses, they can actually be harmful to the consumer. In pharmaceuticals, for example, the dosage or purity may not be up to par. In our small area of commerce the purse party, it could mean a latch or zipper is faulty, or the material is substandard and rips, causing the wearer to lose the contents of their purse. Okay, that isn’t as severe as faulty medication, but in a sue-happy world, the liability to the seller can become costly even at a purse party.

Needless to say, fake or counterfeited purses damage the reputation of the designer and the salesperson who sells that designer purse. And, as already stated, jobs are lost in the original manufacturing if the fake products sell better, and then there’s less need for the original. Fakes can force the designer purses price to plummet. Or they can go the other way and make the designer bags inflate in price because of their rarity. It just all depends on the marketability.

In the past two centuries, many European designers became snooty as far as their design’s prices were concerned. They considered copying as flattery. But that was before the age of the Internet and the purse party which skyrocketed counterfeiting to levels never before conceived. The copies of their products by illegal manufacturers became so worldwide and such an everyday nuisance, that the designer’s sales were being affected. Besides, when someone works hard to have a unique product, it’s a personal violation to have someone steal that idea and try to make it cheaply. You can understand how upset these designers can be if you put yourself in their place.

Worst of all, there’s growing concern that a good deal of the funds from counterfeiting goes directly to organized crime in both the US and Canada.  There’s evidence that monies received for fake purses sold at purse parties could even be used to fund some terrorist activities including trying devastate commerce in North America.  That’s why the U.S. President made the “Copyright Czar” position.

In an article by NYI’s Solana Pyne, in part two of her three part series “Counterfeit City”, she interviewed investigator Shawn Lewis who stated buying knock-off (see, here he uses the term for counterfeit and fake) purses is like giving money to crime syndicates.

“Please make a donation for child labor, organized crime and terrorism,” says Lewis. “Nobody is going to put any money in that kettle. But when they buy a handbag for $55 from a purse party that’s a fake, that’s exactly what they’re doing.” He states the FBI is very concerned that cash from the counterfeit trade funds terrorism, but it’s hard to find direct links to support that evidence. Still there’s enough suspicion to put fear into the heart of Western countries that terrorists hate and love to target.

So ladies, please think twice before selling counterfeit designer purses at your purse party, don’t be lured in by the prospect of making easy money.