Are We Being Scammed? Luxury Brands Are Made in China!? | S&T Chats

You guys, do not get fooled by China, at least the Chinese government. They're really good at cheating, they're really good at stealing, they're really good at manipulating, and they're really good at this game. So be careful. Hello, welcome to S&T Chats. I guess we bring you terrorist news, right? Since a lot of companies in China have been coming out about how they're making luxury goods for one-tenth of the amount that's being sold for. They are claiming that Hermes, LV, Prada, all these luxury goods, everything is made in China, done in China, and for the cost of making those are a fraction of what they're selling. That's what they're claiming, and it's going crazy, viral, people are like, luxury brands been lying to us, blah, blah, blah. Because I would say that Chinese play mind games, like not like how an American would, but they're very sly about it. Very, very. Just think, because of this tariff thing, most people know about what's going on, right? There's this trade war between America and the whole world. Well, mostly with China, because Trump, he paused 90 days for all the other countries, the tariffs, but for China, he's going strong. It was at 75%, then it was at 100%, then it was 125%, now it's at 200%. Oh, I didn't know about that. This Birkin bag at Hermes boutique will cost you $38,000 USD. But what is the real cost out of the factory? It's $1,400 USD for one Birkin out of the factory. So then China comes out, and I don't know if the Chinese people, or you know, who is behind all this, like flooding the social media about, you know, they come out claiming this guy is like, this Hermes bag, you know, we make it here for, I remember he said he added up like every little thing, right? It was like around $1,400 or $500 for a Hermes bag. And we all know like an Hermes bag, okay, first of all, Hermes plays the rule of you have to buy enough to get that certain bag. Yeah, and that certain bag, I think the original price is probably like $10,000 or something. But the resale value of that price could be like $30,000, $40,000, blah, blah, blah price of it. So yeah, they because they're upset with America. So they're coming out with all this. Yeah, I'm not surprised. I did see a video on Instagram that basically said, oh, China, like kind of waved the confidentiality clause, right? And that they're like, oh, because they're waving that clause, they can come out and speak about it. This is actually insane. So Chinese government has removed the confidentiality clause with luxury brands and Chinese manufacturers. So now what's happening is all the Chinese producers are coming out. And they're telling the world that they make all the stuff that we think is luxury and pay an ultimate price for. And then I'm like, like, you can't like when you sign a contract, you can't just waive a clause from one side. You know, like it's you can't do that. Welcome to China. Unless it states in a contract that says, oh, if one party can waive one clause, then they're free to do so. But I don't think any contracts would be like that. Yeah. And I saw a video from CNN Shark Tank, one of the main judges. I do business in China. They don't play by the rules. They've been in the WTO for decades. They have never abided by any of the rules they agreed to. And they came in for decades. They cheat. They steal. They steal IP. I can't litigate in their courts. They take product technology. They steal it. They manufacture it and sell it back here. Never has an administrator. In America, if you stand 400 percent tariffs, what would that look like? I want Xi on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field. It's just not about tariffs anymore. Nobody has taken on China yet. Not the Europeans. No administration for decades. As someone who actually does business there, I've had enough. I speak for millions of Americans who have IP that have been stolen by the Chinese. I have nothing against the Chinese people. They brought great literacy, art and tech to the world. The government cheats and steals. He spoke and said, you know, he's like China cheats, China steals everything. And they even steal your IP and everything. And it's just not been a fair trade. It's not. Yeah. And there's a lot of videos on Instagram saying it's like, oh, yeah, like you can't raise the tariffs. You need China, basically. Right. And then, well, in reality, the only reason why the companies have manufacturers in China is because, first of all, first and foremost, labor is cheap, cheap, dirt cheap, super, super cheap. I mean, we all know about Xin and Timu, right? It's like the workers are working six days a week. They only rest one day and they get like, I don't know, like cheap pay, you know, but they're horrible working environment. And but they're still doing it. Because why? Compared to maybe other jobs, that pay is actually pretty good, right? Oh, you mean compared to other Chinese jobs? Yeah. It's better to have a job than be jobless in China. Anywhere. Right. So in actuality, aren't us, the American consumers and companies giving work for China? We are like flooding their economy. Like really think of it in that perspective, because we're the one buying these things. Yeah. And I have all my family are in all my rest of my family's in China. They cannot afford these like, like in reality, like Chinese people cannot afford things. All these things that they are selling to America. Yeah. That is the reality. Yeah. A very simple example is McDonald's, right? As we all know, McDonald's in the United States, like what $12 a meal, $15 a meal, right? But then if you change, if you exchange that $12, $15 American dollars to RMB, it's expensive. It's 12 by 7, right? So it's like $70 for a meal, 100 RMB for a meal. That's very expensive. When you compare it to local foods where you can get a decent meal for 10 bucks, 10 RMB. Yes. McDonald's, KFC in China is like high class dining. Yeah. It's expensive. Yeah. It's expensive over there. It's not like cheap, like here in the United States, right? I guess we can't just rely on what we see on the internet. How Selena and I have been telling ourselves and telling our audience, you guys, is that don't believe whatever you see on the internet. Go to the source, look at what is there out in the public. Everybody knows no bag is worth $30,000. Why is it at that price? It's because of the hype. Yeah. It's because people desire it. Yeah. But no bag can... The actual cost, base cost of making a bag, no matter what, can never be $30,000. That's logic. Yeah. So all this coming out right now about all these bags made in China, honestly, I don't know. People are going to hate me for saying this, but I'm just really skeptical of believing everything right now, of what they say, because China's really good at making duplicates. They're really good at copying. They can make everything really, really good, you know? Maybe, yes, these luxury brands are made in China, like some parts, but like all of these, I don't know. But in the beginning of that video, that nice Chinese man is clearly standing in front of what appear to be Hermes bags, saying that these are the bags that we manufacture. I noticed he didn't say Hermes when he called out all the brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Coach, but the implication was very clearly there. So I personally know of people who bought mock luxury bags. Yes. Right? The fake bags, right? There's like different levels. Yes. Right? There is A to C, and then A is like, it looks like 99% similar to the original bag. You need probably a professional to see if it's real or fake. But like, if the Chinese people can make a fake bag that's that similar, then, you know, they probably have access to the leather, to the stitching, to a lot of things. It's not just... I think the leather is really like, it's really easy probably to get some of them, right? I think it's the idea and the stitching behind it. They steal from other people. Right. They copy other brands. Yeah. You know, stuff. And it's like, why do you follow a brand? It's not just... It's also because of quality, but also the design. Yeah. And the design, are you guys saying the design is coming from China as well? Right? Yeah. Doesn't that make sense? Yeah, yeah. So like, okay, it is made in China, but you know, it's... I don't know. Like, this whole thing, it's just like, I haven't got my... I just feel like it's just too pushing out, like, in your face. Like, Hermes is made in China. Everything. From the buckle, the leather, the stitching, everything. And then I get on Instagram now, a post like of people saying like, Oh, China is so great. Like, not Chinese people. Like, Westerners that are saying like, Oh, you guys, China is so great. My dream to move back to China. Like, getting all of these. Yeah. Like, it just, it's kind of weird. Right. And you have to also understand that regular Chinese people, they have no access to Instagram, YouTube, X, all of that Western media, social media, right? So if you are a Westerner in China and you have access to all of these, it kind of says something, you know? You probably got special access or you're there as a tourist and you get access. Yeah. Like, regular Chinese people, they don't use those apps. Or even if they do, they have to use a VPN firewall. I also saw a video, a really funny video, is this entrepreneur. He does business in China and he's like, If China doesn't rip you off or doesn't trick you, then it's weird. Like, he was going to go sign this deal. There was photographers and everything, a ceremony. And then he's like, Okay, X, this is what we agreed. And then on the paper, when he saw it, it's X plus 40%. And then the guy's like, Bro, come on. And then he's like, Yeah, we had to do some last minute changes. Like, on the day of signing, he saw that. I'm not surprised. Chinese people are sly, especially Chinese businessmen. And then, like, good for the guy. Like, the entrepreneur was like, No, I cannot sign this. Yeah. And then so he walked out. It was awkward for him, but he walked out. And then the Chinese guy's like, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wait, wait. Okay, we can agree to your original agreement. I was like, Wow, that's like, mind blowing. Like, this is really like this whole tariff and this whole war thing. Like, I'm a proud American citizen. And like, it's really like, it's not like against each other race. I feel like it's really against humanity. Like a war against that. Because it's just everything is done so unfair. There's so much cheating. There's so much like manipulation. And it's like this whole thing that yeah. Yeah. And you know, I want to follow up on what you said. Because I also saw a video on Instagram. That's like, Oh, your government's lying to you. You guys should rise up to a revolution. I'm like, Bro, are you crazy? A revolution just over what? Terrorists? Why would Americans race against Americans? If we're gonna do like a war or revolution, it should be America as a whole entity against other people. Like, why are you trying to like, so discord in Americans versus Americans? Oh, I don't know. Yeah, it was like a Chinese guy. It was a Chinese guy that said that. Yeah, like, why would you say like, I don't know. Like, I know our country is very divided. Politically, it is very divided. But ultimately, like, and I think the majority of normal people, like we still have some unity, you know, and morals. Like, honestly, like, I know that there are bad people, right? There are, but not the stuff that Chinese government do. That's just out of morals. Yeah, completely. Yeah. Yeah, that was really funny. Yeah, and then this is just like, on what you said about the guy signing the contract. You know, I feel like the Chinese businessman called for all the reporters. That person did it on purpose. On purpose. Yeah, it was really obvious because he wanted to make the situation like, he had to sign it. Right. Because if he didn't, he stood up and said no, it'd be so awkward. Like, imagine that scene, you know? And good for that guy. Yeah, he stood up. Yeah, he was a strong entrepreneur. And he stood up and he walked out. He even said it was awkward. Because it is. And good for him. Because I'm pretty sure a lot of business people, probably because of that awkwardness, ended up signing that kind of deal. You know, and right now with all this luxury, yes, you are saying like, the cost is this, really cheap. But my question back is like, how much are you paying those people then? Yeah. Those actually Chinese people that are making these. The actual workers. Yeah. And it's like, we all know that Chinese labor is really, really cheap, right? So that's why we're willing to buy from them. That's why a lot of companies are willing to place their manufacturers in China. Yeah. And this is like a well-known thing. Everybody knows that Chinese labor is cheap. Everybody knows that, hey, maybe the things you buy in Xi'an is a hit or a miss because of its quality, you know? But it's cheap. So who cares, right? Like, it's a well-known thing. So like, I don't know why all these videos are coming out all over Instagram, social media, x. You know, it's like, what is the Chinese Communist Party trying to do? Yeah. Like, I think even before a long time, I have a new product. Like, they moved their, like, some stuff to China. Like, this thing has been going on. Why? Because it's cheap over there. Exactly. And if you're a business person, you have a business mindset, you want to cut your costs as low as possible. That's just the thing of business. You know, it's really normal. But it's more like, if you're really for China, if you really are for the Chinese people, take care of the Chinese people, right? Yeah. Like, why are they still starving? Why are they so poor when, you know, you're complaining about all this, you know? Honestly, yeah, that's my last take. But probably a lot of people are going to hate this video. Well, it's more like, if the Chinese government is really taking care of their citizens, then why is labor so cheap in China? Yeah, yeah. You know, because that doesn't make sense. Because if the Chinese people are taking care of its people, then their pay should be well, they should be living well. But why does the world know that it's cheap labor? Chinese has cheap labor. That's why they do business. Yeah. Yep. And last word, it's not America needs China. Honestly, it's China really needs America. Yeah. If you got to see the whole, this whole trade war thing, you know? And actually, I saw something today, actually, because Trump wants to make a deal with China, right? Okay. And then China, the leader, Xi Jinping, he's like, okay, America, I can make a deal with you, but you got to show me some respect. Okay, respect. Why? Earn it. Well said. Okay, that's it for today, guys. Don't forget to like and subscribe. We will see you next time. Bye. I'm saying, like... Look, Chinese consumers, right? Okay, why does China need, like, why does China, like... Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's not the reality. Because the people in China, they cannot actually buy, they don't have money to buy things.