in the past few years online sites and discount shops have "mushroomed" selling branded goods at slash down prices. most of the time, these are last season's goods, goods bought overseas where they are cheaper or goods bought during warehouse sales. personally i just bought a bag for a slashed down 40% off the msian retail price. this lead to a conversation i had with a colleague who had some strong views about discounted purchases.

she is of the opinion that buying discounted branded stuff is no dif from buying fakes. in her point of view, if u have to shop around for the biggest discounts, u cant afford the bag and am pretending to be something u r not. while my blood did boil when she said that, i would like to get some feedback on what u ladies think? do u think people who buy discounted branded goods are fakers trying to blend in OR financially prudent people trying to get the most bang for their buck?

buying branded stuff at a discounted price, i dont see anything wrong with that. if there are 2 same products selling at a different price, why wouldn't anyone get the cheaper one?

it's not like you're buying fakes, just that the cost for the product is lower for the seller. fine to me. and it aint the same as getting a fake.

buy and don't tell people you got it at a discount.

they just need to know i own a branded bag. they don;t need to know how much i paid for it.

Branded goods have better quality control even if it's discounted. It's not wrong to buy one. Your colleague is shallow if she just thinks buying a branded product is mainly for the name.

But beware though, every items have its lifespan/expiry date. If you buy discounted items, you should know what kind of discounted item it is.

-old stocks, beware of the quality. Ie: leather will spoilt(cracks/moldy), glue get yellowish, steels get rusty.. etc in several years without proper maintenance.

-rejected stocks, well you know.. It got rejected for a reason. Better find out why is it rejected and whether u can accept or not

-lower quality of items. New items are sold as discounted items for the sake of Sales event, ie Raya sales, Cny sales, Megasales etc. For this case, lower quality aka cheaper materials are use for these items to maintain the profits. So choose wisely.

Well this is what i can share. There could be more that i didnt know.

This post has been edited by apocalypxe: Aug 6 2012, 10:37 PM

well I personally dont think its wrong buying at discounted price.
everywhere in the world , branded goods are priced differently. So if u have friends and relatives in the EU and can get it cheaper for u... does that mean ur buying fake? hell no. it simply means u wana save some bucks u can. why spending more here when u can get cheaper?

as long as it is authentic, cheaper or expensive nobody really cares. Ofcourse ppl dont buy just for the sake of discount and the brand logo (unless some ppl are super materialistic and only care about that not the fashion sense)

I think what ur colleague meant is that she doesnt like those that save all the money just to get a bag to 'show off' and brag. ppl cant afford but yet still want to buy. which is true in some way. i dont tink she meant exactly like buying discount is lik buying fake.

its a win win situation for buyer and seller. seller earn slight profit and buyer gets slight discount and both are happy. nobody force anyone.

Most of the stuff I buy are cheaper cos they are last seasons items. I'm not a fashionista, so I don't quite care if my items are out of date. As long as I like it.

I buy things that I feel is comfortable and nice. My things do not reflect who or what I am. Anyway, if everyone were to think that way, no meaning for discounts anymore isn't it?

agree with u ..Branded goods have better quality control even if it's discounted.
yes exactly doesnt mean the discounted item ,the quality will be reduce..
so no harm n human tend to purchase for that
else,the quality are better than compare to the cheaper value bag.
previous i use to purchase alots of the cheaper market bag which follow trend,but end up i need to change bag from time to time
after since im into branded stuff,i no longer need to keep changing if i wanna change style
futhermore,the bag i purchase form US two yrs ago,i just saw it was sold at our msia outlet.

so from this i earn as i have being using it for the pass two yrs ago n its still have the value market

I usually can't brain people who wants to show off their branded bags when they themselves cannot afford one. However, it's also understandable because society these days look at how you dress and what you carry before they serve you. If you walk into a high end shop just wearing bermuda shorts and a plain tshirt with a non-branded bag, the salesperson won't even bother to serve you properly.

That aside, if you have money and can afford a branded bag, then just buy it at their outlet. Then again, I don't see a problem with looking for the best price around the world. Like you know Coach is from the US and it's cheaper there, so you go there and buy. But you should also know Coach in the US is not actually consider a luxury bag and their warehouse sales can be really really cheap. The thing is if you CANNOT afford, then don't buy a branded bag just to 'blend in'.

I don't believe in buying a branded item just to 'blend in'. Those who do it are very much fakes to me. I buy an expensive bag because I like the design, quality and practicality of it, not to show off and tell others about it. There is no need to tell people how much I bought the bag at. Like the saying goes, if you are rich, even if you use a fake bag, others will think that it's real (or even limited edition LOL); if you are poor and save all your money to buy that authentic expensive bag, others will think that it's not the real deal. There was this marketing research done before on consumer behaviours with different type of luxury bags, one group wants the brand logo to be 'shouted out' on the bag while the other group doesn't prefer that.

Lastly, in the luxury marketing world, there is this thing where they can't give too much discount on their product as it will spoil the brand image and expected price. People will wait for sales or discounts to buy, what's the point of having a high luxurious price then?

There is nothing wrong with that.
In fact, it is quite prudent of u to have done ur homework (i.e. search for discounts) before making a purchase.
Who cares if its of the last season?
I believe that people should buy branded goods for the quality and good handiwork, instead of buying to follow the latest trends.
paying less for something of the same quality does ur wallet good =)
Buying fakes, on the other hand, means that you're buying a different product altogether.
For me, even if I can afford the original retail price, i'd still go for the discounted price if there is one.
money is hard-earnt !!
u wan to have a good deal whenever u purchase something rite?!
ur friend might just be feeling dissatisfied that she had to pay in full for the same thing
so shes trying to strike u down by verbally attacking u.

hmmm, now this is starting to get interesting. you r the first to give a dif pov

i think some women are naturally drawn to branded stuff, i am. i dont buy these items to show off cos i know very well that most of my friends earn much more than i do. but i have to admit that there is a lure in the fact that it's branded, made by a top designer and all. but having said that, i wouldnt buy something i dislike just bcos it's branded BUT if i see two bags i like; one branded and one not, somehow i'm more drawn to the branded one. i'm weak i guess

Quote: "I usually can't brain people who wants to show off their branded bags when they themselves cannot afford one."
Nowadays i dont know where the line is between afford and cannot afford. with all these instalment plans, discount stores, etc, branded stuff is affordable if you are willing to sacrifice on other pleasures. i guess to me the operative word is moderation. if i buy a bag a year, it's ok cos i think i can budget that in if i cut down expenses in other areas (not essentials- more like coffee bean, expensive meals, clothes shopping). but if i buy a new bag every 3 month, then i would say i'm headed to a financial blackhole!

Quote: you should also know Coach in the US is not actually consider a luxury bag and their warehouse sales can be really really cheap.
i think dif income levels have dif interpretation on branded and not branded. if a person earns RM3k, Coach is branded. if a person earns RM5k, Coach is not branded but Prada is. if a person earns RM30k, Coach is nothing, Prada is no fun, its Hermes Birkin all the way

Quote: Lastly, in the luxury marketing world, there is this thing where they can't give too much discount on their product as it will spoil the brand image and expected price. People will wait for sales or discounts to buy, what's the point of having a high luxurious price then?
i really dont know, i still like the trill of having a discount and i'm sure i cant afford a trip to europe to shop!

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Added on August 27, 2012, 6:45 pm+1

but i guess what she is saying is rich people dont need discounts. like that saying "if u had to ask the price, you cant afford it"
but what's the trill in buying something that is so cheap u dont even have to ask the price.

This post has been edited by Beth79: Aug 27 2012, 06:45 PM

I've spent the past 5 years working as a Brand Designer for various luxury and high fashion brands, so allow me to say something here pls?

Quote: you should also know Coach in the US is not actually consider a luxury bag and their warehouse sales can be really really cheap.
Ok, actually this fella is damn right, Coach is not at all a luxury brand, no matter what's your level of income, period! Ok, I know they make decent stuff but i just can't seem to understand why a lot of us are treating it as a luxury brand here, REFER similar cases where brands such as Zara, Uniqlo, etc are supposed to be low priced fast fashion, but why do most of us treat them as precious brands? Simply because the local dealers here gave them overpriced tags?

It's important to realise that most fashion brands here in M'sia are being monopolised by few local/ S'porean players such as DNP, FJ Benjamin, Wing Tai, Valiram, RSH, Melium etc who practically own almost all the fashion brands you see in shopping malls, so it's up to them to play with the price and have you play along with their rules.

Quote: Lastly, in the luxury marketing world, there is this thing where they can't give too much discount on their product as it will spoil the brand image and expected price. People will wait for sales or discounts to buy, what's the point of having a high luxurious price then?
Again, damn right. Period.

Another thing worth mentioning is, a lot of us just love buying tonnes of branded stuff blindly without really thinking what does the brand mean to you, and what sort of a message that is conveyed through YOU when you wear those brands? I think it's good that you love Miu Miu for reasons aside than its design - think its brand story, culture, message, etc. It's always funny when I see a beautiful lady wearing Anna Sui (think cute little princess) dress and carry a huge Prada handbag (brand image: strong independent women), Alexander McQueen shoes, etc etc, if you get what I mean? That's like putting a few stories in you and the stories are crashing with one another, and that's just not funny.

I'll try to give better examples later on, if possible!

This post has been edited by EricLow: Aug 28 2012, 01:12 AM

This post has been edited by Beth79: Aug 28 2012, 08:44 AM

Well, shopping for a bag isn't as straight forward as we think. Lots of factors will affect how we view a brand and which product we will choose. Of course quality is one thing, then there's the status of owning the product and all that.

In my opinion, "cannot afford" means something like sacrificing money for basic needs to buy something really unnecessary. I've known people who will rather starve to save money just to buy a branded item that almost everyone is using. Is it really that worth it to do something like that just to get a branded product? In the end, like you say, it's how we carry ourselves. Some people can use branded stuff from head to toe but can't carry themselves well and still look cheap. In your example of sacrificing on other pleasures, that means you can afford already. Those things that you sacrificed are not necessities. Anyway, this is just how I see it, but who am I to judge. It's up to individual preferences.

Not exactly depending on income levels. I think it's actually how the brand is positioned in this country. They make it seems like it's a luxury brand when overseas it's actually nothing and almost everyone is using it. Like Victoria Secret can be considered high end here but overseas they give out free panties in letter box. It still boils down to individual preferences, there are many people who earn more than RM30k a month but still very down to earth and don't use Hermes Birkin. Depends what they are willing to splurge on I guess. I just don't see a point to show off an expensive bag even if I can afford it.

It is very much true that luxury items are seldom on huge discounts. You can see online we often are able to get Coach at a very low price compared to the retail outlets here, but how often do we see Prada bags or Chanel bags on discount? Most luxury brands do not have reject stocks as well, they will rather burn and dispose of all the rejected products and old season products when their warehouses are full.

Consumer behaviour is something very complicated. Everyone is different in their own way.

Very much agree with you girl!

Well there is a prada outlet at Florence. I think it's called Space or something. If not mistaken Hong Kong has it too but word has it that the one in Florence has alot to choose from but need to be there first thing in the morning to queue.

Anyway, to TS, please don't be bothered with what your friend has said. Who cares right? It's you, who are using the bag and it's YOUR money. If she thinks that buying a high end luxury bag has to be in it's full price, I say that she is not a good financial planner.

Well for me, I don't shop in Malaysia simply because everything is OVERPRICED here. I always take the chance to buy stuff when i'm travelling (on my own expense).

Plus, maybe your friend thinks i'm cheap - coz i bought my fav pull & bear jeans skirt for a really low price at EURO7.99...

Oh well, i'm a supporter for discounted goods!!!

y pay more for the same thing? just a matter of time..
off season bags are just as good as newly launched bags...
well back to Q, y I like that bag?
bcos of the brand, the design, the quality, ?the history, or simply bcos it's the latest model that everybody seems to have one??
so that anybody knows that u r carrying a designer bag?
for me.. a good bag stand the test of time... (LV damier ebene (canvas), tods D styling, gucci- guccissima and diamante (canvas), coach laura ashley and poppy etc...
i've never bought those bags in KL departmental stores- more expensive 20-50% (taxes, distributor profits etc etc)...
do i look cheap when carrying those bags? do i look cheap if carrying an off season bag?
Of course NOT?
a good designer bag is iconic, it wont go out of season for years!!

No money, don't buy branded. Branded is not essential in your life. No ppl will laugh u without branded. Save your blood money for better use or investment. Good luck.

People who think that branded items should be paid in full price and never bought at discounts - I think that's a stupid mentality. Why pay more for something of the same value? It's just their stupid ego at work.

Looking at the value equation, if I'm paying less for something worth much more, I'm actually getting more value back. Better still, for the amount saved, perhaps I can even use it for other things, maximize the things I could do for that same amount.

Usually I just ignore people like that, let them "syiok sendiri" lar... In my heart, I'm a happier consumer when I'm getting more for less

Its simple, if you get to buy a branded stuff for a cheap price doesnt mean you are cheap, you are smart! You make a better choice in saving than others do. What happen to the good old days when you actually buy something that looks good, but not for the brand?

Haha! I'm a sucker for discounts. I don't care if it's off-season models; I'll grab it if I like it and I'm proud I got a good deal.

But on the other hand, if I happen to come across something I like I'll just buy it there and then and not wait for a sale; the item may not be there by then. Names like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc do not conduct sales, so one can't wait for discounts.

Anyway I always spend within my means; I don't think I'll ever spend so much on a Birkin. I have a friend who has a collection of Hermes, including the Birkin Croco. I don't 'keep up with the Joneses'.