# These “tells” that give away knockoff merchandise **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850 "2025-02-26T23:55:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/101 "2025-03-30T21:24:18Z")
The interests and passions of the well-off often confuse the folks stuck in a mostly or purely utilitarian lifestyle. One could collect pretty seashells she sees at the seashore. One could collect pretty baubles they see at Tiffany’s. Or one could collect watches from Rolex or the brands that consider Rolex to be trailer trash. Collecting is like that. They’re expressions of your interest in the breed. They are not devices to inform you of the current time. They do that, but that’s utterly not the point. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/102 "2025-03-30T21:28:37Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > You have a _collection_ of watches? The only reason I would have a _collection_ of watches is so I could pin them to the inside of my coat on Halloween and go trick-or-treating as a shady guy in a Soho alleyway. > > Do you really not get the concept of people collecting nice things? Think of it like jewelry for men. Do wealthy traditional women only have one necklace or set of earrings? I really don’t. I’m terribly lazy, and the notion of keeping track of a bunch of stuff fills me with, well, _dread_ seems too strong a word, so I’ll go with _anxiety_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/103 "2025-03-30T21:30:06Z")
Those expensive Swiss watches are remarkable for the engineering of the watch movement. Some people appreciate them for that. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/104 "2025-03-30T21:34:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I really don’t. I’m terribly lazy, and the notion of keeping track of a bunch of stuff fills me with, well, _dread_ seems too strong a word, so I’ll go with _anxiety_. I collect comic books, toys of various kinds, obsolete computers and consoles, Cthulhu Mythos things, ocarinas (I cannot play one but I have a bunch), bats (the animal with wings, not the baseball equipment kind) and probably quite a few other things that I am forgetting. For some people, collecting things and displaying them is very enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/105 "2025-03-30T21:35:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I really don’t. I’m terribly lazy, and the notion of keeping track of a bunch of stuff fills me with, well, _dread_ seems too strong a word, so I’ll go with _anxiety_. I don’t personally collect anything and don’t own anything expensive that’s not utilitarian like my tv or car. I’ve never owned anything but a cheapie watch and I stopped wearing one of those when I got a cell phone that showed the time in the late 90s. I don’t want to even have something like an expensive watch let alone wear one around. But I get that other people are different than I am. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/106 "2025-03-30T21:38:42Z")
I guess I share a trait with Frank Lloyd Wright, who famously considered 5’7” to be the height (well, _length_) of a human being. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/107 "2025-03-30T21:55:06Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Really not getting this. If the stupidly expensive watch isn’t still functional on the day I die, why would I buy another one, even _more_ stupidly expensive? And if it is, why would I buy another watch, ever? You got a lot of good insight into the collectors mindset from others before I jumped back in this thread, but to talk about **flippers** , that’s an all different thing. There is a group of buyers that either take advantage of their primo reputation with Rolex or leverage shady connections with Rolex dealers, who essentially will regularly buy everything they can get their hands on at MSRP. They then immediately turn around and sell those watches on the gray market. At the peak of the craze, they could double their money in a single day. Anyone with a lick of sense would want in on that, because who doesn’t love doubling their money for doing nothing? I heard buying a Rolex as being described as being delivered a watch with a bag of cash on the side. It’s the flippers that Rolex hates. Not collectors that buy and sell watches over time. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/108 "2025-03-30T22:00:09Z")
Ah, the whole “flipping” thing. Arbitraging themselves into a pile of wealth. Another support for my belief that the only ethically defensible way to get rich quick is by winning the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/109 "2025-03-30T22:01:28Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > At the peak of the craze, they could double their money in a single day. Anyone with a lick of sense would want in on that, because who doesn’t love doubling their money for doing nothing? Except it’s a dick move. Like ticket scalpers. No value add. I wouldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/110 "2025-03-30T22:02:30Z")
I am genuinely confused by this. I bought a KISS trash can for $1. I sold it for IIRC $125. I bought a Magic The Gathering card for $0.25. I sold it for $500. I do not see anything unethical about that. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/111 "2025-03-30T22:04:07Z")
Exactly. It’s jewelry, and it seems to be a kind of jewelry that men find particularly addicting in that it’s also intensely mechanical, with a shit load of fine detail that can be argued over incessantly. Escapement types, finishing techniques, dial engraving methods, which standards org applies better accuracy standards, metals used… it’s all a fever dream for those prone to monomania. I stayed as far away as I could for a long time but eventually succumbed when my wife was going through cancer treatment. I spent many sleepless nights on YouTube looking at watch disassembly and repair videos. Deeply addicting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/112 "2025-03-30T22:04:30Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I am genuinely confused by this. I bought a KISS trash can for $1. I sold it for IIRC $125. I bought a Magic The Gathering card for $0.25. I sold it for $500. I do not see anything unethical about that. Did you reap those profits the day after making the purchases? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/113 "2025-03-30T22:05:18Z")
Years later though, right? Or maybe you got it for cheap in a thrift store because they didn’t realize the value. This is different than arbitrage. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/114 "2025-03-30T22:07:29Z")
No, but I don’t see how that is relevant. I bought the KISS trashcan and many many other things specifically to resell for a profit. If I could have resold them immediately I would have. AFAIAC if people could buy a Rolex and immediately resell it for a great profit, that shows a failure on the part of Rolex. It does not show a moral failure on the part of the reseller. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/115 "2025-03-30T22:08:15Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > > > At the peak of the craze, they could double their money in a single day. Anyone with a lick of sense would want in on that, because who doesn’t love doubling their money for doing nothing? > > Except it’s a dick move. Like ticket scalpers. No value add. I wouldn’t do it. Nobody seems to much love the flippers. They’re a pretty skeevy bunch. As much as I’d like to say that ethically I would choose not to participate, if you told me I could make 30 or 40k for a perfectly legal thing with no more effort than going to the mall and stuffing some boxes into a backpack, well, let’s just say I’ve never been tested like that. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/116 "2025-03-30T22:11:20Z")
I mean I can see the difference between a luxury item and Taylor Swift or Phish tickets. I think that ticket scalpers are complete scum with no redeeming value. Rolex flippers are just screwing the wealthy but I couldn’t bring myself to do it unless I was in desperate need. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/117 "2025-03-30T22:21:31Z")
A YouTube channel’s version of the experience of a common person shopping for Rolex: [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8o9LkvF6QQA](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8o9LkvF6QQA) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/118 "2025-03-30T22:26:59Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I mean I can see the difference between a luxury item and Taylor Swift or Phish tickets. I think that ticket scalpers are complete scum with no redeeming value. I don’t hate ticket scalpers. I reserve my hatred for Ticketmaster. Scalpers are obtaining an item in high demand and reselling it for a profit. Ticketmaster is a near monopoly screwing over performers, venues and ticket buyers. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/119 "2025-03-30T23:06:12Z")
Well that was ignorant. I have no love for Ticketmaster but they are nowhere near a monopoly. AXS is nearly as big as they are. Off the top of my head there’s also Tixr, Eventbright and See Tickets. Lots of venues do their own ticketing. They are definitely assholes though. Scalpers add no value. They are bloodsuckers and what they do is wholly immoral. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850/120 "2025-03-30T23:42:07Z")
Gotta disagree on the Ticketmaster thing. Ticketmaster/Live Nation acts anti-competitively and unethically (imo) and in the end you have no control over who you buy your ticket from. And the artists often have no choice in where they sell their tickets as so many venues are either owned by, operated by, or contacted exclusively with Live Nation. > **[How Live Nation’s Monopoly Works](https://prospect.org/power/2024-05-24-how-live-nations-monopoly-works/)** > > A Justice Department lawsuit alleges a repeated strategy of intimidation tactics, retribution, and all-around thuggish behavior. > **[Justice Department Sues Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets...](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-live-nation-ticketmaster-monopolizing-markets-across-live-concert)** > > The Justice Department, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster LLC (Live Nation-Ticketmaster) for monopolization and... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-tells-that-give-away-knockoff-merchandise/1014850.md?page=7)