Someone Re-Branding My Craft Items

[suspiw]

being retired and not of pensionable age, I make handcrafted items and sell on line. Some times listing at a 99p start, which just about covers the cost of materials, auction charges and paypal. Fortunately some of my items sell quite well others hardly rise above the starting price. I have for some time suspected that repeat buyers are re-selling the bargains they buy, not a lot I can do about that, and quite accept you take a chance and some you win, some you loose.

However I have now discovered that one bargain hunter is selling them on as her own handicraft and labelling them as Handcrafted by Herself. She sells at
Tynemouth market and also on line via her own web site. I have visited her website and she is selling fellow crafters work I recognise from the auction site and in her blog mentions she has worked on them. and her own labels can be clearly seen in the photographs.
My action so far , has been to rise my start prices to discourage this sort of activity and with this particular person I have blocked them from bidding on any of my items.
I'm also thinking along the lines of contacting the other sellers she is buying from just to warn them , so they can decide whether or not to sell to her, purely their decision. Obviously I will have to give Her ID and website details in doing this.

How do I stand legally on this. I dont want to inform others only to find myself in some legal proceedure, if she finds out. Many thanks in advance for any advice.

[jno]

tell trading standards she's fraudulently advertising?

[woofgang]

can you PROVE that you made the items that she is selling? If you can PROVE it, I would be approaching her directly.

[suspiw]

They are sold on line with photo, all photos are stored on my computer. I did think about sewing in my own labels , but labels are removeable.

[bednobs]

i don't really understand how a photo you have of something can be proof that another item is yours?

[suspiw]

My question is how do I stand legally with pre warning others of her activities, so they can themselves made a decision whether or not they block her from buying. They can look at her website and see for themselves their work being passed as hers. I fully understand that she has a right to sell on my work, but to claim it has hers is morally wrong , that is where the problem lays.
Bednobs I have proof that the item was sold to her so therfore that is proof enough that she did not make it.

[bravejordy]

To be honest, I'm surprised you're not sewing your own labels into/onto your items already. I agree, they can be removed but that in itself takes time and effort for the person selling your items on as their own and would hopefully act as a deterrent.

[VHG]

Instead of trying to stop her why not make a deal with her that she sells your items but you take a cut.

So you become her wholesaler and she becomes your retailer.

That's how most retail businesses work.

[suspiw]

The items are small hancrafted brooches, on most there is barely room for the brooch back LOL
Anyway the question is 'How do I stand legally , on informing fellow crafters of her activities.'

[suspiw]

VHG, theres to much competion out there for hand craft -work and I dont make that much. If I was to charge for the hours that went into each piece , the items would cost a small fortune. Its a hobby that I enjoy and get pin money from and I also sell at a few craft stalls myself. As said before what I except is that people do sell on.

Its the principle that matters when they sell the work as their own.

[Purple_Popple]

How many items has this 'fraudulent' seller bought off you in total ? Can you account for all the items they have bought off you that they have sold ? Tricky situation to solve.

[jno]

put some sort of logo - your initials maybe? - on each item. It will need to be small if there's not much space, but that's fine - if it's barely visible, a fraudulent reseller may not notice it but it will still show up in court.

[Mamyalynne]

I would be careful going down the legal route - could cost lots.

Simply alert fellow crafters to be aware of regular buyers as there is a possibility they may be rebranding and selling on.

Try to incorporate a strand of different fibre somewhere in your design to make it a bit more recognisable as yours and price your items at a figure that will deter the practice of this particular type.

[Mamyalynne]

Snap!! Jno.

[Purple_Popple]

Or mark each of your pieces with invisible ink (your initials for example) that shows only when a special UV light is shone on them.

[jomifl]

Engrave them on the back, If you haven't already got an engraving tool they aren't expensive. If you can prove that they are made by you then telling other craftspeople would put the ball in her court to prove otherwise.,

[jno]

as for telling other sellers - sure, go ahead. You don't have to say a word, just send them a link to a page on which she's selling something they made. They can draw their own conclusions, which will doubtless be the same as yours.

Is she actually lifting your photos from your own wsebsite, to resell your items? That is uncommonly brazen (or lazy).

[CokeTulip]

This area can be tricky and a few things going on and I expect it happens alot...claiming they created and made the product (if right) is the part that is wrong.

If she buys lots from you then it is more than likely she is passing them off as hers but I honestly dont know how it will be viewed or whether worth any effort - she will move on to someone else but whether she would even get a warning - I dont know.

I certainly know it happens with visual imagery but it is very hard to know about who is doing it unless you are a hawk or you are tipped off. I have a few contacts it happens to and when they find out they do get really upset and in these cases it is a breach of copyrite and they are high price items but they do it because they get away with it.

If you have no brand identity it may be harder but I know artists who do not sign their work because that is part of their style but their work is so distinctive it can easily be proven. I see craft items too that anyone could knock up and lots of people selling very similar items so perhaps easier for her to go unnoticed in the craft areas.

I dont know the answer so I'd have a chat with Trad Standards (as mentioned) and sound them out - if selling new it might be good to have your own site shop and forget about her.

If you both had stalls next to eachother and both claimed you made the products then it confuses and customers wouldn't know who to believe but for small cost items they would buy the cheapest and I dont think they would care. (its only my take on it)

If your products are unique and distinctive it will also make it easier to ID.

[suspiw]

jno, no not lifting my photos of auction site, but using her own with her trading name and copyright.

About to go on line to copy and paste relevant pages from her website blog and sold photo gallery, I think that is a more subtle way forward than actually naming her. Thankyou

[237SJ]

A friend of mine makes handcrafted goods and she put a little signature addition on them. She was showing them at an exhibition and a woman passed comment that her addition was very similar to one used by a major manufacturer. She must have reported my friend to the manufacturer because the next thing my friend knew, she was being threatened with legal action. Her lawyer said that if she fought the case, she would probably win but it would have cost her thousands and she had to condede defeat. The point is, there was no legal problem when the woman reported my friend to the manufacturer so I can`t see there would be a problem with you warning other people about this buyer.

[roopower]

I used to make a lot of bits and bobs - finger puppets, bookmarks etc and sell at local craft fairs. One day I turned up and at the stall next to me the Brownies were selling ( not very good copies) of most not my wares. I wasn't at all happy, but there wasn't much I could do about it. The Brownie leader didn't seem to think it was a problem.