We found that one of the main thrills for us when visiting a new place is getting excited to go shop for local products. We’ve already covered our recommended shopping list for Cyprus though. Today, instead, we’ll look at a shadier part of Cyprus – brand dupes. But Cyprus is a part of the European Union, surely there are regulations against that? Of course there are. And yet…
If you’re familiar with Cyprus at all, then you know that it’s actually an island divided into two countries, south and north: the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The former is, as we mentioned, a part of the European Union with European culture and standards. As such, intellectual property laws are respected in southern Cyprus and the sale of counterfeit products is strongly prohibited. Northern Cyprus, however, does not have to obey any of these rules.
Is there a counterfeit market in Northern Cyprus? Yes, yes there is. Though there’s always a tint of shame on their well known sellers, the market stands because there are buyers. Lots of buyers. Many may want to show off by wearing designer brand stuff but they simply can’t afford anything close to them. So they come to Cyprus to buy their fake Rolexes and Yeezys.
Can you buy yourself a fake?
Yes, you can. We can’t exactly stop you, if you feel like you really, really want a dupe or need it for some alternative reason. There’s no control over shopkeepers in Northern Cyprus selling fakes, so the trade will continue to thrive. The question of why you would want to is a whole another story, and too subjective of a matter to delve into deeply here.
All that we can remind you of is that these products are not the high quality show offs of craftsmanship that you would expect of designer brands. They’re exactly as cheaply made as you’d expect, and the only argument behind them is the logo. Many of which, by the way, are actually of brands which don’t even exist, so many buyers may be proudly showing off their fancy shirt of a non-existent brand.
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