Too Good To Be True 

NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 1998: The old adage buyer beware has never been more accurate than it is today. Just a click of your mouse and you can get the most incredible deals on designer watches, handbags, fragrances, scarves, liquors and sinfully delicious chocolates. There is only one drawback. They are all fakes!

Cyberspace has provided a new playground for the counterfeit product manufacturers. Perhaps their best arena yet. Why is it so easy for these bogus manufacturers to profit on the Internet? The answer is simple. If you approached a street vendor selling what appeared to be a Seiko watch and you held it and examined it carefully you would quickly realize that Seiko is not spelled S-i-e-k-o. You would feel the quality of the product, and instantly realize that it was not up to the standards of the well-known watch manufacturer. The main clues however would be the source and the price. Even the world’s most discerning bargain shopper knows, if it appears to be too good to be true...it probably is. No one will sell a genuine Seiko watch for $10.00. For many of us, greed takes over and suddenly all rational behavior disappears. We pat ourselves on the back and boast of what great shoppers we are, when in reality we have just been duped into paying for a fake.

Research into the problems of counterfeit merchandise on the Internet has brought us site after site after site where the innocent and naive online shopper is bombarded with claims of great prices on name brand items. The prices may be great, but the name brands are not. These distributors of counterfeit merchandise are attempting to circumvent the legal system by calling these items "replicas," often in small print within the advertisements. These items are being traded on newsgroups as well as Internet sites. Many unsuspecting shoppers have no idea that the items they are receiving are not authentic merchandise.

Recent reports have noted incidents of counterfeit items being found in just about every product line. The newest craze for pint-sized beanie filled stuffed animals, (i.e. Beanie Babies) has opened the door to counterfeit sales of these items online. The craze has caused large prices being paid for what is termed "retired" beanie babies. These are netting anywhere between $500-$2000 in the marketplace. The Better Business Bureau in many major cities have been contacted by consumers who have purchased these retired babies online and later found when they brought them to an authorized dealer, that they were poor imitations.

Well known Manufacturer Tommy Hilfiger in a recent legal battle with Wal-Mart claimed that counterfeit copies of his merchandise was being sold on their Internet shopping site. In an earlier interview designer Tommy Hilfiger recounted a story of his mom buying a Tommy Hilfiger watch, unaware that her son’s company does not produce watches. This is an example of the widespread problem of counterfeiting in this country and abroad.

Even scotch whiskey manufactures are complaining that many of their products are now being counterfeited. Modern Technology is allowing the counterfeiter easy access to high quality reproduction of labels and product identifications. The numbers are astounding, both on and off the Internet. Industry reports indicate that imitation products now account for 60 percent of all whiskey sold in Taiwan.

Wine manufacturers are experiencing the problem also. High end vintage wines are being sold by counterfeiters as legitimate. These criminals are often getting away with the crimes, since many of these bottles are never opened and tested, they are purely kept intact by wine collectors.

On a more serious side prescription drug companies have also been experiencing the problem of counterfeiting on the Internet. The World Health Organization last year passed a resolution expressing concern about the sale of both prescription and non-prescription drugs on the Internet. Large items purchased had been proven to be counterfeit and could pose health hazards to consumers.

Michael G. Kessler & Associates, Ltd., the leader in corporate investigative strategies have been instrumental in aiding the crackdown of counterfeit merchandise. For further information on the problem of counterfeit merchandise on the Internet or to report the possible existence of such items please contact Michael Kessler at (212) 286-9100.