So you’re scrolling through Instagram and see an adorable designer purse or a cute pair of shoes. However, when you look up how much they cost, your heart literally skips a beat because that price tag is higher than your monthly rent! You love that bag or shoes, but there’s no way you can afford them, so what do you do?! Look up a dupe, of course! But wait…is that even legal? Well, it depends what you’re looking for.
Here you will find out everything you need to know when it comes to buying dupes of designer products. What’s legal? What’s not? And how do you find decent products at affordable prices?
Counterfeits/Fakes vs. Dupes/Knockoffs
Counterfeits/fakes are illegal.
Brand names like Gucci and Chanel are trademarked/copyrighted. If a product has a brand’s name on it, that means it comes from that company. If you buy a counterfeit (or fake) product, like a handbag, that was not made by that company but bears its name and logos, that is ILLEGAL! The maker of that counterfeit product is lying about its source and is using the names and logos of another company to make money, which is basically stealing. If you buy a counterfeit product that has a name brand on it and you know that it wasn’t really made by that company, you are contributing to criminal activity.
Dupes/knockoffs just resemble the original design.
HOWEVER, fashion designs are typically not protected by copyright laws. This means that the shapes and styles of expensive designer products can be copied and made into more affordable versions. As long as a product does not bear any of the brand names/logos of the original design and the company/person that made it does not lie about its source or try to pass it off as an authentic product, it’s perfectly legal!
So is this not stealing? Well, no, it’s not. If I only have $50 to spend on a handbag or a pair of shoes, there’s no way a designer brand was going to get my business anyway. If I like the look of a designer product but cannot afford it, I have two options: buy something cheaper and totally different, or buy a cheaper version that is similar in style. I like what I like, so I’ll probably just buy the cheaper version of the same style. Either way, the designer brand wouldn’t make or lose any money off of me.
Finding decent dupes of designer products
So, you’ve come to the conclusion that you want to get a dupe of that designer product you fell in love with. But how do you find one that’s decent quality? Well, to start with, we know that by buying dupes/knockoffs the quality will never be the same as the real deal. But there are things you can do to make sure that you get a decent as opposed to a totally crappy product.
Reviews, reviews, reviews
I cannot stress enough that product reviews are your best friend! Nearly all of the dupes I recommend on The Cute Cache are for sale on Amazon, and Amazon has this amazing feature of allowing customers to post reviews of the products they have purchased. I personally never buy a product that has bad reviews. I love listings that have plenty of reviews with photos of the real products people actually received when they ordered. This gives me so much more piece of mind because you can get a better idea of the quality of the product you will get.
Still not convinced? Find the real thing for cheaper!
There are tons of stores and websites out there where you can buy pre-owned designer goods for much less than the retail price. Tradesy, The RealReal, Rebag, and Clothes Mentor are just a handful of places you can start you search for cheaper designer products.
The Cute Cache 