Saturday, April 14, 2007





Asia is the land of Knock-off brands. Gucci bags, North face packs, and more - all with a look alike logo (but not look alike quality). Here is a copy of the DVD "Happy Feet" for sale at Baht 159, which is equal to about $4.70 USD. I took this pic at a 7 Eleven store. I guess their policy is to follow local marketing values and not impose the US values on Asian markets. At another store I found millions of DVDs and music CDs foor $3.00 US each (why should they be different when it is just a disk cost? They are packaged in a thin sleeve holding the disk and a graphic, just like the original. The other picture is for a tailor shop offering all the designer names. If you look closely at the last name on the list you'll see "Ralph Ladren" (misspelled). So, I finally caved and ordered a tailor-made jacket and pants from a beautiful silk cashmere fabric with jacket lined in silk. It will be ready for fitting in 24 hours and cost only $140 US. Amazing. About the DVDs/CDs, I'm still deliberating: I've covered the cost of all this pirating as a purchaser of lots of $16 CD's and $24 DVDs, so do I deserve to buy some of the knock offs? Of course it is wrong, and as a creator of intellectual property with my books, I know the authors and companies deserve their profit. But still, it is rather irresistable...stay tuned for the answer as I beat myself up over the temptation :-).

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