DALLAS – When times are tough and money in short supply this holiday season, there’s always bootleg versions of popular holiday gifts.
Despite law enforcement efforts to shut down vendors who peddle knockoff versions of Prada purses and Rocawear sweatshirts, the underground economy continues to thrive on street corners, strip malls and hair salons in and around urban centers on Delancey Street in Manhattan, the West End Mall in Atlanta and Big T’s Bazaar in Dallas.
Here in Texas it’s illegal to sell bootleg products, not buy them.
In a scene likely repeated across the country, shoppers in search of affordable presents are plucking through cheap suede Phat Farm jackets, Coach purses, compact discs, DVDs and even vials of sweet smelling Burberry-like perfume and cologne.
Loaded down with brown plastic bags, LaTonya Holly told Black America Web.com she was wrapping up her holiday shopping at what most Dallas residents commonly refer to as Big T’s. She began shopping the day after Thanksgiving when she woke up early to catch sales at Wal-Mart.
Wearing a Louis Vuitton hat and purse slung over her shoulder, Holly purchased a matching wallet Saturday. She also bought several pieces of clothing for her 16-year-old son who was busy pleading for more.
"This is it, I’m done," Holly said with exasperation. "This is his Christmas and birthday.” So she caved and bought the popular throwback jersey he wanted for $45.
Real NFL jerseys usually retail for $200 or more. But in typical fashion, Holly haggled with the vendor to get even better deals, including a sweatshirt thrown in for buying two pairs of jeans and three other shirts.
The ability to buy look-alike versions of certain luxury items is only part of the reason shoppers turn to bootleg dealers.
"The people like to bargain, they like to go back and forth because they want to feel like they’re getting a deal," said Yemin Olabisi, owner of Klazy’s, a clothing store inside Big T’s. But business this past weekend has been slow, said the Nigerian born Olabisi. The majority of vendors at Big T’s are of African or Asian decent, their customers are mostly black.
Another vendor, who only identified himself as JB, agreed that business hasn’t been as good as in years past. Most of his customers are age 20 to 35, a group that usually spends freely on name brands – regardless of whether they are real or not — no matter the state of the economy. His store, Flawless Wears, sells Rocawear sweatshirts and full-length fake fur coats, the kind pimps wore in 1970s blaxploitation movies. The $399 coats – price negotiable of course – are making a comeback, JB said with a smile.
JB acknowledged that foot traffic this past weekend may have been light because it was the first of the month. Rent was due, he said. Yet he remained largely cautious about whether business would get better.
"It might, at least I hope it gets better," he said. "But [President] Bush is back so it might not. It’ll be worse because people are hurting."
For the sixth month in a row black unemployment has remained above 10 percent, which is double the national average, according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor late last month. That coupled with black families earning less money than they did four years ago may mean fewer people will splurge on big-dollar presents – or cheap knockoffs.
Even Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, is experiencing flat sales, according to recent media reports.
This is the first Christmas season for Charissa Veal, who operates a small stand at Big T’s called Fragrance for You. Veal ships in bottles of fragrant oils from New York — copies of name-brand scents like Issey Miyaki and Burberry — and sells $5 and $10 vials to penny-pinching customers.
Regular price for 4.2 ounces of Issey Miyaki sells for $53.99 on Amazon.com, a 21-percent discount off department store prices, according to the Web site.
Veal owns the business along with her boyfriend and grosses $800 to $1,000 in sales every weekend, she said. She expects to earn even more this holiday season. But at least one of her customers only came to window shop this weekend. Kelly Hudson said she doesn’t plan on buying any Christmas gifts this year, not even for her children.
Hudson explained that she will treat her children, both of whom were with her Saturday, on Valentine’s Day, because this month she has to pay bills.
"I put up a tree and everything, and there will be gifts under it, but they’ll be from other people," said Hudson. "My gifts to them this year are lights, cable and food."
