If you're planning on heading to NYC's Chinatown for a knockoff purse, wallet or watch before Christmas - you might want to reconsider. The NYPD raided a bunch of storefronts along Canal Street this week - and closed many of the counterfeit peddlers down.
Canal Street (the main drag running through Chinatown) usually looks like this...
But this Tuesday it looked like this...
The Chinatown counterfeit merchandise business has changed since I moved to NYC. Fifteen years ago the Canal Street shops openly displayed counterfeit merchandise with the actual brand-name logos on it (Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc.). The police just ignored it - saying they had bigger and better things to worry about.
But then the major fashion houses started pressuring the city to crack down on the counterfeiters (which costs them billions of dollars in revenue). And the city responded ... forcing the "really good" counterfeits off the street and behind closed doors. After the crackdown, store-owners displayed "similar but not exact" reproductions - but not actual knockoffs. Brand names such as "Channel" are common.
Now - if you want the "good stuff" - you have to go on a little bit of a mission. When you hit Canal Street you'll see Asian women carrying signs with pictures of "real" (LOL!) "designer" bags. If you want a "real Gucci" or a "real Chanel" bag, you point to which one you want.
The women will size you up (trying to determine if you are a police officer) - and if you pass muster they'll take you to a secret location. Many of these places are separate warehouses where you are literally locked in (to prevent police raids) before you can make purchases. Others are just back rooms behind the regular storefronts.
My friend's elderly mother went down to Chinatown about a year ago (she was visiting from Houston), and found herself in one of these warehouses. As she was negotiating with a gentleman over the price of a bag, people started yelling - and the Chinese "staff" of the building took off running. My friend's mom didn't know what was happening, so she ran after the guy yelling "But I want to buy that bag!!!!". Luckily the police didn't bust HER.
6 comments:
On the Left Coast, Venice Beach is still a popular place to buy "knock-offs" + it is one of the best places ever to people watch. Anyone who visits here should make it a must place to go...and, there is muscle beach there too for some other interesting viewing :)
LB anon
Wow, I was on Canal Street 3-4 weeks ago and couldnt believe all the knock offs that were being sold. Every stall was open that night. What a difference a couple of weeks make.
I am the queen of the canal street catacombs.... I have had some hilarious and wack experiences down in those tunnels.
I am always so sad when they raid my friends on Canal Street. I have some very fabulous Vuitton and Prada based on my willingness to go down dark tunnels with wads of cash in my pocket... I know, WTF?
Well, it's about high time something is done! I'm betting this is causing all kinds of drama!
I know that my vendors are really cracking down on counterfitting wherever they can.
And I had a friend the other day show me her new "Tirfany" bracelet. It was fake, but it WAS beautiful!
ya know...I would be scared as HELL going into one of those "back rooms" just to get a knock-off purse...I really don't care that much about a purse that has LV on it or something like that. BUt that back room? scares the shitt outta me!!!
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