I recently took a vacation to the Philippines, and the Greenhills shopping center in Manila had to be one of my favorite stops. Asian companies are notorious for their knockoffs of other famous brands. Greenhills flaunts these high quality knockoffs. I bought a 5 pairs of fake Nikes and Converse for only around 2000 pesos (around $45 in USD). Upon close inspection, one can easily see the material differences, but they look and feel exactly like the originals. I don't doubt that they will fall apart before their genuine counterparts, but I feel that the price is well worth the quality. Greenhills also sells fake Prada, Chanel, Rolex, etc. What's your stance on knockoff products? Would you buy a "fake" product for a much lower price if the quality was only slightly less than that of the original?
I don't mind buying knock offs every now and then especially if the item is something that I'll only use a few times or if it's not that necessary for that item to be comfortable. I once used a pair of knock off sneakers and after using it once I never used it again, but to be fair those weren't the highest grade of knock off so I wasn't really expecting much at all. I'd be more inclined to buy something like a bag if I were to buy knock offs but for now I mostly just buy cheaper brands instead.
To be honest, I would rather buy a lesser known brand than buy a knock off of an expensive brand. There are lots of unpopular brands that have great quality. I am talking about homegrown or local brands in every country. I know Greenhills because I am from the Philippines. We also go there to buy or shop. But not for knock offs but rather for brands not available in other malls. Greenhills has a wide variety of brands that offer great quality clothes or shoes. I love Vanilla Breeze Clothing and Pink Manila. Both are online stores but they have kiosks in Greenhills.
Well, I don't need to go anywhere but downtown my city or outside some subway stations to find all kind of counterfeited products. Of course, the views of Manila had to be a great addon for your shopping time undoubtedly. However I have seen those fake tennis shoes here, and sometimes feeling tempted to buy them, even though still to expensive if compared with not-so-renowned brand labels manufactured here, which I often prefer. Even though I love to buy fake Tous large bags and purses
Counterfeit items are only good for a few uses. I guess the item may look pretty when it's new but when used over time, it would not last very long. You just get what you pay for. I noticed though that even the knock-offs, those that are really close to the real thing, can cost an arm and a leg. I suggest buying quality items that may not be branded but at least, they will last longer.
I am quite surprised by this thread because I thought this Greenhills is the name of a shop or something. It didn't occur to me that this is about Greenhills shopping center that is just beside our office, just about 100 meters away. This is where I usually take my lunch and although there are lots of sales around, I don't often buy there for no reason at all. Just an idiosyncrasy maybe.
