I think much of this has to do with the "Walmartization" of
society these days. Instead of buying something of quality that
is more expensive initially, most people would rather buy
several cheap quality knockoffs because it makes them feel like
they are saving money. It's difficult to place blame but I
believe part of it has to do with the influx of products in our
market. Many manufacturers have moved overseas and quality has
suffered in some cases. Now do not get me wrong, I believe there
are some VERY high quality products that come from places like
China.  Another example I can throw into the mix is with
aftermarket car products. In the Japanese car scene, many people
go with "knockoff" products such as wheels instead of supporting
the big names like Work, RAYS Engineering, Weddsport, Enkei,
etc. Many claim they are doing it because they are on a budget,
but imo they are ruining the scene because the big name
companies actually carry out R&D on their products and are
ISO9000/9001 certified. In many cases