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 Editorials | January 2008 
The Real Price of Fakes
 NYTimes
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As the economy weakens, consumers hunt for bargains. Sometimes, however, a bargain can be a literal steal, and a dangerous one at that. The World Customs Organization estimates that 7 percent of goods traded in the world are counterfeit a black market that increasingly includes pharmaceuticals, electronics and other products that must be safe enough to use.
With some $200 billion worth of those pirated or counterfeited goods coming into the United States each year, already weak regulatory agencies are overwhelmed. That means that far too often the burden falls on the buyer to avoid getting stuck with, or hurt by, hazardous fakes. That is not always easy, and the horror stories in recent years have included pet food that harmed or killed hundreds of pets in the United States. More recently, counterfeit batteries have been recalled because they tend to overheat and even explode.
Consumer Reports offered a good primer this month on how to spot the dangerous fakes. Like others who talk about the three Ps price, place and packaging the magazines editors warn that a superlow price should be the first clue. Buyers should also be wary of retailers who fail to provide a receipt or pay sales tax. Flimsy packaging or misspelled words offer more signals. Underwriters Laboratory, which gives a seal of approval to electronics, now uses an expensive, difficult-to-copy hologram. Plenty of holiday lights or power strips with bogus UL seals still make it past customs agents.
Some people in Congress want to tighten penalties on counterfeiters, a good but modest move. More to the point, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration need more money. And businesses that often avoid acknowledging the fake trade, for fear of damaging their brand, should be more open with consumers about how to tell the difference between real and unreal. Until then, buyer beware. |
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