Can Pawn Shops Sell Fake Items?

You’ve had your eye on that big-ticket item for months. You’ve waited patiently, comparing prices across various retailers, to see if the price will drop. And then you find an incredible deal. It seems like it may be too good to be true. You’re tempted … but how do you know that deal is legit? Or even that the item is?

Don’t worry; you’re not alone. The market for selling counterfeit or fake items is thriving, making it increasingly challenging to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit items. We’re here to help you with the knowledge and tools to spot potentially fake items before you buy so that you can ask the right questions and make an informed decision.

What is a counterfeit item?

According to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), a counterfeit is an item that uses someone else’s trademark without their permission. Criminals seek to profit from a legitimate company’s trusted reputation by making or selling a counterfeit.

Counterfeiting is a forgery of a trusted brand and product and a serious crime. Under U.S. federal law, for example, criminal counterfeiting offenses can be punished by life in prison and up to $30 million in fines. Counterfeiting can also be prosecuted as a felony in most states in the U.S.

Counterfeiting damages a company’s reputation and consumer confidence in the global market. It affects businesses and consumers alike by sowing mistrust in genuine products made by reputable brands.

What types of goods can be counterfeited?

Counterfeit goods span multiple industries, including apparel, accessories, music, software, medications, makeup, cigarettes, jewelry, automobile and airplane parts, consumer goods, toys, electronics, and more.

Counterfeit products include low-quality imitations of original items. Shoes that should last a year look worn out in months, headphones with awful sound quality, or worse, products that do not meet health and safety guidelines.

What is a “knockoff”?

A knockoff is generally a cheaply made and unlicensed copy of something intended to be sold at a much lower price than the original. For example, you may find a pair of Air Jordan sneakers listed for sale. Are they real? If they’re only going for $10, you can be sure they’re probably a knockoff.

Are counterfeit and knockoff the same thing?

No, they are not the same thing. There are some distinct differences between counterfeit items and knockoffs. A counterfeit item is something that’s made to be nearly indistinguishable from the original. A knockoff looks similar but is not designed to fool anyone into thinking they are buying the real thing.

For example, let’s look at a Rolex watch. A counterfeit version would visually mimic an authentic Rolex with the brand name, logo, and distinctive features close to the original.

Is selling knockoffs illegal?

Put simply, yes. Selling anything labeled as a “replica,” “knockoff,” “counterfeit,” or a copy of someone else’s work in general is all illegal. Attempting to sell fake or copied items is a fraud that can easily confuse consumers. Counterfeit or knockoff products

Globally, the sale of counterfeit goods has become a significant concern, with estimates that fake products make up anywhere from 5 to 40 percent of all goods sold in certain regions. While this problem isn’t new, it is growing alarmingly. An estimated 27 out of every 100 products now sold online are fake, and nearly half of these are purchased without the customer even knowing they’re not buying the real deal.

What happens if you buy a counterfeit item?

Buying counterfeit goods has many implications. In the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is one of the world’s largest law enforcement organizations, charged with keeping U.S. residents and property safe while facilitating lawful international trade and travel.

Fake goods can lead to real concerns, which aren’t always obvious. Legitimate companies lose out on hard-earned revenue, leading to lost profits and even job losses over time. Counterfeit products can also threaten your health and safety, especially if made with cheap, substandard, or illegal components.

In the U.S., purchasing and transporting counterfeit goods is illegal and could result in civil or criminal fines, penalties, and even jail time. Customs officials in the U.S. seize apparel, accessories, handbags, watches, and jewelry as the top imported fake products each year.

How can you avoid purchasing fakes or knockoffs?

As a consumer, it pays to be vigilant. CBP recommends shopping with and buying from trusted sellers to protect yourself, your family, and your money! As you consider or shop for specific items, look for the 3 P’s:

Price.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Packaging.

If a seller offers a product without its packaging or with packaging that looks sketchy or includes blurry pictures, typos, spelling, or grammatical errors, it’s probably counterfeit.

Place.

Consider where the product is being sold:

• In-store: Ask yourself if you would typically expect to find the product sold in this environment. Deal only with legitimate, established merchants.
• Online: Counterfeiters often steal pictures and formatting from real websites to make their sites look legit, so don’t be fooled by a professional-looking website. Read the fine print in the product descriptions, FAQs, “Contact Us” pages, or their social media. The site is probably fake if you find typos, grammatical and spelling errors, or incomplete information.

How Gene’s Pawn authenticates items

Many pawn shops like Gene’s use several techniques, including technology programs like Entrupy, to evaluate and verify products. Entrupy takes the guesswork out of the process, using extensive research, data, and artificial intelligence to help pawn shops combat counterfeiting and protect customers.

Entrupy also increases buyer confidence by providing certificates of authenticity for various products, including high-end luxury goods. Within minutes, our pawnbrokers can take several pictures of the item, submit them to Entrupy’s mobile app, and receive a certified evaluation of its authenticity. Entrupy’s algorithm compares items against millions of records worldwide to help make an objective, data-driven decision on whether the product is authentic.

Due to cutting-edge technology and continued training, you can shop confidently at Gene’s Jewelry & Pawn.