650k worth of fake goods seized at Knoxville malls Knoxville News Sentinel
As a result of the investigation, at least 10 shops in the malls will presumably be a little short of inventory when Black Friday rolls around.The names of the businesses have yet to be made public, but police say they seized fake handbags, jewelry, sunglasses, and designer cell phone cases when they executed search warrants at the ten mall retail outlets last Thursday."Counterfeit copies of purses made by Coach, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dooney Bourke, Prada, and Gucci were recovered in several businesses," according to Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk."Imitations of Prada, Christian Dior, and Chanel sunglasses were also seized," DeBusk said. "Fake jewelry items confiscated included 'knock offs' of Tiffany Co. ear rings, necklaces, and bracelets. Multiple fake Rolex watches were also discovered during the operation."The value of the fake goodies was reckoned at $655,427, he said.The targeted retailers included two stores and eight kiosks, he said."It is a lot, but not uncommon with what you see across the country," he said.KPD Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said the operation was launched to protect unwary consumers."This operation was extremely successful," he said. "The confiscation of these counterfeit items will help prevent the public from being victimized while they conduct their Christmas shopping."The investigation was headed by KPD's Organized Crime Unit, DeBusk said. He declined to go into specifics about the investigation.When asked if the pending holiday season prompted the seizures, DeBusk replied: "It did not drive the investigation, but obviously we were concerned with that much merchandise being out and the citizens that could be taken advantage of when they start their Christmas shopping."The District Attorney General's Office is reviewing the case along with investigators to determine who might face criminal charges, he said. Any charges will likely be filed through a Knox County grand jury.Police say they are planning more counterfeit merchandise operations "for the near future."More details as they develop online and in Thursday's News Sentinel.I've never understood the knock off trade anyway. I know there are lots of legitimate brands that use similar logos and designs of higher up brands like Coach or Dooney and Burke using the general design, color pattern or logo placement of the higher up Gucci, Louis Vuitton, or Chanel and then Liz Claiborne or Tommy Hilfiger making a cheaper version of the Coach etc. so that all buyers get a great looking legitimate handbag to fit their budget. I mean you won't fool anyone who does buy the real stuff and even I can tell from across the room or Walmart parking lot that odds are you aren't complimenting your otherwise discount store attire with a $1000 or better handbag. The only thing I can say in defense of the local mall kiosk vendors is that I've never had one stop me and try to pass something off as the real thing here and I don't think anyone believes they are buying the real thing anyway but just in case they always have signs saying they are imitation, faux, "inspired by" or some other small disclaimer that I'm sure they don't freely point out. Anyway, I would be glad to see them go from any and all shops selling a fake of any brand no matter the price level.And about those fake purses when I was in West Town the other night, I saw several of those purses selling for about $39.99 and I knew immediately that they were fake, but I was surprised at how much the knock offs have come down in price.A few years ago, I attended a purse party held at someone's home, and the Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags were selling for at least $100 each, which is pretty steep for any purse in my opinion, but if the real deal equivelent is $800 and you care about brands that much, I guess a knock off Vuitton is okay. However, I noticed that the stitch work on the knock off bags was sloppy, the zippers were cheap and there was an obvious flaw in the leather and construction of the purses (they were made with real leather though.)I guess the mall stores were cutting into the purse party business, perhaps. I seriously doubt however that consumer protection was the real motivation behind this sting operation/crackdown. Since when are consumers ever the major concern in any business operation? Profit is the main concern and businesses can pretty much wrap a turd up in pretty paper and market it and sell it and there's always someone willing to try it out and pay for it. "Buyer beware" is the law of the land.And, as someone already mentioned, consumers know they're not buying real Louis Vuitton (well, the majority do and you'll always have one or two dumbarses in the bunch).And about those fake purses when I was in West Town the other night, I saw several of those purses selling for about $39.99 and I knew immediately that they were fake, but I was surprised at how much the knock offs have come down in price.A few years ago, I attended a purse party held at someone's home, and the Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags were selling for at least $100 each, which is pretty steep for any purse cheap jordans shoes in my opinion, but if the real deal equivelent is $800 and you care about brands that much, I guess a knock off Vuitton is okay. However, I noticed that the stitch work on the knock off bags was sloppy, the zippers were cheap and there was an obvious flaw in the leather and construction of the purses (they were made with real leather though.)I guess the mall stores were cutting into the purse party business, perhaps. I seriously doubt however that consumer protection was the real motivation behind this sting operation/crackdown. Since when are consumers ever the major concern in any business operation? Profit is the main concern and businesses can pretty much wrap a turd up in pretty paper and market it and sell it and there's always someone willing to try it out and pay for it. "Buyer beware" is the law of the land.And, as someone already mentioned, consumers know they're not buying real Louis Vuitton (well, the majority do and you'll always have one or two dumbarses in the bunch).And about those fake purses when I was in West Town the other night, I saw several of those purses selling for about $39.99 and I knew immediately that they were fake, but I was surprised at how much the knock offs have come down in price.A few years ago, I attended a purse party held at someone's home, and the Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags were selling for at least $100 each, which is pretty steep for any purse in my opinion, but if the real deal equivelent is $800 and you care about brands that much, I guess a knock off Vuitton is okay. However, I noticed that the stitch work on the cheap jordan sneakers knock off bags was sloppy, the zippers were cheap and there was an obvious flaw in the leather and construction of the purses (they were made with real leather though.)I guess the mall stores were cutting into the purse party business, perhaps. I seriously doubt however that consumer protection was the real motivation behind this sting operation/crackdown. Since when are consumers ever the major concern in any business operation? Profit is the main concern and businesses can pretty much wrap a turd up in pretty paper and market it and sell it and there's always someone willing to try it out and pay for it. "Buyer beware" is the law of the land.And, as someone already mentioned, consumers know they're not buying real Louis Vuitton (well, the majority do and you'll always have one or two dumbarses in the bunch).