Super-cheap cosmetics are flooding the social network market. Facebook has been used as a large market, where people offer to sell products introduced by them as imports from Thailand, Japan, South Korea and European countries.

The sellers explain that the products are cheap because they don’t bear import tax as they are ‘carried to Vietnam across border gates by individuals’.

Some others say they sell products at a loss to clear stock, or say the products were seized and then returned by customs agencies.

On an website, eyeliner with MAC brand is offered at VND9,000, and Kone skincare is VND39,000 per product and VND100,000 for one combo of three boxes.

The products are undoubtedly counterfeit. Understanding that many customers like branded goods but cannot afford them, scammers counterfeit well-known make-up products and sell them at low prices.

The prices of the counterfeits are just 1/10 or 1/30 of that of genuine products.

The beautiful sellers appearing on livestreams say they are selling products at ‘surprisingly low prices’ in order to increase ‘interactions’ with customers. They attract hundreds of buyers during every livestream show.

The General Department of Market Management, the police and border guards recently joined forces to attack a fake goods supply source in Mong Cai City in Quang Ninh province.

They seized two containers of counterfeit goods, including handbags, glasses, watches and cosmetics bearing famous foreign and Vietnamese brands.

Participating in the stocktaking and inspection of these seized products, a representative of L’Oreal Vietnam confirmed that all the thousands of cosmetic and perfume products bearing the brands of Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent, Kielh’s, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Laurent and 3CE in the containers were counterfeit.

Many products have been found on online sale websites and cosmetics shops throughout the country. The huge amounts of goods were managed and distributed by two shops in Quang Ninh province.

Dr Le Thai Van Thanh from the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital said it is difficult to control the cosmetics market. Users can't tell the difference between original and counterfeit products.

To enhance the effects of low-quality cosmetics, producers may use toxic substances such as corticosteroids, lead, mercury and formaldehyde, which may cause serious diseases, including skin cancer. 

Trong Dat

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