Reducing the Risk of Buying Online

Selling counterfeit designer clothes is a booming enterprise, and more and more individuals internationally are falling foul of the "fake" epidemic, while trying to save a few pounds. Imitation designer clothing is, without exception, inferior and poor quality products, so you do not want to part with your cash for such goods. However if you regularly buy knock off designer merchandise then you have no recourse or right to complain. The real catastrophe here is when you pay good money for what you believe is a designer dress and a cheap imitation arrives in the post, for the majority of buyers they will have no come back either as it was probably shipped from some obscure country where counterfeiting is a crime that is brushed under the carpet.

So how do you avoid the pitfalls of buying fake goods online when what you want you want are authentic designer goods? There are ways you can avoid being ripped off when buying online if you follow some simple rules:

Take a really good look around the website, look for the small print, a company may have a great web site, but that does not mean it is legal. Make sure the traders full address is on the site it is a legal requirement that all websites have full contact details listed (address, telephone number, email etc), if this is not available for the consumer then there is a reason why. An unscrupulous retailer won't have it listed because when clients contact them it is only to complain or attempt to get a refund.

When the time comes to pay for your item, always make sure the website is offering you a secure and protected way of paying for your goods. This is known as an encryption facility and is shown as a small padlock at the bottom of the page, this helps to prevent fraudulent use of your credit/debit card details.

Do not under any circumstances buy from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand or any other Asian country as these are globally renowned for their counterfeit activities. Stick to buying from UK retailers, even though there are retailers of fake goods in the UK, you are less likely to be a victim of counterfeit buying from an established retailer based there.

Internet auction sites such as eBay should be avoided, as while there are genuine sellers on their selling their private collections, unless you know what you are doing it is difficult to tell them apart from the other 90% that have flooded the site with their counterfeit garments. You also have fewer rights when buying from a private seller, the goods must be as described, but a private seller is not a business and is not covered by rules on satisfactory quality. If you do decide to take a gamble and buy off eBay then make sure you pay through PayPal or Nochex as they do offer you some protection via their anti-fraud guarantee.

Wherever you intend to buy from online, do your homework, check the description and retail price of the item, if the offer price sounds too good to be true, then it probably is so avoid it. All counterfeit designer goods have price tags significantly lower than the genuine article. If the Gucci jacket is being offered at £50 then you can be sure it's a fake, as Gucci jackets cost more than this to produce let alone sell for. Check out payment details, if they want cheques, postal orders or bank transfers again avoid the deal as you have no protection. And if your purchase is for more than £100 then buy it using a credit card as again you have some protection and claim your money back via the card issuer if your garment turns out to be a counterfeit.