apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The new original requires the purchase of 4 chairs at once in order to take advantage of the lower price, for a total of $1755.00, including shipping. The knock off has a $75.00 surcharge for shipping so the price is actually closer to $300.00.

I love how Wisteria, after acknowledging the Wishbone's link to the Ming Dynasty horseshoe chair, says "we've gone back to China!" as a way of saying theirs is a more cheaply mass produced knock-off made in Asia. It's such a hilarious piece of marketing that one hates to NOT buy from them.

I've bought some things from Wisteria, which I love, But "customer service" is not their middle name.

sorry about the triple posts. don't know what happened.

For me this question is more complicated than the three voting options provided. Morally I believe that the designers are entitled to their intellectual property rights and should benefit from the popularity and proliferation of their ingenuity. Nevertheless I unfortunately don't have the means to purchase original or even authentic reproductions, like an Eames lounge from Herman Miller (which has a staunch position about knockoffs: http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Category2/0,,a8-c440,00.html). As a result I find myself either looking high and low for similar pieces with lesser provenance or purchasing a knockoff. So far I have worked hard and the only knockoff I have is a Target version of the Aalto 60 stool that was too good to pass up at $15.

So to summarize, if I had the funds, my answer would be "No way, it's totally disrespectful," but alas I have to compromise (and abstain from voting).

I recently struggled with whether to buy a knock-off. My usual position is that I am staunchly opposed. I hate the ubiquitous Noguchi table knock-off, which often times is badly done with wrong proportions. But, I was recently tempted to purchase an Arco lamp knock-off. If you want the reproduction sold by Flos (through DWR and the like), it'll set you back over $2000. I found a similar arch lamp at the flea market with a round marble base, and I bought it for $350. I did/do not consider this a knock-off b/c the shade is different and it had a different base. To me, there's a difference between a knock-off and a similar, but variated design, because let's face it, designers draw inspiration from each other. However, after coming home and doing some web searching, I found I could buy a knock-off of the Arco lamp for $400, inclusive of tax and shipping. I was kicking myself and thought about selling my lamp to buy the knock-off. But, I decided against it because I like my lamp. I like the round base instead. I like the proportions on mine. And, I knew I just wouldn't feel right about owning a knock-off.

It depends how you look at it. Some people see buying a reproduction very off from the original as being cheated. Even though I prefer owning the original design - not eveyone can afford it. I am proud to have recently buy an arco lamp that is not just true to the original, but the quality and proportion is great. It also comes with a dimmer and the rectangular stem. Mine is below $500 inclusive of warranty and shipping. The arco lamp is a 60s design with probably an expired patent. I definitely feel better getting a close to original then one that looks like an obviously fake knockoff with a price similar to the one I got.