Hamburg  - When internet furniture dealers lure buyers with bargain basement prices for alleged design classics, consumers often end up with fakes, an interior design magazine in Germany reported recently.

When the internet price is as little as one-third of the store price, the buyer can assume that a knockoff will be delivered.

Often the furniture never even gets to the buyer because the maker of the copied, brand-name furniture finds out about the deal and catches the transport truck at the border.

This is within the rights of companies who own a trade mark and protect it from infringement. The furniture, which has already been paid for, is then destroyed and the buyer has hardly any chance of a refund. (dpa)