"Those who are sincere are also the way of heaven, and those who are sincere are also the way of man." This sentence is from "Mencius: Lilou Chapter and Sentence", which shows the importance of integrity.
However, in today's materialistic society, we have to face an embarrassing reality: fakes are rampant and counterfeits are emerging.
What's even more shocking is that the profit margin of these counterfeit products is as high as 650%, and consumers are still willing to pay for it, as if they are invisibly "cutting leeks".
We can't help but ask, what makes consumers choose to buy even when they know it's fake?
Is it the temptation of price, or the pursuit of famous brands? Or is it the ingenious marketing methods of merchants that make it difficult for consumers to resist? Behind this seemingly simple consumption phenomenon, there is actually a complex social psychology and business logic.
In the face of this phenomenon, how should we rationally look at it and choose?
01
With the rapid development of the market economy, consumers' pursuit of brands and fashion is increasingly intensified, which also provides a breeding ground for the rise of the counterfeit industry. Yiwu, as a world-famous small commodity market, its development process can be called a microcosm of the counterfeit industry.
Initially, Yiwu quickly occupied the market by producing a large number of high-quality and low-cost goods with its cheap labor and abundant raw materials.
However, with the increasing competition in the market, some merchants have begun to seek "shortcuts" to produce and sell "copycat" products that look similar to well-known brands in order to obtain higher profits.
Similar to Yiwu, Putian has also undergone a transformation from a formal foundry to a production center for counterfeit products.
The city, which was originally an OEM for internationally renowned sneaker brands, turned to producing "knockoff" sneakers that look like the original but are cheaper in the face of rising labor costs.
These shoes are very popular in the market, and even form a unique "Putian shoes" culture in some areas.
02
The fundamental reason why the counterfeit industry is so rampant is the huge profits behind it.
Due to the lack of R&D investment and branding expenses, the production cost of counterfeit products is extremely low. At the same time, the price can often reach several times that of the original product. This huge profit margin has attracted a large number of unscrupulous merchants to the industry.
In order to conceal the true identity of counterfeit goods, merchants can do everything they can.
They carefully imitate the LOGO, anti-counterfeiting code and other details of the authentic product, and even hire a professional team to take real-life photos of the product, creating the illusion of "buying overseas in person". These tactics not only deceive consumers, but also seriously damage the reputation and interests of genuine products.
03
Consumers' motivations for buying counterfeit goods are varied, ranging from the blind pursuit of luxury brands to the satisfaction of vanity. Some unsavvy consumers are often deceived by the deception of merchants and mistakenly buy counterfeit products as genuine.
At the same time, there are some consumers who choose to buy counterfeit products even though they know they are counterfeit, because they think that they can enjoy similar quality and appearance to the original product at a lower price.
In addition, there is a special motivation for buying - patriotic sentiment. Some consumers believe that buying counterfeit goods can avoid "building houses" for foreign brands, thereby supporting the domestic industry.
However, this view is clearly one-sided. Counterfeit products not only infringe on the intellectual property rights of genuine products, but also damage the innovative achievements of Chinese companies and designers.
04
The harm of counterfeit products is not only limited to the deception of consumers and the damage to genuine brands, but also has a profound impact on the innovation environment and market order of the whole society.
Counterfeit manufacturers often cut corners on raw materials and processes in order to reduce costs, which not only reduces the quality of the product, but also poses a potential threat to the health of consumers.
The existence of the counterfeit market also seriously infringes on the intellectual property rights and innovation achievements of genuine brands, and weakens the innovation motivation and ability of enterprises.
In addition, the proliferation of counterfeit products has also undermined the level playing field in the market and disrupted the normal market order.
Behind this social phenomenon, not only the blind pursuit of famous brands and fashion by consumers is hidden, but also the greedy pursuit of profits by some businesses.
Profit margins of up to 650% are tempting, but they come at the expense of integrity, quality and even consumer safety. As consumers, we need to be more wise and prudent, not to be confused by the superficial glamour, to choose authenticity and quality, and to refuse to become "cut leeks".
As enterprises and countries, we should shoulder our social responsibilities, intensify efforts to combat counterfeit products, protect innovation achievements and consumer rights and interests, and jointly create an honest and fair market environment.