Killer Shoes
Have you ever dreamed of owning a really “killer” pair of shoes – Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blahnik perhaps? Have you ever gone online to search out these dream shoes? If you have, you have likely found offers for designer shoes at much less than designer prices. What’s the catch?
As we recently wrote, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. (APDN blog 08-26-09). Not only are these shoes likely counterfeit, they could very well be funding terrorism, promoting child labor and aiding in money laundering operations – “killer” shoes in quite the literal sense….
All this collateral damage from buying a cheap pair of shoes, you might ask? Yup, from a cheap pair of shoes – shoes that, on closer inspection, most likely don’t even look and definitely don’t fit like the real thing.
Online retailing is one of the easiest and most-used ways where unknowing consumers are duped into buying a pair of counterfeit shoes. In February 2009, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the agencies had seized 254,240 counterfeit shoes worth an estimated $8.1 million from seaports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA. CBP confiscated another $1 million worth of shoes at the Port of San Francisco in April of this year. In fiscal year 2008, CBP and ICE seized over $272.7 million worth of counterfeit items nationwide, with footwear making up $102.3 million of that seizure, accounting for 38 percent of the entire value of goods seized (CBP).
Now your whole world you see around you is just a reflection
And the law of common says you reap just what you sow
So unless you've lived a life of total perfection
You'd better be careful of every stone that you throw.
Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes
And before you abuse, criticize and accuse
Walk a mile in my shoes. (Joe South)
If they’re counterfeit shoes, be mindful of footprints you leave in your path…
APDN on Twitter
Learn fast and first about APDN's activities. Visit Twitter today to begin following the news.
For additional information, please click here.