Fake crocs are lookalike products designed by companies who aimed to tap into the goodwill of the crocs product.
Just so these fake crocs do not get defamed if they are outrightly tagged “fake”, they are mostly referred to as alternatives, dupes, knockoffs, humbug, phony Crocs.
As with most successful brands, when Crocs began to make waves and gain market acceptance to an extent where their customers’ demands are ridiculously high and seemingly insatiable, other manufacturers will want to tap into that goodwill to earn a fortune for themselves too by making similar designs. This is the case with crocs.
Although crocs have been existing for years now, the shoe’s recent dramatic popularity makes us understand why many companies are seeking profit from these croslite shoes to have followed the same silhouette.
Who wouldn’t want to be seen in cute and comfortable footwear that digs up compliments from people’s vocal cords?
This is a huge success for Crocs. Nonetheless, fake crocs are also great in that they are also super fashionable in their cool designs and offer some level of comfort too.
Reasons why these shoes are referred to as fake crocs
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First off, what makes them fake crocs is the fact that they are unauthorized replicas of the original crocs.
Any shoe that comes off as crocs and is short of crocs is nothing short of being fake crocs.
And they are designed primarily to take advantage of the genuine value of the imitated crocs and make a profit.
These brands fall short of the value that genuine Crocs offer. Despite copying crocs’ silhouette and some other body designs.
There are specific countries that Crocs has given license to produce its footwear, and some of these counterfeits are nowhere close to being produced in these locations.
This is not to rule out the fact that fake crocs are produced even in countries that are licensed to produce crocs.
Crocs prints several features and information on their footwear, but you can easily tell the non-originality of these fake crocs from seeing that they miss out on these.
Sometimes, Crocs takes legal actions against these brands. Like when it took the Mosaic brand to court for copying its shoes’ designs.
Are Knockoffs crocs the same?
No, they are not the same. There is a handful of them in the market.
Knockoffs originate from the need to fill in the seemingly vacant customers’ high demand. And this is not a thing with just a single brand.
Although Crocs has been around for years when they came into the limelight and started being big on sales and recognition, not only one set of brands copied them. As such, there are different crocs knockoffs.
They include:
- Heuyen
- OHSNMASL
- Amoji
- BXHAAXHK
- Amyneo
- STQ
- Hobibear
- Kiwufoder
And lots more.
For example, the Amoji shoes and Kiwufoder are produced in different locations and by different manufacturers.
As well as Hobibear and Amyneo. Each on its end trying to make do with the value of Crocs entity.
They are all feeding off from the same big brand, Croc. But each to its game plan and mode of operation.
How can you tell fake crocs?
- From Crocs’ official press release
- Packaging standard
- Comfort
Crocs’ official press release
Crocs wants its products to be able to be differentiated from the copycats as day from night, so they made an announcement on the (three) specific parts of their shoes where their name “CROCS” stands as an inscription – the decorative band along the heel strap length, the outside of the shoe’s upper and the textures strip on the shoe’s heel.
Although these brands seek to imitate Crocs, they are still no match for it. Crocs had made a list of certain features, materials, and other qualities that make its products unique which these knockoffs are devoid of.
Even when they come off with semblance of the said features and qualities, the margin of the value that Crocs offers from these is distant.
- Circulation numbs
- Color
- Size
- Tag
- Material
- Logo
(a) Circulation numbs
The circulation numbs is one of the core features that Crocs prides in. This is because it makes the shoe in its entirety very comfortable and ergonomic.
The fake crocs too have the “circulation numbs” but what gave it off as being inferior is the absence of the ergonomic feel.
You can be able to tell the authenticity of the circulation numbs of original crocs as you will feel them under the sole of your feet.
(b) Color
No crocs model is not just produced in random colors. There are specific colors assigned to every crocs model produced.
And how most of the fake crocs companies produce this footwear without paying prominence to make sure that specific colors align with some crocs models as listed the www.crocs.com makes their ingenuity obvious.
(c) Size
Many people who have had their fair share of annoying encounters with these fake crocs will attest to the fact that fake crocs come in ridiculously smaller sizes than the actual size written on the sole of the shoe.
While genuine crocs have their shoes true to size, it is not the same for fake crocs.
(d) Tag
There is a bar code for every crocs shoe model, no two crocs models have the same barcode. When the bar codes of two crocs models are the same, that is a pointer to their not being original.
Crocs products have always obeyed this rule; the fake crocs do not pay importance to it.
(e) Material
The signature material for the production of original crocs is the croslite material. It is a closed-cell resin that accounts for the shoe’s slip-resistance, durability, and lightweight.
Fake crocs, instead of croslite, use Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) and some use other rubber materials that are heavy and slippery when used on wet surfaces.
It is easy to tell genuine and fake crocs apart from the overall finishing and quality of the shoe.
(f) Logo
You would find an embossed Duke logo on the footbed of every genuine crocs shoe. There are also six even bumps at the back, and two eyes of the said Duke on every genuine crocs.
All the aforementioned signature qualities and features of Crocs products are key in telling fake crocs.
Every Crocs shoe country of origin is written on it as well.
Packaging and Standard
There is a packaging standard on which all crocs are sold, anything that falls short of that is certainly not from Crocs.
Genuine crocs are never sold in cardboard packages, they are sold in their branded white paper bags or their signature transparent plastic bags. Take note, they are all branded bags and never plain ones.
If you get to see crocs sold in brown bags and other inferior packaging materials that do not meet crocs packaging standards. It is a red flag. Take the nearest exit and leave.
Genuine crocs come with hangers too.
Comfort
Genuine crocs are super comfortable. This is because the material from which they are made – the croslite material – is a closed-cell resin, this makes it soft and comfy.
They have good arch support and are very lightweight, unlike the heavy fake ones. They have zero chance of breeding fungus that may lead to “athlete’s foot.”
Genuine crocs do not make any loud, squeaky, obnoxious, or annoying clicking sounds when you use them to walk on hard surfaces.
The designers took all of these into consideration to have chosen the best material and infused the right features to bring comfortability to this height.
So when any product falls short of this, that should scream “fake!” to your ears.
Why do people buy fake crocs
- Unavailability of genuine crocs
- Environmental pressure and the frenzy to have crocs.
- Ignorance of the qualities of real crocs
- The simplicity of croc design
Unavailability of genuine crocs
Genuine crocs are only produced in six countries – Brazil, China, Mexico, Vietnam, Italy, and Bosnia.
This makes crocs’ availability limited. When crocs are sold out, this high demand and limited supply create opportunities for these people of talent to forge the same designs and patterns to fill that gap. Hence, people buy fake crocs.
A person from the Netherlands will not want to travel to Mexico when he can lay hands on way cheaper crocs around.
Crocs unavailable most times makes people intentionally go for the fake one because of the time and process involved in getting genuine crocs in their areas of residence.
Environmental pressure and the frenzy to have crocs
Many people use crocs for different reasons, from vacation to working in the yard, staying indoors, and lots of other places so they are not left out of the trend.
Most times, there’s not much reason for owning a pair, it is just the desire to have one. This desperation leads them to fall into the hands of these “good-looking” crocs that are mostly not original.
The deal is to get a pair of crocs, and you would hardly think twice if driven by any sort of pressure and the frenzy of needing to have crocs when you are faced with some good-looking ones to even want to ascertain their originality.
Ignorance of the qualities of real crocs
The lack of knowledge of the qualities of real crocs has gotten people to ignorantly buy the fake ones.
Plus, Genuine crocs are pretty expensive owing to the quality of the material used in producing them.
One who has experienced the comfortable nature of crocs can easily tell a fake croc as opposed to someone who hasn’t had any prior experience of how the real crocs feel.
This means, whatever croc shoe they get, they assume it is original until they eventually buy one that stands out among all that they’ve used before.
The simplicity of crocs design
The Crocs design is one perfect definition of simplicity. This makes it easy to copy and reproduce.
When reproduced, it gets into the market and competes with the genuine ones, this competition is not in terms of quality but availability.
It is what gets to people that they will buy. And the fact that they are good with this, such that the original and fake ones are so alike and you can hardly tell them apart.
Except if both are kept side by side and you make an observation of their features, is what enhances the flourishing of the fake crocs.
What marketplaces are fake crocs sold?
While knockoffs are not original, some are of considerably good quality.
For this season, some online marketplaces have decided to have a handful of the best knockoff grades to reach the populace.
They include:
- Alibaba
- Amazon
- Walmart
- Hobby Lobby
Alibaba
Alibaba is one online marketplace that has had a good track record in time past and now. However, there have been sales of knockoffs in recent times on Alibaba.
Amazon
Amazon sells knockoff crocs like Amoji, Hobibear, kiwufoder, and other brands that have their names – brands that only imitate the crocs pattern.
Amazon does not sell products from brands that actually impersonate Crocs – one that claims to be Crocs when in fact they are not.
And the aforementioned brands, although their qualities do not match Crocs’, they are good to a considerate extent.
Walmart
Crocs had sued Walmart for signature infringement and other online marketplaces doing the same too. Crocs had sued a dozen online marketplaces, including Hobby Lobby.
Although Walmart sells original crocs too, but also, knockoffs came along as well.
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