Q&A: “Can I tell people where to find fake luxury goods?”

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Today's sponsor is Fake Louis Vuitton. That's right, get your designer goods for more than half off. Nobody will know. Okay, actually that is not our real sponsor, just to be clear, no Fake Louis Vuitton here. But it does relate to our real question of the day.

Our listener is wondering about knock-off goods. Okay, so knock-off luxury goods, counterfeit, let's call them what they are. Basically they're everywhere. Most people aren't bothered by them, but of course they're not legal. So our listener, and she'll clarify this as well, she's not thinking of selling them herself.

She is thinking, however, of helping other people find them. Okay, so what do we think of this as a business idea? Hey, listen, I love hearing all kinds of ideas. So we will take it seriously. Detailed question and my answer coming up after this real message from our sponsor.

Thank you, real sponsor, and thank you, real listeners. [Music]

Hey, Chris, this is Kim. And I recently found your show after my sister recommended it. Studies show that more than 60% of luxury goods like handbags and watches are designer knock-offs, which means they're counterfeits or fakes, but most people don't seem to mind. For example, a lot of my friends have Louis Vuitton bags that look just like the real thing.

Everyone knows they're fake, but no one cares. And because I live in a big city, but my hometown is back in middle America, friends there often ask me to buy things for them. I'm thinking there's a business opportunity here, and I don't mean reselling because I know that's dicey. Instead, I'm thinking of being a concierge or middlewoman of sorts, connecting would-be buyers with the right markets and sellers. I deliberately don't wanna handle inventory because I wanna stay out of trouble.

Still, do you think I should worry about the big brands coming after me? [Music]

Well, listen, I respect the hustle. I love creative ideas. You probably know where I'm going with this. Unfortunately, I don't think this is a super wise idea.

I think you have to think about the long-term here. Even though you're not handling the inventory, you're essentially directing people to purchase something that is protected under various laws in most countries, at least. So there's probably some way to do it that skirts the law a little bit where you're not actually breaking the law by pointing to these products that technically break the law. I wouldn't be the one to advise on where that distinction is. I just wonder, with all of your creativity and hustle, what else could you come up with?

There's probably more ideas you could have. So if you're able to generate more ideas, why not choose one that doesn't run the risk of attracting attention or attracting, I don't know, let's say circumstances or outcomes that you might not want. That is just my honest response for you. I think you can probably do better. So I encourage and challenge you to that regard, but I also respect whatever you decide because it's your choice.

Let me know how that lands with you and how it turns out. Listeners, if you've got a question, something you're trying to work on, business idea, otherwise, sign us on school.com/questions. I so enjoy this dialogue. We've got an amazing community of people all over the world in a new episode every single day. Hope you'll subscribe, follow, come back tomorrow.

My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]

from the Onward Project.