Unannounced visit | Where did the ultra-low-cost "brand-name lipstick" come from: the fake business behind live streaming
The Paper Journalist, Qin Shan, intern Lu Yan
According to the quality of the workmanship details, at a cost ranging from a few cents to 5 yuan, a genuine fake lipstick can be made that costs 300 to 400 yuan. After being distributed by counterfeiters, these fake lipsticks flow into the market through channels such as WeChat business, live streaming, online stores, and offline stores.
Recently, an unannounced investigation by The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) found that in Chaonan District, Shantou City, Guangdong, where the daily chemical industry is prosperous, fake lipstick has become an "open secret." YSL (Saint Laurent), Dior (Dior), Armani (Armani), Lancome (Lancome), Estee Lauder (Estee Lauder), TOM FORD (Tom Ford) and other brand lipsticks can be filled and produced here.
The counterfeiters have enough raw materials such as toner, grease, beeswax, flavors and fragrances to create a counterfeit brand-name lipstick through procedures such as pattern making, powder adjustment, mold filling, freezing molding, and packaging. Many counterfeiters claimed that the "goods" they made were all one-to-one imitations, and the details of the workmanship could stand a closer look. Among the samples they gave to reporters, the imitation lipsticks looked almost the same as the genuine ones, and there was also an anti-counterfeiting code on the bottom.
The various samples received by the reporter covered hot-selling lipsticks from brands such as MAC, Dior, YSL, Estee Lauder, Givenchy, Lancome, Hermes, TF, etc. The prices of genuine products range from nearly 200 yuan to more than 400 yuan.
The high profits make counterfeiters continue to take risks. Some sellers use the Douyin platform to live broadcast the goods and introduce buyers to the e-commerce platform. These Douyin accounts often sell goods live at night, and the related accounts are abandoned the next day.
Douyin said that in response to the phenomenon of "selling genuine lipsticks at low prices," according to platform rules and regulations, 4000+ Daren accounts have been banned from e-commerce authority, and 200+ merchants have been cleared, refunded, and confiscated deposits.
Public information shows that my country is the world's second largest cosmetics market, with an average annual growth rate of over 10% in recent years. The issue of counterfeit and inferior cosmetics and illegal addition is a hot topic for consumers. Since the beginning of this year, the State Food and Drug Administration has notified four times that it has stopped selling 237 batches of counterfeit cosmetics, involving many well-known brands.
It is worth noting that the "Regulations on Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics" promulgated by the State Council on June 29 will be implemented on January 1 next year. The "Regulations" make a series of new regulations in combating counterfeit and inferior cosmetics and illegally added cosmetics to ensure the traceability of products and avoid the formation of blind spots in supervision.
Low-priced lipstick in the "Ghost" live studio
"The coupon price is 39 yuan, short-term (guaranteed) sales, factory direct sales, quality assurance." Zhang Yuqing (pseudonym) was attracted by a Douyin account named "@小牛牛" that sold "TF" lipstick.
The Douyin account @小牛牛直播 sells TF lipsticks at low prices. After being introduced into the e-commerce platform, the price is only one-tenth of the genuine ones. In the end, consumers find that they are fake lipsticks.
The price is "one tenth" of the genuine product, and the lipstick paste and packaging displayed by the merchant are exactly the same as the genuine product. Click on the link in the live broadcast room to jump to the shopping page of the e-commerce platform, where Zhang Yuqing placed the order.
But after receiving the goods, she carefully distinguished and found that it was tricky: "The scent is a bit strong, the silver lipstick tube also has mottled black spots, and the words printed on the outer packaging are crooked." Zhang Yuqing asked the brand counter staff to check and verified that she bought it. Here comes the fake guess.
The situation Zhang Yuqing encountered is not unique. A survey by The Paper found that on Douyin, there are many accounts similar to Zhang Yuqing's. Many accounts display and introduce short videos to buy branded lipsticks at a low price after coupons, and live live broadcasts at night.
"Limited time limit, 39 seconds after the voucher." The short video released by the Douyin account @dy312phsz368 shows the beautifully packaged Dior hot-selling lipstick. According to the account page, fans can place orders in the live broadcast room from 8:30 to 11:30 in the evening.
In the live broadcast of multiple accounts, real people often do not appear in the camera, but there are constant voices, emphasizing the low price and authentic quality of lipstick. In response to low prices, they often give the explanation: sell on the expiry date (shelf life), but guarantee the quality of the goods. Fans jump to the e-commerce platform to receive coupons, and the final purchase price is only one-tenth of the original product, or even lower.
What's strange is that these accounts that are broadcast live at night are like "ghosts", and they will be logged off or shut down the next day after the live broadcast. After consumers receive the goods, the shipping address is mostly displayed as Chaonan District, Shantou City, Guangdong.
On August 12th, in response to the phenomenon of "selling genuine lipsticks at low prices", Douyin said that the platform has completed a special crackdown, scanning products through brand keywords and low prices, and using fan gangs, similar pictures and LOGO Technological means such as, Daren, and live broadcast rooms have identified fakes. According to platform rules and regulations, 4000+ Daren accounts have been banned from e-commerce authority, and 200+ merchants have been cleared, refunded, and confiscated deposits.
In addition to live broadcasts, search for "low-priced lipsticks" in post bars, Weibo, online forums, etc. The Paper found that there are a large number of messages or online posts claiming to sell low-priced brand-name lipsticks, and even directly labeling "imitation, high imitation".
A search for “low-price lipsticks” found that a large number of online posts published the content of “one-to-one” imitation lipsticks. Many contacts claimed that the products were from Shantou Chaonan and were sold in Baiyun, Guangzhou.
On a website called "Yiren WeChat Business Network", a large number of online posts containing the words "high imitation, lipstick, original order, A goods" were published. Many contacts claimed that the quality of the supply was guaranteed and "one to one" imitation . The micro business nicknamed "Mei Ting Beauty" has published many pictures and texts of low-priced lipsticks in its micro business album, "Chanel limited red tube lipstick, 25 yuan/piece; TF silver tube No. 07 lipstick, 55 yuan/piece; Estee Lauder admires Lipstick, 35 yuan/piece; MAC aluminum tube transparent lipstick 65 yuan/piece".
A WeChat business photo album nicknamed "Mei Ting Mei Zhuang" by WeChat claimed that the "goods" were from the Chaonan District of Shantou. The photo album released various low-priced imitation lipsticks.
It told The Paper that their factory is in Chaonan, but they do business in Guangzhou. Like the imitation goods made by other companies, they have similar practices and use raw materials, mainly the quality of the lipstick tube, the union will not leave marks, and the matching degree is high. "Hundreds of goods, MAC can give you 17 yuan, clarinet Dior can give you 23 yuan, red tube depends on the amount."
A micro-businessman who claimed to be a "good" from Chaonan District of Shantou showed reporters the details of the workmanship of his imitation lipstick.
After the reporter expressed that he wanted to enter the factory to see the situation, the other party firmly stated that the "shengren" would not be brought.
"Joints" look at the goods: there are many fakes in Guangdong towns
Chaonan District, Shantou City, Guangdong, located in the southwest of Shantou, is a strong local industrial area.
The “Report on the Implementation of the National Economic and Social Development Plan of Chaonan District in 2019 and the Draft Plan for 2020” released by the official website of Chaonan District Government shows that the output value of the daily chemical, cultural and educational supplies, and plastic products industry accounted for the total industrial output value of the region. 80.7%.
In Heping Town, Chaonan District, the reporter found a local boss named Ma who was engaged in cosmetics manufacturing on the grounds of "wholesale agency, looking for high-quality supplies."
According to the other party, Chaonan District has a long history of doing cosmetics business, and there are many enterprises in Heping Town, but there are "mixed fish and dragons" among them. Driven by profits, some local people are engaged in the business of making and selling fake cosmetics. Lipstick is one of them. "Big brands can be made here."
Heping Town is engaged in the cosmetics business, and the owner of the surname Ma, who is familiar with the local counterfeit market, took the reporter to visit the machine accessories for making lipstick.
He confessed that he had done fakes before, but then he stopped. In the past few years, local fraud was quite common. In recent years, the police from other places have come here to fight against fakes, and they have attacked many dens. “The police arrested more than 100 people a while ago.” Several of his friends have been arrested.
The boss, named Ma, took the reporter to visit the processing workshop that produces BB cream, lipstick, lotion, mascara and other cosmetics. He introduced that compared to other cosmetics, making lipstick is relatively simple. It can be used for a long time by buying several matching machines at once. The other procedures are blending toner, filling, freezing molding and packaging.
In the air of Boss Ma’s factory workshop, the smells of various toners are mixed. The half-snake skin bags of toner are stacked in the corner, and the mixing bucket next to it is filled with bright red lipstick paste made with toner and grease. The filling mold was covered with lipstick paste and was thrown on the table at will, and under the feet was a rapid freezing molding machine.
The mixing tank is full of bright red lipstick paste that has been blended with toner, grease and other raw materials in proportion.
In Heping Town, reporters visited and found that the production and sale of fake lipsticks was already an "open secret" in the local area. After some trials, the car rental company owner, Didi driver, and snack bar owner all recommended to reporters the "boss" who do this kind of business locally.
A "boss" named "Chen Wenzhong" agreed to "connect" with reporters in the car: he brought more than 20 fake lipsticks from YSL, Dior, Lancome, Estee Lauder, Armani and other brands in a red plastic bag. "It's all made by our own factory." Chen Wenzhong said that the wind is tight, and strangers who do business for the first time will not bring them to the factory. The risky thing like "joints" is also done because people want more goods.
In order to dispel reporters' concerns, he made two videos of factory workers packing lipstick. In the video, hundreds of "YSL small gold bars" lipstick tubes are placed in a box, and a few workers wearing gloves look at the wall of the frozen lipstick tube one by one to see if there is any paste attached to them, and they are finally packaged and sealed.
"Black tube TF25 yuan; small gold bar limited edition 25 yuan; MAC classic 14 yuan; MAC matte 15 yuan; Hermes 43 yuan; TF Meihong limited edition 26 yuan; small silver bars 23 yuan; Givenchy red leather 34 yuan; Givenchy sheepskin 32 yuan Yuan." Chen Wenzhong reported the wholesale price.
Compared with "Chen Wenzhong", the "bosses" of "Duo Duo Beauty", "CM Cosmetics" and "Mei Ting Beauty", which are engaged in the business of making fake lipsticks, are more cautious, claiming that they can only send samples to see the goods and cannot see people. . After several rounds, "Duo Duo Mei Zhuang" placed a small box containing two MAC lipsticks in a place called "Wu Junren Building Intermediary" in Heping Town.
There, the reporter noticed that there were more than a dozen parcels and black plastic bags without express barcodes on the ground. Open two packages and plastic bags, one of them contains more than 20 Estee Lauder lipsticks, and the other contains more than 30 Lancome lipsticks.
The person in charge of the office, surnamed Wu, initially claimed that he did not know what was in the package put by the people in the town, "Everyone just put it in, it's convenient." But after the reporter took out the lipstick samples given by "Chen Wenzhong", he and another man who came to pick up the goods began to look at the workmanship. Said the workmanship is good, better than most people in their town.
The reporter observed that the "Wu Junren Building Intermediary" was suspected to be a distribution center for the circulation of fake lipsticks. Every afternoon to evening, people kept coming to deliver and pick up goods. Without exception, the contents of these packages are not visible on the appearance, and only simple letters and numbers are marked, and the people who send or pick up the goods will not stay longer.
The cost of counterfeiting can be as low as a few cents, with "anti-counterfeiting coding"
The samples provided by many "boss" include the best-selling lipsticks of brands such as MAC, Dior, YSL, Estee Lauder, Givenchy, Lancome, Hermes, TF, etc. The prices of authentic lipsticks range from nearly 200 yuan to more than 400 yuan.
For example, the official guide price of "Givenchy Lambskin Lipstick Semi-matte Lipstick, 306 French Red" is 345 yuan; the official guide price of "TOM FORD Flaming Magic Lipstick Lipstick, Clarinet 15 WILD GINGER" is 450 yuan; "Dior Brilliant Blue" "Golden lipstick legendary red lips elegant matte lipstick, 999 legendary red lips" official guide price is 330 yuan.
TF lipstick made by counterfeiters.
However, the aforementioned Ma boss and some counterfeiters who are familiar with the local counterfeiting business claim that the production cost of these authentic brand lipsticks of several hundred yuan in Chaonan District ranges from a few cents to a few yuan. "Ordinary goods are lower, and counter goods are capped at 5 yuan." A counterfeiter said.
Low production costs allow counterfeiters to obtain high profits and take risks.
The Hermes lipsticks made by counterfeiters cost from a few cents to 5 yuan.
The clues of making and selling fake lipsticks in Chaonan District also attracted the attention of the police.
Police investigations found that with Chaonan District as the source of production, local counterfeiters purchased various raw materials such as toner, beeswax, grease, spices, powder presses, blow bottles, lipstick tubes, and lipsticks all over the country. Condenser, mold, plastic packaging machine and other equipment are adjusted according to the proportion and heated and melted to form a paste for filling, finally frozen and formed, and packaged as genuine products for sale.
In addition, counterfeiters will use some hidden channels to learn from some brand cosmetics insiders about the number of cosmetic spray codes sold on the market for a certain period of time, and then spray the spray codes that are updated in sync with the genuine ones.
The reporter's investigation found that in the entire chain of manufacturing and selling fakes, there is a clear division of labor from production to circulation. There are dedicated personnel responsible for buying and selling raw materials, "patterning", market development, production, and distribution. Fake lipsticks from Chaonan generally flow to Guangzhou Baiyun and Yiwu, Zhejiang.
After getting the goods, the "middleman" on the one hand distributes it to other small downstream distributors, on the other hand, it broadcasts live broadcasts and opens online stores for sales. In this process, there will be special people to promote.
Public information shows that my country is the world's second largest cosmetics market, with an average annual growth rate of over 10% in recent years. The issue of counterfeit and inferior cosmetics and illegal addition is a hot topic for consumers. Since the beginning of this year, the State Food and Drug Administration has notified four times that it has stopped selling 237 batches of counterfeit cosmetics, involving many well-known brands.
In recent years, cases of fake lipsticks are not uncommon.
In November 2019, the Zhejiang Zhuji police found the source of fake lipstick production in Baiyun, Guangzhou through the online shop operator at the end of the sales, and obtained a large number of lipsticks that imitated Mac. In April 2017, Nanjing Public Security Bureau cracked an extremely large online cosmetics fraud case and seized more than 4,000 counterfeit products, including many well-known brand lipsticks.
A benign and healthy market environment is also expected by many parties.
In terms of supervision, the "Regulations on Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics" promulgated by the State Council on June 29 this year will come into effect on January 1 next year. The "Regulations" make a series of new regulations in combating counterfeit and inferior cosmetics and illegal addition of cosmetics, such as requiring cosmetics producers and operators to establish and implement a record system for purchase inspection to ensure the traceability of products.
In addition, for online cosmetics, taking into account the strong concealment of the online transaction model, in order to avoid the formation of blind spots in supervision, the relevant provisions of the regulations put the main body responsible for the quality and safety of cosmetics. "Whose products are responsible, who are responsible for the products sold."