Expert believes it can create a branding problem for the influencer.
On Tuesday, influencers Isabel Raad and Pierre Louis Olsson launched the online store TrendyThings.
It created reactions on Instagram, and influences Jenny Huse says to the newspaper Byas that people respond that they can find the products cheaper elsewhere online. In addition, people react to the fact that Raad has not designed the products themselves, she says.
The online newspaper is familiar with a large number of apparently completely identical goods that are sold at a fraction of the price of Ali Express. For example, TrendyThings sells a gold-plated copper ring for NOK 129. It is 7.9 times – or in other words over 700 percent – as expensive as what is apparently the same ring at AliExpress.
Huse shared a video TikTok where she shows some of the products Raad and Olsson sell, which can also be found in other online stores – much cheaper.
– I am a big fan of Isabel and she has done an incredible amount of good. There are many people today who buy cheap products and sell them for a more expensive price, but when Isabel Raad herself does this, it is incredibly disappointing. This is neither original nor innovative, says Huse to Byas.
– Exploits young people
Someone has created the Instagram account Trashythings, and in the cinema it says “Should we really support a company that shit in the environment, that supports poor working conditions and that exploits its power?”. The posts that have been published are only about the online store of Raad and Olsson.
There are several examples on the account that the goods Raad sells can be bought much cheaper elsewhere. Some also point out that she uses her celebrity status to sell the goods more expensive.
– When an influencer takes advantage of having young and ignorant followers by buying extremely affordable products and selling it ten times as expensive, without being honest about where the products come from, then someone should say so, one writes in a comment field that has been taken screenshot of and published on the Trashythings account, pointing out:
– They buy the products because they are sold by Isabel Raad, but this is cheap juggle they have bought on AliExpress, which are products she herself would never use, but promote it to her followers and get a hefty profit.
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Rejects criticism
The online newspaper has so far not succeeded in getting a response from Raad and Olsson to the criticism.
The website 730 has, however, referred to a statement Raad is said to have given to her 284,000 followers on Instagram story, where she is said to have dispelled the rumors that they buy the goods from AliExpress and sell them more expensively in their own online store.
– AliExpress I learned about today. Because of some individuals who have been a little too loud and tried to sabotage. And that’s all right, people are allowed to have the meaning they have. But this is not bought from AliExpress, she is said to have said.
According to 730, many people have criticized both TikTok, Jodel and Instagram, and several have claimed that Raad and Olsson do drop shopping. Dropshopping means that the seller does not have the goods in stock, but accepts orders for products that are sent directly to the customer. The Council must have rejected this.
However, Raad admits that she and Olsson did not design the jewelry and other accessories they sell, but points out that they have never claimed it either, according to 730.
In a comment on one of the photos she has posted on the Instagram profile trendythings.no, however, she writes that there is jewelry on the way to the online store, which was designed by her and Olsson.
On this Instagram account, however, there are many positive comments during the posts, and the account has over 40,000 followers.
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– Can create branding problem
Trond Blindheim, lecturer at the Department of Marketing at Kristiania University College, points out that many sports stars buy affordable products from other countries, put on their brand name and sell the products far more expensive than the original price.
In other words, it is nothing new that celebrities use their status to make money on various products that could have been cheaper without the brand name.
– Basically, I think that marketing a product and using its celebrity status to sell goods must be equated with the right not to buy the products, he says to Nettavisen.
But when the rumors that the same goods are sold more cheaply elsewhere, it can affect Raad and Olsson negatively.
– It can create a breach of trust between the public and the influencers, and if that happens, it will be a brand problem. They get “shots on the bow” and must have competitive prices, he says.
– It can go well for a while, but when the artificially high prices become a talking point, it will be a bad shop for them, he points out.
Higher purchase price
Blindheim also points out that small stores often have a much higher purchase price than larger stores or chains that receive a quantity discount.
– This is how I think it is with the influencers as well, because their purchase price is probably far higher than what a larger store chain has to pay. Then they must also charge a higher price to make a profit on it, he points out.
At the same time, it is known that young consumers want as many products as possible for the least possible money, he points out. We also see this is the trend at the low-price chains in the grocery market, where for example Rema, Kiwi and Extra have great success because people want cheap goods.
Also read: Sued by Timberland for shoe plagiarism
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