Replica products are those that are replicated from famous brands’ products. Please do not confuse them with fake products. They may be anything from perfumes to clothes. In Turkey, they don’t use the word “replica” for this type of product. Turkish people prefer the word “imitation.”
Please note that the trade of fake products is illegal, and Pelotek LLC is not sourcing fake products that heavily harm the brands. This post is to inform visitors asking us about Turkish replica products.
Contents
The Audio Version of this Conversation
A Conversation with a Turkish Replica Products Exporter
I have a friend in my local network who has manufactured replicas for more than 10 years. He uses a minimum of 95% cotton in all of his t-shirts and manufactures 3-yarn and 2-yarn cotton tracksuits. Here below, you can find our conversation. I asked him the questions that I wondered:
How long do you manufacture replica products?
This is a family business. I have had this job since my childhood. It has been over 10 years now, but our factory is 35 years old!
Don’t you think that this is unethical?
No, I don’t think it is unethical. Let me explain it to you. These products are normally very expensive. The buyer of this product will never have a chance to wear it in their lifetime. In addition, when he wears it, his or her friends will never understand that they are replicas because they are in the same environment. But they will have the feeling of wearing high-quality clothes. I am sleeping comfortably at night, so make sure of that.
We are also contributing to the Turkish economy because we are big exporters. Only China can beat us. Turkey is the second-most-selling country for replica products. Not to mention the cost of penalties we pay every year.
Are you paying taxes?
No, we don’t pay taxes. We generally sell through Instagram. But we pay a very high penalty to the Turkish government. We pay the high penalties and move on.
What about the cost and prices?
As of 2023, the cost of a 95–100% cotton replica t-shirt is at most 6 dollars. We charge 8–12 dollars per t-shirt or tracksuit. We reflect the penalty in the cost. If there is a middleman, I suggest a 0.25-dollar commission. I never pay more commission.
There are other manufacturers as well. They generally don’t care about quality, and their middleman gets much more commission. I saw a couple of their products. They are expensive, but they have very low quality.
In addition to the high-quality fabric and factory maintenance expenses, we also pay some printing companies. They manufacture the labels and other details exactly the same. This is also reflected in the final price. We add some details or make some small changes in the logo, etc. A careful eye will understand that it is a replica.
So there are quality differences among replicas?
Of course. I and another manufacturer care about fabrics. I know all of them. We select and buy fabrics in huge amounts at the beginning of the season. Then we start production. But most of the manufacturers get the fabrics when they get the order, and they generally select the cheapest fabrics at the time of the order.
Can you manufacture almost everything?
Yes. Whatever is ordered for us, we can do it. Some long-term clients send us the original products.
How do you ship them to Europe?
I will tell you in private, ok?
Conclusion
And our conversation about Turkish replica products continues. I may not have asked the right questions, but this is all I can tell you. He knows that I am sourcing products, and he knows that he can trust me, so he explained everything to me and offered me 0.25 dollars in commission on each product. I haven’t seen him since this conversation. But I had notes on this, and yesterday, I suddenly decided to publish this interview. I may delete this post if it hurts my website’s SEO or reputation.
I got consent from him to publish this conversation.
If you want to read about the differences between replica products and fake products, you can read this article. You can also check out our case studies. My next post is $12,000 in the Turkish Clothing Sector.
Great article. Can I have the Inst address of this Turkish replica maker?
Please click on any WhatsApp symbol on the website. I can answer in private. I don’t want to promote their Instagram address openly.