Actual purchases of counterfeit and legitimate (brand-name) products in China were studied, with dissimilar variables found to predict the different types of purchases. Buying counterfeits correlated positively with self-monitoring, need for dominance, face-work, risk-taking, and worry about inflation but negatively with perfectionism. Regression analysis revealed that need for dominance, risk-taking, and worry about inflation predicted purchasing counterfeits. Buying legitimates correlated positively with self-monitoring, need for dominance, self-esteem, and perfectionism, but negatively with worry about inflation. Regression analyses found that self-monitoring and perfectionism predicted purchasing legitimates. A separate regression found that purchasing counterfeits was a negative predictor of receiving esteem from others.