
Instagram Is the “Top Showcase Platform for Counterfeiters” on the Web - juokaz
http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/instagram-is-the-top-showcase-platform-for-counterfeiters-on-the-web
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rchaud
This sounds like the modern version of having Disqus comments sections overrun
with spam comments pitching Prada bags, Air Jordan shoes, etc. This kind of
comment spam was huge on blogs in the late 2000s, before social media sites
centralized all that traffic to their comments sections.

I wonder if it's an age thing for me (I'm 34), but I would never consider
buying anything I saw on a random Instagram account. Even the sponsored posts
from influencers pitching say, workout apparel or pre-workout, are from no-
name companies I don't trust, especially given the fly-by-night, dropship-
from-AliExpress nature of such businesses.

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alexpetralia
This sort of misses the point of influencer marketing.

You wouldn't _see it_ unless you subscribed to the influencer. It wouldn't be
a "random" influencer _to you_.

Everyone has their role models, their influencers. It's hard for us to
understand how others could like some influencers - and they probably to ours.
But everyone has their own influencer - and they influence.

[Edit] This is not a defense of the products influencers sell. That's
independent of their persuasive ability, often.

~~~
rchaud
As far as these companies and the influencers are concerned, it's not enough
to simply have some faint awareness of the product. These companies aren't
Coca-Cola, whose presence is ubiquitous, so any marginal increase in awareness
is valuable because you can buy a Coke anywhere.

On IG, you'll see an individual product for maybe a second while scrolling
through a never-ending feed of content. For that reason, the companies and the
influencers need you to purchase the product right at the point in time you
see it on your feed.

Without using the influencer-provided "discount code" shown on the post (which
serves the same purpose as an affiliate link, i.e. a unique identifier), the
influencer won't get paid.

The products in question also tend to be very commodified (tshirts, hoodies,
supplements) and are hawked under different names by multiple popular IG-ers,
which adds to the problem of name recognition.

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theNJR
This may be true to your feed, but it's not true to the industry.

Every DTC brand, from ice cream to back massagers, is using influencers as
part of their marketing mix. And while getting a sale on first view is great,
that is rarely the strategy. Instead, they refine their list and look alike
audiences and hit potential customers with ads over and over and over. When
done correctly, the brand gets added to the influencers Business account,
gaining access to their audience. They then turn the 'organic' post into a
retargeted ad. These make a killing.

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FireBeyond
There's a Kickstarter project for a magnetic compass and protractor set
([https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1285153000/magcon-
the-m...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1285153000/magcon-the-most-
versatile-and-portable-design-tool)) which looks pretty cool, backed, and
shipping in August of this year.

I've seen no less than _FIFTY_ fake sites selling it "today" for the last six
months on IG, using the same videos from the Kickstarter. Reporting does
nothing. They're all also hugely pumped by bots (most have five digits of
comments).

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cat199
"With internet sales of fakes accounting for an estimated $30.3 billion in
losses to luxury brands each year,"

much like the music piracy debate, this presumes the purchasers of the
counterfeits would actually purchase the genuine goods at full price, which of
course is not actually true..

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tracker1
More so... there's a _HUGE_ difference for your average ($70k/year USD)
household income not buying a $10-20 CD, and not buying a $10,000 handbag. I'd
say in this case it's _FAR_ more inflated and that at _LEAST_ 90% of those
lost sales wouldn't even consider the actual, full price products in question.

~~~
lotsofpulp
If the people purchasing the products are at least partially purchasing it
based on the ability of the product to send a signal that its owner is not
part of the average $70k/year household, then there can be a loss of value
simply by having $70k/year households have counterfeit ones.

~~~
empath75
Seems like the smart thing to do would be to sell luxury goods that are
actually luxury and not cheap imported shit with a brand slapped on it.

~~~
lotsofpulp
It can be easy to mimic the good without it being the same quality, and it
still results in devaluing the brand since it’s now associated with a cheaper
good.

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css
This is not an Instagram-only issue. Search any major marketplace for luxury
brand names and you will see fakes represent nearly all of the top results
across Amazon, eBay, etc. I never understood why the level of policing was so
low, especially when the brand names are used in product listings.

~~~
elliekelly
These counterfeiters are running major business operations and it blows my
mind that they're largely ignored by the platforms. If you have a few minutes
check out r/fashionreps where you can find:

\- Instructions for finding an agent(!) to purchase from China on your behalf

\- Coupons

\- Detailed checklists for avoiding U.S. customs/import fees

\- Photos posted for crowdsourced "QC" to make sure a purchased will pass as
legit

~~~
notfromhere
They play dumb and make money, that's why.

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ungzd
Not surprising, since recent hype around luxury clothing brands was formed in
Instagram. Checked now number of people I know who follows accounts of these
brands: gucci - 3, versace - 0, louisvuitton - 4, dior - 2. None of them can
afford their products and they aren't especially interested in fashion design.
What these companies did to achieve that level of marketing? It's probably
much more effective and insane than traditional "glossy magazines".

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nodesocket
It’s so bad, that I refuse to buy anything advertised on Instagram after
getting burned a few times. Most of the products are just drop shipping from
China (poor quality) with good “millennial marketing”, while others are just
flat out scams. Facebook seems to be doing zero about it.

~~~
r00fus
You buy directly from Instagram? Or is this "go buy here" link?

Inaction is a choice on the part of FB.

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vorpalhex
I've noticed that on a lot of these counterfeit ads, there's now a mess of
comments: "Buy this same item cheaper on platform X! Lowest price ever!".
Seems not all the counterfeiters want to spring for ads!

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ArtDev
Step 1) fresh account with a catfish photo of Chinese girl starts following
you. No photos yet.

Step 2) After a few months, every photo on the account is of questionable
products.

I don't just follow anyone who starts following me now.

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cma
It isn't a counterfeit if the buyers know it is fake.

