Buying a $50 'Gucci' bag for fun is abetting fraud

By Nguyen An June 6, 2025 | 11:43 pm PT

I used to think that purchasing knockoff branded goods was harmless - a bit of fun, nothing serious. But I've come to realize how wrong that mindset is, as buying fake products can fuel a system built on deception and opportunism.

Some time ago, I took a foreign friend shopping at a local market. She found a "Gucci" wallet priced at VND1.5 million (US$57) after some bargaining. A genuine item would have cost well over VND10 million. We both knew it was not real, but it was being sold openly, without the slightest pretense. At the time, I brushed it off: "Everyone knows it's fake. It's just for fun."

I don't think that way anymore. I now understand that choosing to buy a fake product, no matter how small, means supporting a much bigger problem.

A market management official checks bags at a shop in Da Nang. Photo courtesy of the city's market management unit

On May 29, market inspectors and police raided several kiosks in a shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City. They seized thousands of items suspected of copying famous brands like Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, and Chanel. But what shocked me most was not the sheer number of counterfeit goods - it was how these sellers responded.

The moment authorities appeared, shutters slammed shut. Intercom systems crackled to life, sending out alerts across the mall, warning vendors to hide or flee. It felt like watching an anti-theft system in action, except the "thieves" being warned were the sellers themselves, and the threat was law enforcement.

As consumers, we bear part of the responsibility for this. Many people justify buying fakes because they are cheap, or because it’s "just for fun," or because "everyone does it." But those small indulgences help nurture an entire ecosystem of unlawful activity.

Behind every counterfeit Louis Vuitton wallet lies a web of violations: illegal manufacturing, tax evasion, and intellectual property theft. The more people stay silent or complicit, the more counterfeit goods flourish in plain sight.

Inspections may disrupt these markets temporarily, but they are not enough on their own. If we do not tackle the root causes - starting from the producers, to the buyers, and even to the landlords offering shelter for these operations - the cycle will continue. And the next time inspectors show up, those intercom warnings will sound again, just like before.

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