Purse parties are the hot new trend in home-based retail. Basically, there are two varieties of purse parties, the illegal type and the legal type. Illegal purse parties are for selling designer bag knock-offs at low prices. Designer bags that are typically between $150 and $500 would sell for illegal knock-off prices of $30 to $60 or so at designer purse parties. There is currently a law-enforcement crackdown on such illegal activities, which reportedly have links to terrorism and organized crime.
It certainly is a crime to sell knock-off designer-label purses with fake designer labels. It’s a federal trademark violation, and it’s viewed as trafficking in counterfeit goods—even for the in-home designer purse party host. This kind of offense can bring prison terms as much as ten years and fines as big as $2 million. The people who purchase fake designer bags at handbag parties, however, are not criminals. But they are getting ripped off if they think they are getting designer-quality bags. They are getting very cheaply made bags, so they aren’t getting a bargain.
Legitimate designer purses come along with legitimate warrantees. They have labels that aren’t blurred, don’t peel off, and aren’t misspelled or altered. They come with a printed warrantee, state where they’ve been manufactured, and are sold in actual stores (not on the street or in someone’s home.)
The other type of designer purse party is the legitimate, legal purse party, where wannabe high-end designers sell their look-alike designer-inspired purses with their legally owned labels on them. These are legally safe to buy and sell as there is no fraud occurring. Some attendees, however, are disappointed when they find out they aren’t there to buy illegal knock-off bags. Others are worried that they might be at an illegal purse party.
There is a third type of purse party as well, also legal. This is when purses that have nothing at all to do with big-name designer bags are sold through in-home marketing. Instead of having a likeness to a designer bag, they have some other marketable feature. One company in this category is Miche Bags. Their handbags are firstly designed for practicality and functionality, with attractiveness of style being a secondary feature. Primarily, these bags were designed to have numerous quickly and easily interchangeable outer Miche shells so that women don’t have to actually change their purses with their outfits, but just the outer covers. This purse company began marketing their unique product through in-home purse parties, but they’ve since expanded to online and in-store sales and have become a multi-million-dollar international business.
By now you should be able to figure out which kind of purse party you’ve been invited to or want to attend: (1) a purse party that markets designer knock-offs of probable inferior quality for still-too-high prices (2) a purse party that sells designer-wannabe, designer-inspired styles of reasonable quality for reasonable prices, and (3) a purse party that presents some original purses designed on some unique, new concept. Happy handbag hunting!
Tags: purse parties, Purse Party
I just discovered your website on Bing. Fantastic article. Thanks for taking the time to share this.
I do not understand the “Left/Right” purse party game. I am a rep, please clarify. Does everyone hold a Miche, or just one gets passed? Clarify the 12 passes for the winner.
Great question! In the left/right game, just one Miche Bag gets passed around. You have all the guests form a circle and you hand the Miche Bag to the party hostess. As you read the story, the bag is passed left or right each time the word “left” or “right” is mentioned in the story. The winner is the guest holding the Miche Bag when the story is over. You can modify the story or game slightly for your own purse party, you don’t necessarily have to end with 12 passes to the left. This purse party activity was submitted by Melanie R. of Wisconsin and has been a hit at many, many purse parties. Let us know how it goes at your next purse party!
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