Original,Fake,Imitation
There is an uproar on social media , X mainly around fake products .
The realization that what most individuals are using is not the real thing! Imagine using a particular products for years only to be told you are using the fake version.
This has caused a stir of confusion, disappointment and even anger amongst consumers.
Before we throw stones at manufacturers, and retail stores let’s talk to each other .
What is an original product?
Original products are those which are authentically manufactured by an authorised company or brand following all the legally binding compliances expected of them, thus vesting them with suitable Intellectual Property Rights.
Buying original products are ideal and safe because they can be held accountable , and they have an image to preserve so therefore their products are always made with great care..
Now , to create a product of high quality that checks every box necessary for it to be sold to consumers comes at a cost , a cost some individuals are not willing to pay for.
It also brings about long lasting relationships between consumer and producers , bringing in more profits to the manufacturer of which other manufacturers will want to partake of .
This brings us down to Imitation products
What are imitation also known as replica products, are products as the name implies , replicated goods which are not passed off as original products to the buyer. Replicas are not the same as the original they only look like the original and that is where it gets tricky .
I personally have bought vasalina, vasina lip balm instead of vaseline lip balm (we all know those cute mini balm in the tiny container) at a point during medical school because why not. It’s safe, and has the same container / color as the real thing and it’s “slyly” written vasina who will know ? As a student at the time I rather buy that and save some money instead of going for the original one which cost a little extra.
Designer products use this strategy to reach out to lower economic class, leading to different range of replicas . Terms like high copy is common in the fashion world .
Greedy or unknowing customer fall prey to buying copied products most times as they are cheaper and look the same at first glance. It took me a few days and a boring lecture to notice the first vasina lipbalm I bought . I DO NOT SUPPORT THE SALES OF COPIED PRODUCTS TO BE SOLD IN PLACE OF ORIGINALS . COPIED PRODUCTS SHOULD BE SOLD AS COPIED .
I was glad at the time it was cheaper until I realized
Now fake products!
This is where the problem lies, fake products also known as counterfeit are products that are produced with the malicious intent to deceive and mislead people into believing that the items are genuine when they are not.
These products can be harmful when consumed as they are not made with standards regulations and are sold at the same price as the original.
There are laws on the sells of replicas, and consequences for fake products. I am not knowledgeable on the legal aspect of this topic.
I wrote this post for us to understand that some of the products termed fake are not but copies/replicas and before you bring out your spare and daggers ask yourself how much did I get it for? Before finding out it ain’t what you thought it was it was serving you fine .
DO NOT BUY FAKE PRODUCTS KNOWINGLY, FOOD & CONSUMABLES IN PARTICULAR. ITS DANGEROUS
Below are a few recommended apps which helps identify products when scanned this verifying its originality.
- Lose it app
- LetsVerify app
- Chkfake app
As a buyer, you need to go over the standard procedure set by the government when shopping . In Nigeria we are expected to check its
- Nafdac number
- Expiry date
- Date of manufacture
- Batch number .
What ever product that do not have these or appears smudge do not buy.
Happy shopping and season greetings 🦋