Beat buying fake goods this season
Dec 27, 2007
SINCE we are in the festive season, the need to buy in bulk coupled with human traffic make it harder for us to differentiate between genuine and fake products. Counterfeit goods are goods with fake labels. They can be clothes, perfumes, phones, pirated movies and computer games.
By Moses Komakoech
SINCE we are in the festive season, the need to buy in bulk coupled with human traffic make it harder for us to differentiate between genuine and fake products. Counterfeit goods are goods with fake labels. They can be clothes, perfumes, phones, pirated movies and computer games.
They are of poor quality and not safe for use. Whereas it is unlawful to use a registered trademark on goods, to produce an exact copy of goods which have been trademarked, many producers who want to make quick profits most of the times end up using trademarks on goods that are similar to the genuine ones.
“For instance because Sony is a well established trademark, some producers of electronics and phones will try to use the Sony trademark even when their products are less superior, so they can sell,†says David Ochola, Information Desk Game stores Kampala.
“Some of the counterfeit products look so similar to the genuine ones that you cannot easily differentiate between them,†Jane, a first year University student who bought a Phillips flat iron from Mitchel Hall Baazar, at Makerere University and it only worked for two weeks, recalls.
The big question is, this festive season, how can one tell counterfeit products from genuine ones? These are steps you can follow to minimise the chance of buying counterfeit goods: -
Inspect the item
Look at the item and ensure the trademark labels are correctly spelled. Panasonic for instance is a well known trademark and yet there are counterfeits called Pansonic. For shoes and bags, touch and verify if it is actually leather. If in doubt better don’t buy than risking a loss.
Buy from a registered dealer/agent
Very few counterfeit products will reach the shelves of well established retailers. For instance buy BATA products only from BATA outlets, other than buying from the streets.
Some deals are too good to be true
If you find three pairs of leather shoes at sh25,000 ask yourself if it is possible to buy each pair of shoes at an average sh8,150 this is a deal too good to be true. Chances are the products are either stolen or fake.
Many people have complained of buying Gucci watches from hawkers in taxi parks at just sh3,000 compared to over sh40,000 in supermarkets only for the watches to work that day and get spoilt the following morning.
Be careful when buying online
Online auction sites are rife with counterfeits, and since you cannot inspect the goods first before buying, it is hard to tell what you are buying. If you must buy online be sure you have their address and phone numbers, if they are hiding something better not buy a thing.
Is the seller persuading or pressuring you to buy?
Stop and think twice or even walk away because if one is selling something genuine, it will always sell and they will therefore be under little pressure to make a sale, that is why when you move into brand shops like Simba Telecom, Game stores, Shoprite, BATA, no Sales Executive persuades you to buy because their prodcts always sell since they are genuine but down in Owino, a person will take a lot of energy pressuring you to buy just like a hawker would do.
According to Jackie Mwangi, the Marketing Manager Simba Telecom, they never have Sales Executive standing outside their outlets to ‘sweet talk’ clients to buy their products but they set the price according to the quality of the product.
SINCE we are in the festive season, the need to buy in bulk coupled with human traffic make it harder for us to differentiate between genuine and fake products. Counterfeit goods are goods with fake labels. They can be clothes, perfumes, phones, pirated movies and computer games.
They are of poor quality and not safe for use. Whereas it is unlawful to use a registered trademark on goods, to produce an exact copy of goods which have been trademarked, many producers who want to make quick profits most of the times end up using trademarks on goods that are similar to the genuine ones.
“For instance because Sony is a well established trademark, some producers of electronics and phones will try to use the Sony trademark even when their products are less superior, so they can sell,†says David Ochola, Information Desk Game stores Kampala.
“Some of the counterfeit products look so similar to the genuine ones that you cannot easily differentiate between them,†Jane, a first year University student who bought a Phillips flat iron from Mitchel Hall Baazar, at Makerere University and it only worked for two weeks, recalls.
The big question is, this festive season, how can one tell counterfeit products from genuine ones? These are steps you can follow to minimise the chance of buying counterfeit goods: -
Inspect the item
Look at the item and ensure the trademark labels are correctly spelled. Panasonic for instance is a well known trademark and yet there are counterfeits called Pansonic. For shoes and bags, touch and verify if it is actually leather. If in doubt better don’t buy than risking a loss.
Buy from a registered dealer/agent
Very few counterfeit products will reach the shelves of well established retailers. For instance buy BATA products only from BATA outlets, other than buying from the streets.
Some deals are too good to be true
If you find three pairs of leather shoes at sh25,000 ask yourself if it is possible to buy each pair of shoes at an average sh8,150 this is a deal too good to be true. Chances are the products are either stolen or fake.
Many people have complained of buying Gucci watches from hawkers in taxi parks at just sh3,000 compared to over sh40,000 in supermarkets only for the watches to work that day and get spoilt the following morning.
Be careful when buying online
Online auction sites are rife with counterfeits, and since you cannot inspect the goods first before buying, it is hard to tell what you are buying. If you must buy online be sure you have their address and phone numbers, if they are hiding something better not buy a thing.
Is the seller persuading or pressuring you to buy?
Stop and think twice or even walk away because if one is selling something genuine, it will always sell and they will therefore be under little pressure to make a sale, that is why when you move into brand shops like Simba Telecom, Game stores, Shoprite, BATA, no Sales Executive persuades you to buy because their prodcts always sell since they are genuine but down in Owino, a person will take a lot of energy pressuring you to buy just like a hawker would do.
According to Jackie Mwangi, the Marketing Manager Simba Telecom, they never have Sales Executive standing outside their outlets to ‘sweet talk’ clients to buy their products but they set the price according to the quality of the product.