The Box by Fashionsta March 2021 Spoiler #2

Remember, finding a dupe on Alibaba doesn’t mean it necessarily was *from* Alibaba to begin with. There are many dupes sold on aliexpress, alibaba, etc. of actual products, like Urban Decay, Too Faced, Anastasia, etc. Some even do a really good job mimicking the packaging. And some companies take photos of existing products as an example of what they can do even when they didn’t actually make those.

(I’ve heard some knock-offs in various industries such as tech get their start when the same people hired to make the authentic ones keep working after-hours to make and sell the dupes for extra income, as they often can get more that way than their daily wages. I’ve no idea what the stats on that would be, though.)

Furthermore, one can have products made in-house that are low or great quality, and products outsourced for manufacture that are low or great quality. What matters is the production value and ingredients that are put into an item, not necessarily where it was manufactured or how many middleman worked along the way. The main concern is if it is good quality for the price (and of course if it avoided toxic materials, which are banned anyway.) Many private-label brands are actually quite good, as how great a product is has more to do with the work the company puts in with the manufacturer and the Q/A they do on the products themselves. Many indy brands can’t afford their own labs, so finding good ones and custom-ordering products to their specs is a good way to start.

(For example, I’ve gotten a lot of clothes from the Hairbow company. They are pretty much all manufactured elsewhere, so I’ve seen variations on their products on ebay and elsewhere for cheaper. But, HC does a lot of work along the line to ensure their products meet quality testing, as they are involved from start to finish, so I can see a vast difference between one of their garments and the same/similar off ebay or elsewhere, and their stuff holds up better. I could complain that they are up-charging for the ‘same’ items, or recognize they really are not the same as two garments can look identical but be worlds apart in terms of fabric quality, stitch quality, and attention to detail.)

I kind of don’t care where it comes from, if it’s a good pallet I am happy….