The other problem with counterfeits is brand dilution.
That is what really hurts the luxury brands. Not so much with fake mass market goods like fake Speck or otterbox cases, but Element is marketed and priced as a luxury good.
When it gets to the point where everyone's mom along with every piece of ghetto trash is wearing a fake Louis Vuitton or Chanel purse, that hurts their brand image. When you have to question whether the person you meet who is wearing a Rolex is wearing a real one or has a fake, that hurts their brand image.
It isn't the lost sale that would never have happened because the person buying the fake could never have afforded the real thing to begin with that hurts them. It's the loss brand exclusivity and identity that hurts them. It's the fact that an actual buyer of luxury goods might not want to buy their product because of the fakes. It's the fact that having tons of cheap copies out there makes their actual products less desirable to those who can afford them.
That's not even touching on the loss of reputation from the poor quality of the fakes. They are sold with almost perfect looking packaging, documentation, warranty cards, etc. Many buyers won't know that the case they are getting is fake. Maybe they think they're getting a really great deal at the flea market. Maybe the seller is passing them off as real at close to the real price. Either way, the result is that a consumer looks at the fake product and says to themselves: "Wow, this element case is a total piece of crap. I only paid 1/2 or 1/3 the retail price and it's still not worth it." Then they tell their friends, and the brand's reputation suffers.
Everyone and their mother are using fake Rolexes, LV's, and countless others. You just don't realize it. Do you question it every time you come across them? No.
Users of these iPhone cases are a minority no matter how you slice the bread. You see maybe a few hundred premium case users on this forum. There's likely hundreds of more lurkers. Let's be generous and say in total, there are 1,000,000 premium case users fake or real. Now all of these people aren't even in America. There are roughly 314 million people in this country. Of that, not even a quarter of the population have iPhones. And I didn't even break down how many of these case users have which premium brand like Element, Draco, or 3lectron.
So tell me how exclusivity is lost. And again, most people aren't going up to you and examining your phone. They might come up and ask you what it is. Then there's an even smaller chance that they might ask you to let them hold it. But then you have to subtract people who aren't comfortable handing their phones to strangers in the first place.
Then to top this all off, you need to consider that people who aren't aware of these premium cases do not have a discerning eye. They have nothing to compare the fake case too. And by all means, these fake cases look every bit premium. Even when they get beat up (the real ones get beat up too so keep that in mind), they look great.
I'll tell you right now, I've had several people ask about my case. I told them it's an Element case. Boom. They go home and search it. Maybe some bought it. Element just made sales off me, a fake Element user.
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Oh thanks, i feel ever so much better that my posts are ignorant, absurd, and fallacious but I'm a fine intelligent person. However you are incredibly arrogant. If you keep this up we'll both be banned.
Take all the offense you want to. I'm sorry that you take everything personally. But please, if you can't handle a debate, then don't start one. And if you find my comments absurd, you're more than welcome to do so. I won't take it personally.
See, you calling me arrogant is a personal attack. You just attacked my character which had nothing to do with my arguments. If anyone is gonna get banned, it's you for that personal attack you just made.
You want real arrogance from me? Here goes...
Thank you for your attacks on my character. It goes to show that you cannot defend your stance without detracting from the debate by playing the "You are arrogant" card and claiming that I'm attacking you personally. I win (that's the arrogant part in case you missed it).
Archrider, don't be so sensitive. This is the Internet. You came in here to debate me and that's what I did. Expect your comments to be broken down and have the illogical parts called out.
Seriously though, it's honestly not that big of a deal because you have to realize there is a market for counterfeit goods. Though it's a morally gray area, it still creates jobs, adds to the respective country's GDP, and what not. It's bad for the OEM, yes, but in the end you need to realize sitting here and whining about people who choose to buy counterfeit products does nothing to change the real-world situation, which is a lot more complex than everyone is making it out to be.
