I love online shopping. I also love buying things simply because I want to.
However, there's a certain stigma towards people who buy what I call imitation products. You know, how imitation crab tastes like crab but isn't crab meat? Same thing.
I don't want to use the word fake because nothing in this world is really "fake".
A few years ago, I went to Hong Kong and bought these Toms for I would say cheaper than the real ones cost. At the time, I wasn't sure if they were real or imitation ones, and I really didn't care, so I didn't think much of them at the time.
A few months ago, I bought an acne cleanser that was very similar to the Neutrogena oil-free acne face wash for a fraction of what the Neutrogena one cost. On the bottle, it even said "Compare to the Neutrogena oil-free acne face wash". I compared the ingredients and they were EXACTLY THE SAME.
A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of Bluetooth earphones because I really didn't like how clunky and big my Bluetooth headphones were and they were starting to have connectivity issues after almost two years of use. I got them and they looked very similar to the Apple Airpods which retail for I think over $100. I wasn't looking for something that looked similar to the Apple Airpods. I just wanted a pair of affordable Bluetooth earphones.
Two things. Apple products are wayyyyyyy too overrated and overpriced for what they're worth. And if you have an iPad or iPhone versus a Galaxy Tablet or an Android phone, so what? Just to look more bougee?
So why exactly don't I feel the need to buy name brand products? Because they're not worth it. Hence the company Brandless. That's what they're all about. No name-brand bullshit. Simply just products for the purpose of being useful. No fancy name branding crap.
I want to buy a product that's both affordable and practical. Hence, why I buy imitation products.
A few days ago, somehow a video showed up in my recommended (oh, the lovely YouTube algorithm) about the most expensive bag in the world. And I've never even heard of the brand until now. It was the Hermes Birkin bag. And it retails for $50,000 as the most expensive bag in the world. For what goshdarn reason?
I've seen videos about how 90% of luxury brand items go towards advertising, marketing, and pretty much everything else but the actual cost of the bag. Just think of it. Does it really make sense that a two bags of the same material can have such a variety of price tags?
Of course, there's also the whole debate of it being from actual animal skin blah blah blah so it adds onto the cost and the rarity of it. I won't get into that.
But let's be real, from afar, would someone really care if you're holding a $500 Louis Vuitton bag or a $50 bag that looks similar but has a less known if not at all brand?
Of course there are bound to be imitation products out there and of course brands want to protect their work and prevent these from happening. Remember the whole deal with that Kylie Cosmetics dupe drama? But can we really blame someone from being inspired by a design?
Yes, I understand why people buy brand name products. But is the hefty price tag for just a name etched into the fabric really worth it?
So yes, I buy imitation products because I don't feel like I need to pay extra for something similar that can do the job just fine without the extra price.
Might delve into why I like online shopping better than retail shopping in a later post.
See this video.
