The Wholesale Forums

[Jojo]

To say it again, maybe this will stick some day:

There are no authentic and licenced surplus goods coming from factories. Period. If Lacoste (or any other brand for that matter) licence a factory to produce for example 10.000 shirts, and therewith order this amount, they will buy the complete stock and not just parts of it. The ONLY reason that they might not comply with their order is if the product quality is not as expected and the product fails the quality controls (and this only happens rarely). But even then the items will not just be sold on as surplus or whatever you want to call it. If items are rejected by the brand name owner, they are rejected for a reason.

Whatever comes out of the back door is not part of the licenced production ordered by the brand name owners, hence regarded as fake. It doesn´t matter if it was made from the same material, made with the same machines, in the same factories and even if the same tags are attached to it. Legally (and this is all that matters) the items are regarded as fakes. Period. Its not that factories receive a licence from the brand name owner and can then produce whatever they like and sell it to whoever they want. Why do you think there are strict distribution channels if you could just walk up to the factories and buy whatever you like.

I would advise anyone trying to enter this business to really research and learn the facts of this trade. Being caught for selling or trafficing fakes, at least here in Europe, involves large fines that should not be taken light-heartedly. And thinking the Brand name owners will not spot the difference or will just let it pass would be foolish. If finding these products as authentic and licenced stock would be that easy, people wouldn´t have such a hard time finding the stock. This business is not that easy, and people need to realize that.

[SteveF]

I agree with what you say Jojo , but there are other sellers on the board selling clothing without any paperwork or legitimate backup to support their goods. So is it best clothing is not offered on the Forum??
Your point above was my point a few months ago when Aufentik was offering A&F and Hollister stuff, current styles not even in shops yet. There is no way that stuff can get on the open market unless through the back door or illegally.
So where is the line being drawn here??
SteveF

[Jojo]

So where is the line being drawn here??

That is a good question, but really one that everybody needs to decide for themselves. I know where I draw the line for myself, my company and the products the buy and sell, and this line is very strict. In the end, everyone needs to decide for themselves how much backup and support they need depending who they are dealing with. We, for example, don´t import any clothing from outside Europe, as it would mean parallel imports without resale rights. And it is extremely hard to come across current season stock without going through licenced distributors or resellers. Again, there are exceptions to this for certain brands and products (Abercrombie used to be different because they were only producing for the american market, and there was no resale structure for the rest of the world). The classic paperwork hardly ever exists (paper is faked easier than anything else), except if you buy from the licenced distributors or resellers. Even if a company has the paperwork, they will not necessarily pass it on.

As I said, this business is really quite complex. I could go on in great length about this, but I am not sure if this is the right place for it. I have written about this before in other threads. If there is interest in the matter I can write a detailed article about it for the forum.

But lets stick to the items in question here, the Lacoste Polos. And I think everything has been said and explained about them. Please don´t get we wrong. I wouldn´t want to spoil anyones thread or business (as long as it is legitimate), but if the case if really quite clear then I think it is in order to let people know. Afterall, there might be someone new to this who eventually runs into a lot of trouble with the given product. This is what the forum is for, or isn´t it?

The moderating team are discussing this issue, the advertiser and the products in question.

This thread has been closed for the time being while a thorough investigation is carried out.