Week 9 EOC-Illicit Products

Illicit products are everywhere. Sometimes it is a purse/handbag, luggage, clothes, and shoes. There are other types of illicit products like prescription medications, illegal drugs, weapons, car parts, and computers. This is a very dangerous industry. The profits that fund these large illicit networks are usually used to fund terrorist groups and Drug Cartels. These groups use the money to buy weapons, drugs, more ways to manufacture a product, and even political power through bribery. Counterfeiting and piracy are terms used to describe a range of illicit activities linked to intellectual property rights infringement. Counterfeiting thrives on the whole process of globalization, since globalization is the spread of capital and know-how to new markets. This in turn contributes low cost labour to create the ideal export machinery, manufacturing first low cost, low value-added products and then moving up the value chain. This is the story of Southeast Asia. It is also the story of China. Now it is the story of fake products. Counterfeiting delivers the benefits of skilled labour, good distribution and product technology without the associated investment in costly research, development and marketing in products that are not genuine brands.
We, ourselves, generally overlook or do not think about these facts when we are in a situation to buy an illicit good. At that exact moment, all we are thinking about is getting a cheap deal on the “knock-off” that we are considering purchasing. For example, a friend of mine wants to buy a pair of Nike Air Jordan sneakers. He cannot afford the official store price of the shoes which is roughly $150.00. On the other hand, he can afford the fake pair of shoes which look virtually identical, and that cost only $50.00. Why shouldn’t he do it? What is to stop him? The answers to these questions are not simple yes or no’s. We need to examine the illicit market more to further understand it, and maybe one day reduce the high demand for the cheaper fake goods.