The Humorous Side of Chinese Counterfeiting

Having lived in Asia for the majority of my life, it is interesting what you hear from just leaning against a subway train pole, or sitting on the local bus stop bench. Ever since counterfeiting became widespread within Asia, specifically China, funny and serious counterfeiting stories have been the source of hot gossip in public. Typically, this involves the hilarious complaints that come from a bystander screaming about how counterfeit products suck. So why buy it in the first place? It is a cheap alternative to something more expensive. But as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for."

Funny stories about the use of counterfeit products circulate the public. So back in a day, when I was a wee little lass, I rode the subway train on a daily basis, and I tell you, it can sometimes be very boring just standing there waiting for your stop. So on boring days, I just liked to kind of eavesdrop on people's conversations. And I was really surprised at what I heard, both amusing and disturbing at the same time, it was entertaining and interesting to hear people's conversations on counterfeit products.

Chinese counterfeiting is the largest underground industry in the entire world. Literally billions of dollars are made from these cheap products, and distributed across the world whether made unaware or aware to the public. Malls dedicated to selling counterfeit products are erected in shady areas of the cities. You go into the mall, and you can almost find anything that you're looking for, at a killer price. From fake Rolexes to counterfeit elevators, it's ridiculous how widespread counterfeiting has become, and how out-of-control the issue has grown in recent years. Though for me, it still is a good source of amusement from time to time. Don't get me wrong, counterfeiting is a major problem in the world and in no way, do I advocate counterfeiting. Counterfeiting is illegal, and it is dangerous when people start to go the cheap way when it comes to producing medicine, cars, and the like. But here, I am merely expressing the humorous side of counterfeiting stories.

The most commonly heard story is the counterfeit Rolex watch. Many people have had their mishaps with this kind of watch. Familiar stories include the watch just falling off your wrist. The wrist band just breaks in half and the watch just falls to the ground, shattering into a thousand little pieces. Or typically, a person looks at their watch and thinks to themselves, "Hey, its 3:00 right now. I have fifteen more minutes until I have to leave for an appointment." After an oblivious thirty minutes, they look at the watch again and lo and behold, time has stopped! "What? It's still 3:00!?" Dumbfounded, the person realizes that counterfeit Rolex watches are obviously not reliable. Even more amusing, sometimes the minute hand just breaks off the dial of the watch, and you're left with an hour hand. Not bad if you didn't care about the exact moment of a given time. I mean, you could still use it for a few more days before the hour hand breaks off too.

Counterfeit DVDs and video games are also a frequently heard story, as people just want to watch the movie or play the game and be done with it without spending an absurd amount of money. Its funny how sometimes the movie's subtitles don't match with the movie, as the subtitles actually go with another movie! Say, you're watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and you put on the subtitles, only to realize that the subtitles belong to the movie Shrek 3. Or even worse, sometimes the cover of the disc says the movie is in English, but as soon as the first word is spoken, you realize that the people are speaking French. Counterfeit video games are an unreliable source, as they tend to pause in mid game, or there is no sound, or you just suddenly exit the entire game itself, or you can't save the game. This would certainly be a frustrating aspect for any gamer out there. I recommend that you just get the real thing, for a reasonable price, rather than spend your time frustrated at the game, wasting money, and perhaps saving yourself a couple hundred bucks from bashing in your computer at the height of your pissed off mood.

Other stories border on the unbelievable though, ranging from counterfeit Volkswagens to counterfeit elevators. You ask yourself, how is it even possible to counterfeit an elevator? Apparently, counterfeiters believe it's possible, and have done it. However funny the situation is, it is ludicrous how people are willing to sacrifice safety for a couple of extra bucks by counterfeiting things such as cars and elevators. The Chinese government has recently taken a stand against this counterfeit issue, cracking down on the public and imposing severe penalties for whoever is caught distributing, or buying these products. As amusing as the stories are, I recommend you to just buy the original product. In the long run, it'll be worth it to spend your money on something that's actually going to last. Unlike the Rolex that falls apart, or Pirates of the Caribbean subbed with Shrek 3 subtitles.