Money Management

Counterfeit products flood the market. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself. 

By the end of 2023, the global e-commerce market is expected to total $6.3 trillion. And, according to Shopify, by 2024, 21.2% of total retail sales will happen online. While the ability to shop without changing out of pajamas is convenient, online shopping gives counterfeiters access to countless customers every day.

But what about you? What happens when you’re stuck holding the (fake) bag, golf clubs, art work, or other counterfeit purchases?

Knowing what you’re looking for may not be enough to protect you online

Let’s say you’re in the market for a gently used Coach handbag, and a local swap-and-shop vendor has one for sale. It takes you mere moments to realize the bag is fake. The metal holding the leather straps together is ribbed instead of smooth, there’s a misspelling in the story patch on the inside of the flap, and the letter “A” on the hang tag is flat. You’re able to avoid paying for an obviously fake item.

It’s not quite so easy when you’re shopping online. The seller may offer all kinds of photographs, but there’s no way to know for sure whether the seller will send the item in the photos or will replace it with a far less valuable fake.

The potential for crime is not lost on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In a report called Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods, the department wrote, “Many consumers are also unaware of the significant probabilities they face of being defrauded by counterfeiters when they shop on e-commerce platforms. Even those consumers motivated to conduct research and stay informed might lack the specialized knowledge and efficient user tools to make diligent online buying decisions.”

Yes, you’re getting ripped off when you unknowingly purchase a counterfeit product, but does it really matter in the scheme of things? Here’s some of what happens when counterfeit goods are purchased.

Criminal organizations have money to expand their operations. The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) reports that international organized criminals regularly use counterfeit operations to fund illegal activities like gang violence, child labor, and human trafficking.

You, or someone you love, could be seriously injured. Also, according to the NCPC, counterfeit items (such as faulty electronics) cause over 350,000 serious injuries and 70 deaths each year. While purchasing a cheap car seat may leave extra money in your bank account, it’s never worth the risk to a child. Wirecutter reported being able to purchase a toddler airplane safety harness with a label claiming it was “FAA approved.” With cheap plastic buckles, weak stitching, and no lock to keep the straps in place, it was clearly an unsafe product.

You could become sick — very sick. A whopping 67.2% of counterfeit products seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2022 were pharmaceuticals. There’s no way to know where they were manufactured or to access a list of ingredients. There’s no doubt that U.S. healthcare is expensive, but cutting corners by purchasing fake medications can be dangerous.

How to protect yourself

Anything can be counterfeited, from electronics to medication. And because it can be difficult to tell dupes from originals, it’s up to you to protect yourself. These rules can help:

If something sounds too good to be true, assume it’s a fake.If you can’t personally inspect an item before making a purchase, think twice. Buy only from reputable sellers that guarantee authenticity. In other words, if you find that you’ve purchased a fake item, the seller will refund your money.When shopping on a site such as Walmart or Amazon, pay attention to who the actual seller is. Both retailers work with thousands of third-party vendors. Once you notice that the product you’re interested in is sold through a third-party vendor, do an online search for information about that company. More importantly, check out their return policies. Be particularly wary of products made in specific areas. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, nearly 80% of counterfeit products originate from China and Hong Kong.

Finally, make all online purchases using a credit card. If the item you receive is a counterfeit and the seller refuses to reimburse you, you can contact the credit card issuer and dispute the charge.

While fake handbags, jewelry, and tennis shoes may seem like no big deal, counterfeit products cost the global economy over $500 billion annually, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It also undercuts businesses that manufacture and sell legitimate merchandise.

If you receive a counterfeit item, report the incident by calling (800) BE-ALERT (800-232-5378), or by making a report with the CBP at eallegations.cbp.gov.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Dana George has positions in Amazon.com and Walmart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Does starting a business with your child make sense? Read on to find out. 

Starting a business can be a rewarding experience. Rather than have to answer to a boss, you’ll get to be the one calling the shots.

But it’s a good idea to enlist help in the course of starting and running a business. If you take on all of the work yourself, you might end up burning out big time.

Now, you could go out and try to find a business partner. But will that person be as trustworthy as you want and need?

On the other hand, you could try partnering up with a grown child of yours if that’s something they’re interested in. Perhaps you and your child have different skills you can bring to the table that complement each other nicely.

For example, you might have a knack for accounting, while your child may be more tech savvy. That’s a potentially winning combination. But while there can be advantages to starting a small business with a child, here are some pitfalls to watch out for.

1. If your business fails, you both suffer

As a parent, it’s natural to want to support your children even in adulthood. Let’s say your child goes out and gets a job at an investment firm while you start a marketing business. If the investment banking industry melts down, your child might lose their job. But if your business is doing well, you can potentially help your child out financially until their situation improves.

However, if you and your child go into business together and it fails, you won’t be able to just step in and offer financial support, since you’ll be out an income, too. And while it’s good to be optimistic about your company’s prospects, the reality is that 50% of small businesses fail after five years. That’s a statistic you have to take seriously.

2. You might run into inheritance issues

It’s common for business owners to pass ownership of their company onto their children upon their passing. But if you have multiple children and are only going into business with one of them, that could get tricky.

After all, if you have a child who puts their blood, sweat, and tears into that business for decades, they may feel entitled to 100% of the company upon your passing. But that’s not necessarily fair to your other heirs if your company is your primary financial asset. So that’s a sticky situation you’ll need to plan for.

3. Disagreements over business matters might impact your relationship

Business partners don’t always see eye to eye on everything, and that’s pretty normal. It’s good to have differing opinions sometimes, because you can learn from one another.

But you might encounter a situation where you and your child start to butt heads frequently over matters pertaining to your company. And if those arguments heat up, it could lead to animosity outside of a workplace setting. Are you willing to take the risk of having your relationship with your child deteriorate due to work-related disagreements?

All told, there can definitely be benefits to going into business with your child. But make sure to consider these pitfalls, too. You may want to loop in other family members when making your decision and get their opinions, since your choice has the ability to impact them financially as well as logistically.

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Costco isn’t making immediate plans to raise fees. But that doesn’t mean a fee hike won’t happen eventually. Read on to learn more.v 

American consumers have been feeling the impact of inflation for a good couple of years now. And while inflation has, thankfully, cooled quite a bit in 2023, many households are still having a hard time making ends meet without racking up credit card debt.

Meanwhile, a Costco membership can be a huge source of savings for households who want to stretch their paychecks as far as they can. And right now, a basic Costco membership costs $60 a year, while an Executive membership costs $120. The Executive membership costs double because it rewards members with 2% cash back on their Costco purchases.

At this point, it’s been more than six years since Costco has increased the cost of a membership. And that’s beyond the usual stretch of time between membership fee hikes. As such, if you’re a Costco member, you may be worried that an increase is pretty imminent.

But on the company’s most recent earnings call, Costco CFO Richard Galanti confirmed that the warehouse club giant has no immediate plans to raise the cost of a membership. So if that’s something you were worried about, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Costco members are in the clear — for now

At a time when prices and living costs are still up, any sort of added expense has the potential to be an issue. But you can rest assured that your Costco membership is not about to get pricier.

During the company’s late September earnings call, Galanti was asked about plans to increase the cost of memberships. And his response was, “We can’t really tell you if it’s in our plans or not. We’ll let you know when we know. We feel good…about all the attributes of member loyalty and member growth…So, you know, stay tuned. We’ll keep you posted. But there’s not a whole lot I can tell you about that.”

That’s pretty much as non-committal as you can get. And it seems to indicate that a Costco fee hike is not going to be in the cards for late 2023 at the very least. If that were the case, Galanti would likely be more forthcoming about it.

Remember, earnings calls are geared toward investors, not consumers. And a fee hike is something investors may want to see out of Costco because it’s likely to add to the company’s revenue, which could then result in a higher stock price.

So when Galanti says that there are no plans to raise membership fees, he’s not trying to appease consumers in this context, because chances are, it’s not everyday Costco shoppers who are listening into the company’s earnings calls. Rather, he’s simply being honest about where things stand.

A fee hike is likely at some point

While there’s no need to worry about an immediate Costco fee hike, Galanti did say that an increase was likely at some point. His words, in fact, were, “It’s a question of when, not if…you’ll see it happen at some point.”

But if Costco’s next fee hike is comparable to its last one, then we’re probably looking at a very modest increase. In mid-2017, the cost of a basic membership rose from $55 to $60, while an Executive membership went from $110 to $120. The company’s next fee hike might follow a similar pattern, where a basic membership rises to $65 and an Executive membership goes up to $130.

Of course, if money is tight for you, even these modest fees can be troublesome. If you’re someone who needs to account for their spending down to the last dollar, then now’s a good time to stick a dollar here or a dollar there into savings so that if Costco’s fees go up at some point next year or the year after, you’ll be ready.

Meanwhile, if you’re someone who’s budget-conscious but you’re not struggling financially, a Costco fee hike probably isn’t something to sweat if you currently get great value out of your membership. If you don’t, then it may be time to consider canceling regardless of whether the cost goes up or not. But if it makes sense for you to keep your Costco membership at the price point of $60 or $120, then chances are, a $5 or $10 increase won’t change that.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Exploring the country costs money. Read on to see how this writer manages to keep her costs down. 

The money my husband and I earn doesn’t all go toward boring bills like car and mortgage payments. We specifically do our best to keep those larger expenses on the low side so we can carve out money for the things we love, like travel.

Whether it’s kid-free getaways (more of a rarity these days) or family vacations, my husband and I prioritize travel because we enjoy doing it, and because we believe it’s an important part of personal growth. But let’s face it — travel is expensive. And when you’re doing it as a family, certain trips have the potential to really break the bank.

However, if you’re willing to make some adjustments to the way you travel, you may find that you’re able to do it more often. Here’s what I do to make travel more affordable for my family.

1. I drive whenever I can

My closest airport is Newark, and the Bureau of Transportation Services says that as of the first quarter of this year, the average fare there costs about $400. That would mean spending $2,000 for my family of five, not including extra expenses like checked bags and getting to and from the airport.

It’s for this reason that my family tends to go on car trips rather than fly to our destinations. This past summer, we took a 14-hour drive to Michigan because doing so saved us well over $1,000 compared to the cost of flying out. In the past, we’ve driven as far as Montana when flying has been cost-prohibitive.

2. I stay at modest hotels or rentals

My family enjoys what I call active vacations. We tend to do a lot of hiking and exploring, as opposed to lounging at a resort by a pool. As such, it doesn’t make sense for us to splurge on fancy hotels. Rather, we tend to book at modest hotels or private rentals, since we really just need a place to sleep and bathe. And that saves us a lot.

Now, one added expense we sometimes incur is having to pay an extra deposit to bring our dog along. But what we spend on that, we save by not having to pay a dog sitter. Plus, we just plain like having him be part of the experience when it’s feasible.

3. I don’t dine out for every meal

When you’re on vacation, you don’t want to spend hours standing over a stove. But one compromise I tend to employ is preparing breakfast and lunch myself while we’re traveling, but spending money on dinner at a restaurant.

It’s for this reason, among others, that I tend to favor private rentals over hotels. Most hotels don’t have a full kitchen, so when my family stays at one, we’re often forced to dine out for three meals a day.

Even if you’re not going to use the kitchen at a private rental because you don’t want to do any cooking while on vacation (which is understandable), another benefit is getting access to a full-sized fridge. In my experience, most hotel rooms give you a mini fridge at best. The full-sized fridge is helpful because when we do dine out on vacation, we often have leftovers. That allows us to bring them home rather than have food go to waste.

4. I save up my credit card points and use them to pay for trips

The credit card I use the most allows me to rack up cash back on my purchases. In recent years, what I’ve done is save up that cash back and then use all of it to cover the cost of travel.

I highly recommend doing the same, but it’s going to take discipline. Credit cards generally give you access to your cash back on a monthly basis. If you take your $50 here or $70 there, you may be tempted to spend it on something like clothing or entertainment.

But remember, over the course of a year, you might end up with $1,000 back from your credit card, which could, depending on your plans, cover a getaway in full. So if you’re able to avoid spending that money along the way, it could make a big dent in your next vacation tab.

I recognize that it’s a privilege to be able to travel a few times a year like I’ve done recently. But I also take active steps to make my trips as affordable as possible. It’s not always easy to spend 14 hours behind the wheel, but we do what we have to do to avoid busting our budget. If you’re willing to make some compromises, you may find that you’re able to travel more, too.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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