On our blog today we are going to be talking about the difference between a duplicate (dupe) product and counterfeits. We have realised that not many people understand the difference between duplicates and counterfeits and often think that they are the same thing, just with different names. Duplicates are often inspired by iconic brands and designers but they contain no logo or brand names. For all you fashionistas who have a love for fashion items that are trending. Duplicates are the perfect way to get the same “high end” look, for a lot less.
A duplicate is an item which resembles the real thing without copying any of the logos or trade marks. It will be easily distinguishable from the real thing. Dupes are LEGAL. A counterfeit item copies trademark details and branding to pass it off as the real thing, for a fraction of the price. Counterfeits are ILLEGAL.
For example, if you look below you will see a photo of two belts. One is clearly a duplicate and the other is the real thing. People often substitute dupes into their wardrobe due to not being able to afford the real thing and that is totally fair as designer items are highly priced. $8.99NZD H&M belt vs $580NZD Gucci belt. Photo from: Jessica Jeans
Another example, one of these belts is real and one is fake. The fake has clearly copied the branding, logo and trademark from the Gucci brand. Photo by: The Daily Belle
There are crazy trends on the internet right now with influencers, make up artists and celebrities reviewing different products and associating them with a dupe.
Youtube star Laura Lee often reviews duplicate foundations on her channel compared to high end brands. Due to the price point of high end brands, she likes to give her followers an alternative that still looks and feels the same. These alternatives are usually based off the real thing but come at a smaller price. For example Mac Studio Fix retails for $80.00NZD. It’s dupe in the market is the Maybelline Fit Me foundation which retails for $20.00NZD. They share very similar formulas and qualities which make it a duplicate product that comes with a lower price tag. She found that the duplicate foundation was just as good as the high end one in this case.
This trend is catching on with many popular YouTube stars including Nikki Tutorials who has hundreds of requests for her to do more videos like this. It seems that followers are always looking for duplicate products in the market that they can compare to high end brands, for a lower price.
Dupes are not limited to fashion or cosmetics, they can be any type of product in the market. This makes the perfect example given the hype in the beauty industry with youtube sensations comparing and reviewing dupes to high end brands. So its fair to say that the main difference between a duplicate and a counterfeit is one is legal and the other isn’t.