Fake goods in Thailand

[JohnJay]

A couple of years ago my wife bought fake eyeliner in Bangkok for 10 baht. After she used it she ended up with a very bad eye infection and had to pay for multiple trips to the hospital, antibiotics. Of course there are a lot of fake goods in Thailand. With some things it doesn't matter, a fake t-shirt isn't going to kill you. There is a store near my house in Isaan that sells a lot of things considerably cheaper than Lotus or 7/11. Shampoo is about 60 baht cheaper, laundry detergent 40 baht cheaper, shower gel, milk, many things. My wife seems to think that everything in this store is counterfeit. I don't have a problem wearing a fake Gucci t-shirt, but I don't really want to drink a fake carton of milk.

 

How can you tell if household goods are fake or not? Is she even correct in thinking they are? And where do you guys draw the line at using fake goods?

[richard_smith237]

Its often difficult to tell... 

 

Ultimately you have to place your trust in reputable vendors who will accept responsibility if you do find something fake or potentially damaging. Of course, this in itself becomes challenging in Thailand. 

 

Social Media allows for some form or public protest, but is significantly limited by Thailands Deformation laws. 

 

Once you open a bottle of 'something' there is no way to prove you haven't tampered with it yourself, this presents an accountability / responsibility issue, thus, if you find a place which sells genuine products keep shopping there. 

 

Sometimes common sense may be helpful - some products are more expensive to counterfeit that others, some (many) have sealed packaging which is extremely difficult to tamper with and use to re-sell.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Being able to tell if something is fake nowadays is difficult !
A rule of thumb, as to whether to buy or not, would be " is it gonna be dangerous or affect my health ?".
Like you, I'm not worried about buying a fake t-shirt that won't survive many washes, usually the price paid warrants it .
But I wouldn't entertain buying any food products if I was unsure.

[giddyup]

I would touch none of those products sold by those "mom and pop" roadside stalls, like shampoo, washing liquid etc. The bottles are often refilled in backyard premises using who knows what ingredients. Risky.

[craigt3365]

Generally speaking....generally....you can tell by the price.  If it's too good to be true, it probably is.  Markup on many household goods at the big grocery stores are very small.  Almost impossible for smaller stores to offer the same thing for, say, 50% less. 

[janclaes47]

3 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Markup on many household goods at the big grocery stores are very small.  Almost impossible for smaller stores to offer the same thing for, say, 50% less. 

 

I have to disagree with that, because if you look there can be big difference in price between the different supermarkets for the very same article, and then I don't talk about promotions.

[craigt3365]

4 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

 

I have to disagree with that, because if you look there can be big difference in price between the different supermarkets for the very same article, and then I don't talk about promotions.

Yes, sometimes they do have discounts.  For for something like a tube of toothpaste.  I don't normally see a huge difference in price.  Some for sure.  But not 50%.  Other items, for sure!

[janclaes47]

46 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Yes, sometimes they do have discounts.  For for something like a tube of toothpaste.  I don't normally see a huge difference in price.  Some for sure.  But not 50%.  Other items, for sure!

 

As I said, I'm not talking about promotions or discounts.

 

Household ( cleaning products and items) products are on average 15% cheaper, but some are more than that, at Tesco compared to Big C.

 

I'm talking about the same products.

 

I could name at least 5 other regular items that are 10 - 15 % cheaper at different supermarkets.

 

If the normal price of a product can be 15% different between supermarkets, while they still make profit because otherwise they wouldn't sell, then I don't think we can talk about small mark ups.

[noahvail]

This might be of some interest. While margins amongst lines differ, as do inventory turns per year, typical grocery chains historically turn about 1.3% NIBT. Some lines like batteries are 30% and dairy is virtually zero, and loss leaders produce - losses, and are used as an advertising gimmick to draw foot traffic. The idea that a small shop which has smaller economies of scale can sell legitimate items consistently at 50% less than the majors is ludicrous. Counterfeit, hijacked maybe...but not bought through a reputable wholesaler. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/industry-standard-gross-margin-groceries-38121.html

[colinneil]

Fake goods, some people say you can tell by price,.

Not always the case, i bought a Sharps electric jug with a press pump in the top.

I only wanted a good recognized brand,

Lady in the shop said that 1 is for display, ok she went in the back, came out with 1 already boxed.

Like an idiot i never looked in the box, got home opened the box to find a cheap/nasty copy.

Went back to the shop and lady said, you swapped the sharp for a copy and now you are trying to cheat me.

Needless to say i got nowhere, used it for maybe 2 weeks, it was then useless In Thailand it pays to check everything.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Fake goods, some people say you can tell by price,.

Not always the case, i bought a Sharps electric jug with a press pump in the top.

I only wanted a good recognized brand,

Lady in the shop said that 1 is for display, ok she went in the back, came out with 1 already boxed.

Like an idiot i never looked in the box, got home opened the box to find a cheap/nasty copy.

Went back to the shop and lady said, you swapped the sharp for a copy and now you are trying to cheat me.

Needless to say i got nowhere, used it for maybe 2 weeks, it was then useless In Thailand it pays to check everything.

You need to name the shop then some TV members, myself included, might go shopping there and accidentally trip into a 55" LED Panasonic knocking it off the shelf.................allegedly !! [emoji51]

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Fake goods, some people say you can tell by price,.

Not always the case, i bought a Sharps electric jug with a press pump in the top.

I only wanted a good recognized brand,

Lady in the shop said that 1 is for display, ok she went in the back, came out with 1 already boxed.

Like an idiot i never looked in the box, got home opened the box to find a cheap/nasty copy.

Went back to the shop and lady said, you swapped the sharp for a copy and now you are trying to cheat me.

Needless to say i got nowhere, used it for maybe 2 weeks, it was then useless In Thailand it pays to check everything.

That's a scam.  Plain and simple.  I would have gone to the police and filed a report.  Easy.  My friend got a fake samsung tablet from a vendor.  Went to the police, filed a report, got his money back.

[colinneil]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

That's a scam.  Plain and simple.  I would have gone to the police and filed a report.  Easy.  My friend got a fake samsung tablet from a vendor.  Went to the police, filed a report, got his money back.

Yes i should have ,gone to the police, problem is not easy for me being confined to a wheelchair/mobility scooter not easy to get to the police station.

Asked the wife to do it, oh today to busy, no time to go.

Why she is scared to get the police involved with anything is a mystery to me.

[madusa]

4 hours ago, colinneil said:

Fake goods, some people say you can tell by price,.

Not always the case, i bought a Sharps electric jug with a press pump in the top.

I only wanted a good recognized brand,

Lady in the shop said that 1 is for display, ok she went in the back, came out with 1 already boxed.

Like an idiot i never looked in the box, got home opened the box to find a cheap/nasty copy.

Went back to the shop and lady said, you swapped the sharp for a copy and now you are trying to cheat me.

Needless to say i got nowhere, used it for maybe 2 weeks, it was then useless In Thailand it pays to check everything.

No wonder when the Thais go on a holiday in Malaysia they bought quite a lot of things, even Milo(a chocolate drink), some electrical stuffs and watches. They know unlikely to get fake ones in Malaysia, though it does exist.

Gentlemen, you may even get fake women if you are not careful. The good work of the surgeons in Singapore- some katoay go to Singapore private clinic to get the job done on their professional equipment. Singapore surgeons operate well, no post surgical infection or complication.

[ericthai]

8 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

 

I have to disagree with that, because if you look there can be big difference in price between the different supermarkets for the very same article, and then I don't talk about promotions.

I agree with you.  We manufacture products and all the stores that buy from us in Thailand and abroad the retail price is anywhere from 60-100% markup. However you need to consider that is market up not profit as the larger stores have allot of overhead. 

[ericthai]

4 hours ago, colinneil said:

Fake goods, some people say you can tell by price,.

Not always the case, i bought a Sharps electric jug with a press pump in the top.

I only wanted a good recognized brand,

Lady in the shop said that 1 is for display, ok she went in the back, came out with 1 already boxed.

Like an idiot i never looked in the box, got home opened the box to find a cheap/nasty copy.

Went back to the shop and lady said, you swapped the sharp for a copy and now you are trying to cheat me.

Needless to say i got nowhere, used it for maybe 2 weeks, it was then useless In Thailand it pays to check everything.

Live and learn.  

Typically they want to open the box, plug it in and show it works when buying. so not doing this might be a clue next time. 

[toofarnorth]

I think my PC is a fake. First thing that appears on the monitor is Farting Widows

[Andrew Dwyer]

I think my PC is a fake. First thing that appears on the monitor is Farting Widows

Mine says " Farty Towels " [emoji15]

[craigt3365]

this is what's scary.  Never know if your meds are real (i.e. good) or not.

 

 

Quote

"Between one-third to 90 per cent of anti-malarial drugs tested in Southeast Asia are fraudulent: They do not contain what they say they do. Sub-standard drugs have two serious public health consequences: One: people get sicker or die; Two: drug-resistant strains can develop - as we now see with anti-malarials - and cause a global health threat," said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

 

[louse1953]

14 hours ago, colinneil said:

Yes i should have ,gone to the police, problem is not easy for me being confined to a wheelchair/mobility scooter not easy to get to the police station.

Asked the wife to do it, oh today to busy, no time to go.

Why she is scared to get the police involved with anything is a mystery to me.

She's scared she'll pay more in backhanders than the jug is worth.A narky friend has had some success by writing to head off of Sharp.They dont like getting a bad name.Whoever the big name Japanese company is,he usually gets an apology and a new appliance.

[ableguy]

On 6/28/2017 at 7:58 PM, colinneil said:

Yes i should have ,gone to the police, problem is not easy for me being confined to a wheelchair/mobility scooter not easy to get to the police station.

Asked the wife to do it, oh today to busy, no time to go.

Why she is scared to get the police involved with anything is a mystery to me.

Not to the rest of us my friend.