Watch Out for Fake Apple Stores

The Apple Store, a chain of retail stores around the world, sells legitimate Apple devices and accessories. In China, there are two stores each in major cities Beijing and Shanghai.

Many vendors and U.S. based products have entered China to cash in from consumers in the mainland, home to the world's fastest growing economy. However, China has been long home to pirated and bogus consumer gadgets, software, and brand name clothing. Imitations of the Apple's iPhone smartphone, iPod player, iPad tablet, and MacBook are everywhere.

People taking advantage of China's leniency in implementing intellectual property laws have learned to be good at what they do. For an iPhone for example, you would likely not be able to distinguish a rip-off from the authentic given that the two look exactly the same, basing on the aesthetics and the form factor. But some of these fakes offer something more than Apple's devices -- pull up the physical antenna and you can watch UHF or VHF television on the phone. Other than that, it's not good. You'll feel like a four-year old because the multi-touch touchscreen display will show the letters that you did not type. Moreover, you could not download apps from the App Store or even from those who jailbreak the device.

Now the counterfeiters are upping the ante. Aside from fake products, there are now fake Apple Stores in China.

An American in Kunming, southern Yunnan province in China said in her BirdAbroad blog at Wordpress that she found three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city.

She took pictures and posted them on her blog. The pictures show that the store had the same gallery lighting, minimalist decor, bold advertising, and blue uniformed staff that are found in legit Apple stores.

The 27-year-old blogger, who did not divulge her real identity, said the set-up of the stores was so convincing that the employees themselves acted as if they worked for Apple.

"It looked like an Apple store. It had the classic Apple store winding staircase and weird upstairs sitting area. The employees were even wearing those blue T-shirts with the chunky Apple name tags around their necks," she wrote on her blog.

However, she determined that the store was a rip-off, observing, among many things, a huge 'Apple Store' sign as opposed to the iconic Apple logo utilised by Jobs & Co. through official outlets.

An authorized reseller in Kunming acknowledged the presence of the fake Apple Stores but said that most buyers have no idea the stores are fake, according to The Associated Press.

Because Apple devices in China are more expensive than overseas, the practice of buying the devices outside to bring back into the mainland - for resale or for personal use - has been prevalent, according to NBC News.

"There are more and more of these fake stores in Kunming. Although they may sell real Apple products, some of those products were not imported through legal means. And they cost more," The AP quotes, Zhang, manager of an authorized reseller in Kunming, as saying.