Well, how’s this for some holiday suck. One of my most popular items, my 221B key, has been copied exactly (albeit cheaply) by some overseas wholesalers. Yay me. This is no coincidence, the items are PRECISE replicas of two of my most popular keys:
My original 221B key design, which I’ve been selling for over a year now:
The replica key, being sold by over a dozen other sellers on Etsy now, let alone Ebay and other outlets:
NOT a coincidence, I think. From the scroll work to the dots at the top of the keyhole, this is an EXACT replica of my design. Even the part of the key meant to turn the lock is the same. It’s facing in a different direction, but that is the ONLY difference between these mass produced keys and my own personal design. Well, that and these versions are significantly cheaper, both in construction and for purchase. And of course they’re cheaper to buy! My keys are hand-embellished by me with transparencies and UV reactive resin one at a time. I can’t compete with mass manufacturing. As of now, at least six or seven other Etsy shops are now selling these cheaper versions of my keys, and for less money than my original designs. To say that this is going to directly impact by business and my sales is an understatement.
To say I’m devastated by the whole thing is an understatement too.
And as if that wasn’t enough… Oh wait, there’s more.
We’ve got an artist/small business who’s had their designs ripped off. I hate to see this happen.
It drives me nuts. People like this are the reason we have intellectual property law, but it’s been so gutted and transformed that it mostly exists to protect big name companies these days, and they can afford to defend themselves anyway.
Spread the word around. Do what you can. Don’t harass the Etsy shop owners, but it may be worth sending them a polite message to let them know what’s happened.
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1weaSKx