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Recently, social media influencers and fashion pages shared branded products, increasing interest in these products. However, the high price tags of these products make citizens turn to the production of counterfeit brands. To investigate this situation, we visited and spoke with the merchants located just behind the Spice Bazaar in Eminönü.
IMPACT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Saying that he has worked here as a merchant for about 20 years, Murat Hamza said: “Social media continues to significantly change the way we sell our sales. Everyone is here to come and investigate what they see about social media phenomena. These are not well-known brands either. They are all thousands of pounds products. Especially young people look for products from famous brands here. The greatest demand is branded shoes. The bags and watches follow. The most important factor in shopping is purchasing power. After all, not everyone can buy branded products at these prices, ”he said.
15-30 AGES
Hamza said the customers who come to them are mostly between the ages of 15 and 30: “No matter how under the stairs, there are always those who buy from here. It used to be, but now social media has hit harder. Here I am selling a 2 thousand lira product for a price of 10. The customer is just looking at the price here, ”he said.
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SHOW PHOTOS
Another shopkeeper on the same street said that women showed them the photo of the branded product directly and wanted a fake one, using the following expressions: “Mostly they show me the product that a famous woman used or shared. Now is the way to buy. I sell bags between 40 and 200 liras. They examine the product for half an hour and buy it like that, but the reality of the bag they bought for 50 lire is 5,000 lire. Some go to the store of that brand first. Examine the product thoroughly. Accordingly, look at the product you will buy here. You don’t want it to be obvious that it is false. “Most of the traders in the region answer our questions, but they don’t want to take pictures of themselves or the products. Some merchants especially warn, “If you recall the product, it will cause me a lot of trouble.”
THEY WANT TO SHARE WITH THE PRODUCTS
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A trader who claimed to have owned a store in the same region for 30 years said: “We have been traders here for years. My father was doing this job before me. But the recent price spike for branded products and social media has also affected the way we do business. Seeing a good product somewhere, it comes right here. I think they want to share with those products themselves. They express this most of the time. We do not make poor quality products like before. The center of this business is Gedikpaşa. Now even counterfeit products are of better quality. The product that reaches the social networks is here in a short time ”, he says.
PENALTY UP TO 3 YEARS
Lawyer Talat Yörük had this to say in relation to the sale of counterfeit products: “Here, as an example, the consumer is also punished in Italy. Only the merchant is penalized. There is no penalty for the user. A crime subject to complaints. Trademark rights holders are struggling with this problem. The law has a penalty of 1 to 3 years. Certain sanctions can also be imposed on the consumer to avoid this. “Lawyer İpek Güvenç also used the following statements:” In fact, everyone is liable between those who imitate a trademark that belongs to someone else. However, here our legal system does not punish the consumer. The person whose trademark has been infringed wants to detect and prevent unfair competition and to compensate. Because they also suffer serious loss of income. Although there is no way to avoid this completely, it can be deterred by increasing penalties. “
ALSO TOURISTS HAVE
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Traders in the region say that the products sold here are the favorites not only of national customers but also of tourists. A shopkeeper who sells belts and bags on the street said: “Especially Arab tourists buy 10 items at a time. Tourists are more prepared than local customers. They take pictures of all the products they want and show them to you. They buy 3 out of 5 of the same product ”.
SHAPES 50 LIRA
With the start of the new season in football, the latest uniforms and other equipment have been added to the counterfeit products. “Are these shirts up to date?” The seller answers the question: “The shirts you saw yesterday in the derby, my brother.” The seller claims that the uniforms of the national and foreign teams are sold for 50 liras and the tracksuits for 140 liras. Customers who arrive at the store in no time ask for the jerseys of foreign players that are well known on social media. Unlicensed products sold this way cause clubs to lose revenue.
SALES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Recently, counterfeit products are not only physically sold in stores. Sales of counterfeit products are made through accounts opened on social networks. Some Eminönü merchants even say that they sell the products they sell in their stores on social media.
