Illicit

In the early years of man, life was pretty simple. When there was a need for a product, or goods of any kind, we simply made. Certain products could only be made by one or two individuals, while other goods could be fashioned by many different people. The point being here is that previous to the name brand world in which we live in currently, the quality of a product was not as important as was its necessity. Fast forward a few thousand years to our modern world. Any product that is in the marketplace today will undoubtedly have an identical generic, what could be described as legal in its production, or what is better known on the street as a knock-off, which would be described as illegal in its production. Now before I delve into my personal thoughts on the multi-trillion dollar market that is the illegal goods market, I first want to call us all out. Point blank, everybody at some point in their lives has been guilty of taking for free, or purchasing a knock off of some kind. Whether it has been a pair of Gucci sunglasses that were for sale at a discount of two hundred and seventy-five dollars off compared to the retail price, or maybe it was a five thousand dollar Louis Vuitton purse that you snagged from a vendor on Canal Street while you visited last summer. Although there is a great deal of satisfaction we get knowing that we have pulled the eyes over the maker of whatever over priced company that makes the products we lust over, a great deal of harm and injustice is being done. Not only do purchasing knock-offs put money in to the hands of the wrong people, it also dilutes the marketplace for the item that has been knocked-off.