And now, a good word for fakes
But not from us. We hate fakes.
No, it’s Jack Ma, head of notorious fraud site Alibaba (the Amazon of China, some call it, which seems unfair to Amazon). In a story reported at CNN Moneym, Ma said
“The problem is that the fake products today — they make better quality, better prices than the real product,” Ma told investors at a company event Tuesday. “The exact factories, the exact raw materials, so they don’t use the name.”
Excuse us while we retch.
First of all, we examine designer goods in the pawnshop all the time, and while some fakes are better than others, they aren’t “better quality” or even as good.
We note that just to get it out of the way.
The problem with Ma’s continuing criminal enterprise is not (or not only) the quality of the fakes he sells. It’s theft of intellectual property. And it’s destruction of the value of real goods by pretty-good fakes.
For example, the market for collectible Kingdom of Hawaii coins has been nearly ruined by fakes. Sold by Jack Ma.
We bet Jack Ma would not be so happy if someone set up a fake Alibaba site that directed shoppers to a warehouse in, say, Belarus and took away the dollars now going to Jack Ma.
There is also the matter of additional costs imposed on honest merchants like Kamaaina Loan, who have to take steps to intercept and reject the fake garbage that Jack Ma pumps into the stream of commerce.
It would be a good thing if Alibaba was treated like a chop shop or other similar criminal operation and shut down. We aren’t saying we expect it, but it would be a good thing.
If you think we are kidding, just go to Alibaba and search for “fake coins.”
#maui #mauiretail #visitingparadise
