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-   -   Louis Vuitton Knock Offs? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/louis-vuitton-knock-offs-387201/)

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 07:59 AM

Louis Vuitton Knock Offs?
 
Is there a store (or street) in London or Paris that sells Louis Vuitton knock offs?

janis Jan 14th, 2004 08:05 AM

Why bother - you have a good chance of having it confiscated at customs in the US.

If you can't afford the real thing make do with a cheaper brand . . . .

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 08:08 AM

Not if you are carrying it as your "regular" pocketbook. Does anyone know the answer a my question?

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 08:09 AM

I mean "the answer to my question". Janis got me ticked.

mitchdesj Jan 14th, 2004 08:09 AM

A few friends told me they got theirs at flea markets in Paris.

I would be amazed if anyone bought real Vuittons anymore, all I hear about is the knockoffs.

Trademarks and copyrights don't seem to mean anything anymore; hence I would rather seek out less known designers that I can afford rather than buy a knockoff....

This topic could start a whole debate; I don't even steal music on the internet.... I still buy cd's.


HowardR Jan 14th, 2004 08:14 AM

Gee, girlfriendred, so Janis's comments ticked you off. Tough! But it's just that some of us get upset when people support and encourage these illegal operations.

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 08:14 AM

I don't steal ANYTHING. They sell them on the streets in NY all the time. I have several REAL bags (Brighton, Aigner, Kate Spade). I just saw a LV knockoff and loved it. Just asking a question. If anyone knows a store, just let me know. Thanks. I will check out the flea market.

BTilke Jan 14th, 2004 08:18 AM

Buy knockoffs if you want, but they're not very convincing to anyone who's ever owned the real thing. Why do you want a knock-off anyway? There have been more than a few news reports linking the money made from these knock off street vendors to crime gangs and even to Al-Quaeda. Better to go to a store like Reciproque on rue de la Pompe and spring for a slightly used, still in excellent codition, example of the real thing.

MFNYC Jan 14th, 2004 08:18 AM

I've seen them on the streets of Venice. If they're available, I'm sure you'll stumble upon them. The street sellers tend to gravitate to touristy areas. Be sure to bargain. I just asked a vendor (out of curiousity), a price, as I walked away, he cut the price in half.

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 08:31 AM

I surely would bargain! That store sounds interesting. Where is it?

Cicerone Jan 14th, 2004 08:31 AM

You will sometimes see them at the Portobello market area on London. You will find streetvendor selling them in Paris by the Sacre Coeur and sometimes by the bookstalls along the Seine. Do bargain. I believe you can get as good prices on the street in NYC or other cities.

By the way, if you buy a knock-off you ARE stealing. LV is a registered and protected trademark which the LV company has spent years and money developing as a quality and coveted brand. It is against the law to sell trademark items unless you have a license from the trademark owner. The LV trademark is very valuble, and if you don't buy from them, you are taking money from them.

NYCFoodSnob Jan 14th, 2004 08:37 AM

"I don't steal ANYTHING."

You SURE DO, sweetie. Instead of wasting time and money on status items you clearly can't afford, how about educating yourself on copyright law and aiding and abetting illegal immigrants?

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 08:41 AM

Look, I know LV knock offs are not NEAR the quality to the real thing. People that can afford the real LV isn't going to buy knock offs (unless they are cheap) and people (like me) that can not afford the real thing would never buy the real thing. LV is a wonderful bag and the knock offs ( which are everywhere with every brand) are not going to hurt them or their reputation. I may not even buy one, but I just wanted to look at them. Please chill, folks!

Mathieu Jan 14th, 2004 08:44 AM

Just so you know....

If you do end up finding and buying your knock-off in Paris, you may have difficulty leaving Paris, let alone entering the US, as another poster suggested.

Last Fall, I planned to buy their duffle bag whilst in St. Martin since its cheaper there, but was surprised to find that the official LV store where I had planned to get it had closed down. An Hermes store was in its place, and the staff there told me that in response to a severe crack down on fake LV product, not only were the number of licenced outlets reduced in both French and foreign territories, but that penalties for anyone found leaving French territories with fake product were severe.

Back home a couple of weeks later, a newspaper article bore the same story.

Again, just so you're prepared.

girlfriendred Jan 14th, 2004 08:51 AM

Message: Mathieu- well, if that is truly a fact, then I will forget the whole thing. I didn't think everyone was going to war over this. I will carry my REAL Brighton and be happy.

jay Jan 14th, 2004 09:01 AM

they are everywhere you go. the people who sell them are near the tourist spots and have them laid out on blankets.

ira Jan 14th, 2004 09:13 AM

Hi GF,

Friends who have bught knockoffs in various cities in Europe tell me that the prcesare not very different from getting knockoffs in the States. With the dollar low compared to the GBP and the euro, it might not be a bargain at all.

Mathieu Jan 14th, 2004 09:15 AM


No problem, girlfriended. I was only sharing information with you, not getting into a war over anything. What you end up doing is your business.

michelleNYC Jan 14th, 2004 09:18 AM

Do you live in NYC? If so, shame on you. There are so many great, young designers out there (read: inexpensive as well) that there should be no need for you to buy "fakes". Take a look anywhere down in Nolita.

Christina Jan 14th, 2004 09:41 AM

If you want a fake bag that isn't real Louis Vuitton, why on earth would you need to go to Europe for a fake bag? Since it isn't the real thing or quality anyway, you are admitting you are just trying to impress people by having a bag with designer initials on it, and the people you are trying to impress are too cheap or inexperienced to know a real Vuitton bag when they see one. This is shallow and pathetic, as well as unethical and illegal.


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