Fake Handbag Seizures Increase in the U.S.

At the top of the list of fake product seizures are designer handbags, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Selling fake products is a billion-dollar business, so more and more time needs to be spent to decrease the amount of fake products that reach the United States.

With designer handbags becoming more and more popular in our society, people who can’t afford the real thing look for an alternative. The huge demand for designer bags for less keeps fake bag makers in business. As long as people are still looking for fake bags, they are going to be made.

In 2012, there were 22,848 seizures of fake products. The total value of the shipments was over 1.2 billion dollars. On average, each seizure was valued at about $10,500 MSRP. Of those seizures, 40 percent of them were of handbags and wallets. This is twice the percent of seizures made up of handbags and wallets in the previous year. Watches and jewelry came in second at 15 percent, followed by clothing and accessories at 11 percent, and then consumer electronics and footwear at 8 percent each.

The percentage of seizures that included watches and jewelry increased greatly due to a single seizure of fake watches that were valued at $29 million. There was even a rise in seizures of counterfeit airbags, increasing from 13 to 65 over the past year. Counterfeit medicines decreased from 13 percent to 7 percent.

Where are all the fakes coming from? China is responsible for 72 percent of the counterfeit shipments, with Hong Kong second responsible for 12 percent. Singapore and India accounted for one percent each, and all other countries accounted for 14 percent.