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Many vacationers know this situation: Beach vendors offer all kinds of goods in many countries. At markets, bazaars and in small shops supposedly branded goods are available at negotiable and reasonable prices. Most people are aware that they are often fakes, but often the greed for a bargain wins. The Chamber of Commerce warns.
A cheap t-shirt with a brand logo from Mallorca, a luxury watch from the beach in Turkey or a perfectly imitation handbag from a street vendor in Paris: counterfeit goods are being sold in large numbers, especially in the holiday season that is just beginning. The souvenirs brought back from the holiday include above all supposed branded clothing, handbags, sunglasses, watches and shoes. "The holiday season is the high season for brand and product piracy - a business that hurts domestic entrepreneurs in particular and flushes billions into the pockets of product counterfeiters," says Margarete Gumprecht, head of the trade division at the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.
Although the bargain price counts for many holidaymakers, this is exactly the main starting point. "While it's tempting, you should think three times before reaching for a fake purse or fake sunglasses. The supposedly cheap goods are often only a bargain at first glance. Counterfeiting not only harms the domestic economy and destroys jobs here, they are often cheap and produced under poor working conditions, are of poor quality and are not even worth the little money," says the trade representative. If a product is only half as expensive or a third of the usual price, it is usually not genuine: "A perfume from a luxury brand or a luxury handbag at a street stall or from a hawker on the beach for a ridiculous price should be suspicious make". In addition, the buyers have no warranty claims against the original manufacturer. After all, they bought counterfeit products.
The trade representative advises checking the purchased goods in your personal luggage before leaving the holiday country. The following applies: “Ignorance does not protect against punishment. If you take the green exit at customs when you arrive in Vienna, you should be sure that there is nothing illegal in your suitcase. Bringing larger quantities of counterfeit branded products, especially for friends and acquaintances, is not a good idea.” Caution should also be exercised when dealing with the authorities in the holiday countries. In Italy or France, for example, vacationers who obviously buy counterfeit goods face high fines.
The Austrian customs office plays an important role in the fight against counterfeiters, because ideally the counterfeit goods will not even enter the country. Last year, around 4.000 customs seizures were recorded - the second highest value of counterfeit products ever recorded with an equivalent value of the original goods of 6,7 million euros. Most of the goods come from China, India and Turkey. In addition to controls at the external borders and at airports etc., more and more products of dubious origin are entering the country via online purchases. According to the Treasury Department's latest product piracy report, as many as half of the counterfeit products seized at EU borders were bought online.
“When products are sold well below price, you have to pay attention. You should therefore take a very close look if the certificate of authenticity is missing from high-priced goods - this applies at home and abroad, online and offline. Buying at home is and remains the better choice,” concludes Gumprecht.
