Warning Your Patients About Fake And Counterfeit Eyewear

I am writing this article because I constantly see designer eyewear advertised for ridiculously cheap prices. The increase of designer eyeglasses has lead to an increase in criminals trying to sell fake designer eyewear. This costs you the taxpayer money, leads to higher frame prices and cost the economy billions of dollars a year. A study in Brazil said that 48% of eyeglasses were counterfeit! You may be purchasing your eyewear from trusted sources, but are your patients? I believe you should warn your patients about the value of authenticated eyewear and sunglasses, because fake designer eyeglasses do not offer protection and in fact you could be sued by selling fake eyewear.

According to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC), counterfeit sunglasses can shatter easily. But the other danger is buying fake eyewear that claims to provide protection from UV and Polarized light. The truth is 100% of all polarized replica eyewear have no polarization protection at all, most do not even protect against UV light. In 2002, the IACC reported that approximately 18% of the $98 million of counterfeit products seized by U.S. Customs were fashion-related items, including sunglasses. That adds up to a lot of consumers risking their health for fashion

The Facts:

• Counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses $200 billion to $250 billion annually.
• Counterfeit merchandise is directly responsible for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs.
• Since 1982, the global trade in illegitimate goods has increased from $5.5 billion to approximately $600 billion annually.
• Approximately 5%-7% of the world trade is in counterfeit goods.
• U.S. companies suffer $9 billion in trade losses due to international copyright piracy.
Eye Bogglers

• Mr. Bloomberg (mayor of  New York) said that the sales of counterfeit goods cheated the city of $1 billion in sales tax a year and led to money laundering and bloody turf wars. “It is organized crime,” he said.
• Imported counterfeit sunglasses and or their parts reached a domestic value of $7,919,375 in fiscal year 2008 that was nearly double the estimated value $3,967,617 from fiscal year 2007.

• Womens Wear Daily: U.S. Customs & Border Protection said Wednesday it had seized counterfeit Dolce & Gabbana and Versace sunglasses valued at $122,043. The seized shipment was flagged for possible trademark violations on May 18 in Pembina, N.D. It included 359 pairs of sunglasses. In fiscal year 2008, Customs seized counterfeit sunglasses worth about $7.9 million, accounting for 3 percent of all intellectual property rights seizures
• Almost six-thousand pairs of counterfeit eyeglasses were confiscated by the Milan Financial Police during an operation named Overlook, between July and August in the Milan area and in the province of Varese. .. a total of 588,997 items with a value of between four and six million euros were seized: sunglasses by the most prestigious brands, prescription eyeglasses, eyewear specifically for children. They were all fake and lacked the minimum safety requirements, but they were ready to be sold on the Italian market at an average price of seven euros.
• Recently the Linhai Administration for Industry and Commerce in Zhejiang Province unearthed a trademark infringement case in which an interloper sold counterfeit eyeglass fittings of several famous brands, involving a value of RMB 1.25 million yuan. In a rental room, the officials from the AIC found a total of 354,000 pieces of eyeglasses fittings, of which 250,000 pieces bore the trademark representations of “Ray·Ban” and “PRADA.”
• HOUSTON—U.S. Custom and Border Protection Officers say they seized $3 million worth of counterfeit sunglasses shipped to Houston. Officials say the items had designer brand names like Coach, Eitenne Aigner and Lacoste
• Newark, N.J. — Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Newark seized a shipment of counterfeit designer sunglasses with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of more than $1.4 million and a domestic value of more than $63,000. The shipment violates Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regulations. During routine examinations for trade compliance, CBP officers discovered the phony sunglasses in a shipment that was manifested as plastic goods. The shipment was destined for Long Island, NY. The counterfeit shipment included a variety of well-known brands of sunglasses including Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, and Chanel.
• Los Angeles —On July 29, CBP officers seized a shipment of counterfeit sunglasses coming from China with a total estimated domestic value of $12,146; however, if they were real the manufacturer’s suggested retail price would have been $7.9 million. The shipment, which arrived at Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport, consisted of 43,480 pairs of fake women sunglasses contained in 146 cartons. A total of 37,680 pairs had fake “Chanel” and “Coach” trademarks, and an additional 6,000 pairs contained the counterfeit “DG” trademark.

Helpful Tips to help you determine the authenticity of designer eyeglasses:

1. Most designer eyeglasses normally cost $200.00 and more. If it seems too good to be true, it probably it. Always buy from a trusted optical manufacturer.

2. Examine the eyeglasses. Check the brand name for misspellings and weird graphics. Double check the actual pictures against the product.

3. Check the workmanship: Frame material, hinges and screws.

4. Examine the packaging holding the eyeglasses. Look for a barcode, model name, frame and lens description. The box should have the designer’s logo on it. A Universal Product Code or a UPC is the barcode and number series located on every retail product.

5. Designer eyeglasses should come with a warranty document or warranty registration booklet.

6. Most designers will come with a product information sheet or small card. There should also be a company’s contact information if one has any questions about the eyeglasses.

7. Check for the ‘CE’ on each frame which designates the country of origin.

8.) Temple markings should have some if not all the information, style, model, color, eye size. Double check that information is the same that is in Frames Data.

9.) If there are any ‘inspired by’ or replica written- they are fake.

10.) If they have a peel off sticker- they are fake

The bottom line, put on your website or blog and any written material you only sell products from Authenticated Sources, make a point of mentioning to your patients about counterfeit eyewear and the lack of safety and most of all practice what you preach, don’t support criminals by purchasing any fake products including shoes, fashion accessories and drugs.

Resources

• Cost of Counterfeiting and Piracy in Brazil
• Local Man Sues Over Counterfeit Sunglasses
• International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition
• Tiffany’s Sues Optician Chain
• US Department of Homeland Security
• Eyecare Business Magazine Article on Copy Cats
• Ebay- has good guidelines on how to spot fake designer eyewear.

Similar Posts:

• International Standards Organization Meets in Las Vegas
• Breaking News! Tura And Eschenbach Group Merge
• An Optigirl Perspective from Vision Expo East 2012
• Celebrate With Eyecare Business And Win $500
• Bravely Investing in Optical Fixtures and Free Form Lens Surfacing