http://genevalunch.com/guides/travel...swiss-customs/
Is this true?
I have read in some blogs that if you bring brand copy goods into Switzerland then you can be heavily fined. That seems bit tough if someone bought you something as a present and you have no idea whether it is fake or not. others say that if you go on holiday load up on a clever copy roles, designer handbag, glasses etc., that the items will merely be confiscated.
Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why would you (or anyone) want to buy fake anything? Besides the hassle with the authorities (quite right and justified in my mind) you also end up with inferior quality products that when found out by peers or strangers, I would imagine to be very embarrasing. Rather save up and buy the real thing and wear it with pride in my opinion.
Well, dont buy stupid brands anw. Mostly you just pay the name. To answer your question. I dont know. But even if its true, you have to get caught to be fined. I dont think you will approach the police saying "hey i have fake stuff" right? And what will happen? Will a policeman come and say "let me check if your handbag/sunglasses are original"
On the other hand if you are bringing loads of fake goods into Switzerland i guess you are just asking for trouble. A car full of boxes of "genuine" brand goods attracts some attention
Why the hell was that worth a groan. Particularly with no comment to explain.
Fwiw I agree with you Marisa.
It's quite simple: because not everyone can afford, or wants to pay for (for whatever reason), the real thing.
Switzerland has anti pirating laws. It's certainly true that if you're stopped by customs then they may confiscate any counterfeit goods they identify. As I understand it, if you admit it's counterfeit and surrrender the goods then no further action will be taken. If you contest then the item may be confiscated and sent for evaluation. If it's fake then it will be destroyed and you'll have to pay the admin costs. Custodial and heavy financial penalties are possible but unlikely unless you're importing pirated goods for sale ie making a business out of it as opposed to sporting a fake designer handbag for your personal use. With it's watch industry, Switzerland has a vested interest to make the world clean of fake Rolexes!
its not always about quality, sometimes the real thing is absurdly over-priced, cos you're just paying for the brand. in fact, my Rölex has served me extremely well...
Most designer stuff is a rip-off of some other former designer, that is why different schools and types of design exist, they learn and borrow ideas from each other. I haven't seen anything that did not have some vestige of throwback to another design; there is nothing 'totally new'.
Personally I like stuff with history or an interesting story. The sales pitch is angled to sell you the image of a perceived lifestyle. If the story and buying experience is entertaining enough I may buy the product just for the memory.
The fact that two identical looking products are constructed using similar quality materials and in identical circumstances (often using third world cheap labour) often gets ignored. Even the brand names now have different categories of product, so that you have to know what the serial numbers etched into the product represent, you may be getting an authentic product but an inferior line, it's an industry after all. I prefer stuff that is hand made or second hand- like couture, retro, vintage, I like to imagine who made it or wore it. Or I make my own, and yes people try to copy!
I also like stuff that is well-made and comfortable, but quite honestly design is meant to fit the purpose and be aesthetically pleasing, that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to cost more.
Oh well I guess for me it is a chance to work in my Swissness, when I recieve a gift and suspect that it may be a knock-off, I can just ask the giver, "Please give me the authentication slip, because being Swiss I can't accept fakes." Some designer stuff can loom really gaudy. It would be more embarrassing for me be stuck with a very expensive designer product becuase that most people think looks tacky simly because it's a designer article. I would feel like the emporer with no clothes or if I belonged at Chavscot Ascot. I would feel like Edina in Absolutely Fabulous screaming " It's Lacroix darling-Lacroix!"
The royal jelly - the Gucci of bees
I guess buying fake products is a fifty fifty chance when it comes to quality.
My S hra p calculator is efter 20 years still going strong but the wireless Pana soa nic phone lasted about 20 minutes
As Richdog says - it's really quite simple. Not everyone wants to or can afford to pay for the real deal designer products. The real products are undoubtably better quality than the knock offs but at about 100x the price. Why people want brand names to begin with is a different question but leads into this. Desire for a brand without the wherewithal to afford it leads to support for knockoffs. This brandpower also determines the cost of knockoffs, which I think is hilarious. A knockoff Breitling is worth more than a knockoff basic Rolex which is worth more than a knockoff Casio, or LV is worth more than Guess. Despite the fact that they're all probably made from comparably priced components in the same or similar factories in Asia.
Irrespective of any fines that may be incurred on the import of counterfeit goods, I think that the main issue is a moral and an ethical one. I have read about the 70,000 or so Chinese migrants who work in Italian sweat shops for the same wage that they would receive in China, simply to produce fake goods that can bear the 'Made in italy' mark.
its not as simple as that, I have bought memory cards from abroad and had them posted here, and although they where supposed to be the real deal they where fake's (and rubbish, one went straight in the bin) if customs had opened it I'd have been fined? not exactly fair.
Six usually.
Oops. I read that as knock-off times...
as you were
What? Why would you care about authenticity of country of manufacture if you don't care about authenticity of the goods?
When I buy my knock-off Rollexx, certainly I'll know that it was not 'Made in Switzerland' despite any markings to the contrary?
Then they shouldn't buy the fake. They should by an "In the style of..." knock off. Which are perfectly legal as long as they don't violate patents or the the like. Not very likely with fashion accessories.
Sad thing is quite a few fakes are very, very obvious if you know anything about the real item. They can really look like s41t. And they make everyone look bad.
Brian.
..that was in one of my posts. The town is called Prato...you can google it. CNN even held a brief segment on it.
Ahh, it was you. Sorry about the plagiarism! Nonetheless, a shocking situation in an appropriately named town, as that is how they are treating all those poor Chinese.
I wouldn't have groaned this post, but it was my first reaction. The OP came here looking for help with a question, as Richdog said - "for whatever reason", and got a self-righteous judgmental condemnation as the first response.
I was amazed to see the huge array of fake goods in China. It is not just rolexes, but also stuff like Mammut, Peak Performance, Miss sixty, etc.
One local govt. person I spoke to even blames the original brands for not doing enough to push for enforcement. He said that it is all a conspiracy to build up their brand name amongst the locals:
1. let the fake goods market flourish
2. if the locals see that there is a huge demand for this brand, the real stuff must therefore be really expensive.
3. when the chinese start making enough money they will want to buy the real stuff, especially for bragging rights. You can't brag about having the real stuff if the fake stuff do not exist.
Considering the huge middle class in China with fast rising income, this he says, is why those brands are not really fighting too hard against fake goods...
Anyway, back to topic, does anyone know what will happen if I was caught with 10 fake DVDs at Zurich airport? Just wondering...
Then half the female population of this country would be sans-louis vuitton bags...I think there might be some tolerance if you have a few CDs or DVDs (as in other EU contries) as long as it does not seem you are going to comercialize them, I think in NL it is up to 5 you can have more they get taken away and if more than 19 then you pay a fine.