Have you ever bought counterfeit goods?
This article probably shouldn’t begin with a question like that. Because even if we set the legal issues aside, buying counterfeit goods doesn’t exactly seem like something to be proud of morally—like it’s not the kind of thing you should bring out into the open. Buy them in secret, and then—shh. That’s more like it.
But a paper recently published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies found that some Chinese consumers can come up with several seemingly moral reasons for the “immoral” act of buying counterfeit goods.
Looking at these reasons, this immoral form of consumption somehow starts to seem… surprisingly virtuous.
By interviewing a group of young consumers in Guangzhou and Hong Kong who regularly bought counterfeit fashion and luxury-brand goods, the researchers found four reasons why these respondents purchased counterfeits:
1. Brand-blind consumers — victimised brand illiterates
Although these consumers feel “good” after buying counterfeit goods, they do so entirely unintentionally—because they simply don’t know the goods are fake. The paper doesn’t make this completely clear, but the authors seem to be referring less to high-quality knockoffs of famous brands and more to China’s distinctive shanzhai brands. Brand-blind consumers want the big-name brands, but have extremely limited brand awareness. They genuinely can’t tell the difference between Qingfeng, Jiefeng, and Sanjifeng.
When researchers pointed out that the products they had bought might infringe intellectual property rights or be illegal, these consumers felt uneasy and embarrassed. Interestingly, though, they weren’t upset because they realised they had taken part in immoral consumption. They were worried about “losing face” in front of people who knew more about brands than they did.
2. Counterfeit players — larkers
This is the most interesting group of consumers. Counterfeit players see buying fakes as harmless fun, or as a way to “fool other people.” They treat finding a counterfeit that looks just like the real thing as a treasure hunt, and showing it off without getting caught as an adventure testing their intelligence and emotional savvy.
For example, one respondent said that on one occasion he strutted around in a pair of counterfeit New Balance sneakers and caught the attention of a sports-brand shop owner. The owner said, “How come I’ve never seen this model before?” The respondent bluffed that they were a limited-edition model made in the United States, completely fooling the professional. That episode later became a “battle honour” he proudly showed off everywhere.
Another respondent said she spent a great deal of time searching an online shopping site for high-quality knockoffs of famous brands. They were very cheap, and the quality wasn’t too bad either. In fact, some consumers who really enjoy this game don’t even mind people knowing their goods are fake. They post photos of the real and fake versions together on their social feeds and ask their friends to guess which one is authentic. Getting a product that looks genuine for next to nothing seems not only free of shame, but actually worth bragging about.
3. Status matchers
These consumers believe everyone wants to live a good life, and that high-end and luxury brands are often markers of status. Consuming high-end brands can satisfy people’s desire for status recognition and boost their confidence and self-esteem. So for lower-income consumers who temporarily can’t afford the high prices of high-end brands, the benefits of buying counterfeits can, to some extent, offset the wrongdoing of infringing intellectual property rights.
4. Anti-corporate activists
These consumers see buying counterfeits as an act of rebellion against large capitalist corporations. They believe the market is monopolised by a handful of global brands that undermine competition and fair pricing, so buying those brands’ products is itself unethical.
But why not simply buy other brands? For these consumers, buying counterfeit versions of famous brands is morally acceptable because they care more about a product’s functional attributes than the meaning conveyed by its brand. As one respondent put it: “Some sports brands are focused on high technology, and sportswear emphasises function and performance. Many luxury brands, however, sell ‘image’ rather than function. So I don’t think I need to spend a lot of money buying their products.”
Well, I have to say, this sounds a lot like the mindset of patriotic young people watching pirated Japanese romance films with explicit scenes…
References:
Li, E. P. H., Lam, M., & Liu, W. S. Consuming counterfeit: A study of consumer moralism in China. International Journal of Consumer Studies.
Note
- This article in the “Psychology: New Knowledge in Small Lessons” series was a short popular-psychology essay/commentary written to accompany the related content of Zhichao Wei: A Course on New Psychological Knowledge. It was published on the now-closed platform Fàntuán, and the original link no longer exists.
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