COUNTER-FIGHTER'S DICTIONARY: REALISTIC AVAILABILITY

By Sharon Wolff, Creative Media & Merchandise Consultant, A Work in Progress

Let's start a "Counter-Fighter's Dictionary"!

In our ongoing quest to keep counterfeit products out of the Wolff's Flea Market bubble, we offer vendors a few tips. You can always call us with your questions at 847-524-9590 and we can try to assist you. This information is in no way complete and should not be taken as legal advice, or even as the final word. Research is ongoing. Ultimately, you will need to decide for yourself if a merchandise source is appropriate. 

Give the plethora of overstock, clearance, store returns, wholesale, hoarded, found, online, discontinued, used, curbside, resale merchandise out there, how is a vendor to determine if their merchandise source is legit and appropriate to sell? Here is one of many tips we will be offering you in the upcoming months.


REALISTIC AVAILABILITY 
Definition: A product's source and presence makes sense in the marketplace

Legitimate merchandise sources may include (but are not limited to nor a 100% guarantee of legitimacy) merchandise obtained through the following sources:
1. Retail sales
2. Store return auctions
3. Generic, non-branded wholesale offerings
4. Official brand websites
5. Salvage auctions
6. Brand outlet store sales
7. Authorized sellers and resellers of licensed goods
8. Liquidation sales
9. Estate sales
10. Garage sales
11. Your personal property

Suspect sources include:
1. A guy you know
2. Another flea market or flea market vendor (sad, but true)
3. Online sources and wholesalers selling current, popular, coveted, expensive items at a ridiculously low price. Known examples: DHGate.com, alibaba.com, eBay, Craigslist, amazon.com...
4. Local independently owned area stores
5. Mall kiosks
6. Pop-up seasonal mall stores
7. Local wholesalers
8. Any other source that offers a higher end product at a price that is too good to be true.
9. Thrift and resale shops (notorious for selling counterfeit designer purses)
10. Estate and Garage sales, you may get a great deal on someone's authentic collection, but be careful and know your product!
11. Websites that appear to be authentic, but are not. Look for poor grammar, misspellings, stock photos of authentic items )bait and switch), location of company (New York distribution center? Chinese import?)

EXAMPLE
COUNTERFEIT LIGHTNING TO USB CABLES FOR IPHONES ARE OFFERED ON ALIBABA.COM. Note the ridiculously low price. This is an inferior product. There is no REALISTIC AVAILABILITY of Apple's Lightning Cables through wholesalers!
Ridiculously low price indicates that this is a
counterfeit product designed to look like the real $19 cable.
Apple does not wholesale these cables!
"for apple light to usb cable"



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