MARTYN GREAT THOUGHT PROVOKING POST.
I am like you.........
I give to charity, I help others for no payment and give up my time. I've brought my family up with good valuesI tried, honesty and integrity
But when it comes to piracy, and trademark infrigement, I do have a problem.
I dont mind paying someone less for not taking a receipt, (paying under the table) in the US. In turkey its so commonplace that you cant even make a judgement call. their system is effin corrupt and disgusting (for lack of a better technical term, - im sure there is one, its just not coming to me).
but the piracy thing........this is the way i see it...........
for the "big name labels - like louis vitton, prada, chanel, you get the idea, the handbag industry. " who the f**k can afford 800 and upward for an effin purse? i have seen some in magazines advertised at thousand and thousands of dollars..........same with shoes of the same brands of above...........hello........
it just doesnt make sense.
the originals are made in china for the most part, but one final process is made in their "home" country, and are then stamped made in bum fuc*ked egypt or wherever. the same working class is making them.
I used to sell lumber to a factory in china, the owner was in taiwan, i sold to him for years, became good personal friends with his family, I would go over once a year and meet with him and discuss the coming year's orders, he was suck a cheap bastard i used to think it was a good busmenmn tactic, and would always allow a little something that i could give in on..you know...save face etc........
then one year I traveled to china to visit his facotry, what an impressive operation he had going. (did i say he was a picture frame manufacturer) had contracts in place with places like TARGET, WAL-MART, and some others that i didnt know, probably in euroepean brands that i dont remember, but could be with marcs n spencer and or tesco.......he had upper scale and lower scale. when you buy lumber, the best way to buy it, is instead of ":all no 1 grade" or all no 3 grade" a MILL RUN PRODUCT - YOU get the best of both worlds, mills try to push the grade and thow in extra good grade so they keep the customer as a steady, cause mill run is an easy grade to sell.
back to the factory........WALTER WAS VERY CHEAP....you get that idea right???
the factory was state of the art, out back, a huge dormitory, with a canteen or cafeteria that would put an army to shame.
their dormitories had a cleaning staff that kept it clean.
the actual factory was awesome - i wont go into detail - suffice it to say - it was one of the best operations i had ever seen.
walter of course was real proud, and gloading about this and that........
and he mentioned that he paid his workers 30 dollars a month, and he provided free dormitories, food, one day off a week, and incentives (or bonuses) etc etc.
i of course made all the appropirate noises, and praised him to high heaven, I was in business for crying out loud, i learned how to cow tow...i was a woman trader (only a handfull of us at the time, and I was one of the few who was in the HARDWOOD INDUSTRY and actively pursued the export market) in a male dominated field, and had this customer that would carry me if i lost every other customer I had. what would u have done.
But that whole sureal trip never left me. I kept thinking about it and mulling it over, and every time i renewed negotiatipns, i mulled it over, and finally i said, f*k it, just get over it........business is business - a man lumber trader would not have given it a second thought........
so.....when i look at all the so called knock offs, wether it is made in china, thailand, turkey or whatever, i think of all those picture frames and how much money walter was making, and i get over it real fast............
the thing about the good q
