lmao that ain't his reasoning muh brah. His point is about target demographics. The typical person who buys a knock-off -- is s/he such that, had the knock-off been unavailable, s/he would have purchased the real thing instead. Only if you answer to that question is yes will you assess the cost to be $100.
minor: 1. Coach (US), not Gucci (Italy). 2. The author is a legit economist (expert on monetary policy), content from his blog has been posted on HN regularly. He recently posted a series of comments on China. If you're interested check them out at:
https://www.econlib.org/parmesan-cheese-and-sunbucks-coffee/
https://www.econlib.org/how-should-we-think-about-the-theft-...