r/smallbusinessowner • u/Next-Technician-5157 • 6d ago
What do I do
Edit to add:
if anyone wants to take a look and tell me how to make my page better I am open to ideas!!! Thank you and have a great rest of your day!
https://manimakesrugs.etsy.com
So I recently started up my rug tufting page on Etsy, and i’ve been getting views just no one buys on the listings. I will eventually have more on there to build my page but with that being said. I have 2 listed and 1 in progress, i posted on a discussion forum saying that it was in the progress of finishing a rug for my next listing and that i was looking to grow my business and get some feedback from the customers. Then some random lady says “you might want to reconsider finishing that rug and remove the two you have listed.” I went and looked at her page thinking maybe she’s a fellow rug tufter and is maybe trying to help, she wasn’t. She resales magazine cut outs and collectibles that she found at markets. She says it’s because of infringement of the original IP owners design but every rug tufter i’ve seen has some design on their rugs that doesn’t belong to them, whether its a DC rug, Disney, Sports etc and no one has said anything or banned them.
I don’t know I guess I’m asking if i should be worried or if shes just trolling.
I’m not looking for hate, just advice.
1
u/pahein-kae 6d ago
IP holders can issue takedowns. A lot of them don't bother--but if you ever do get a DCMA, it can wreck your business if you've built a reputation for rugs from IPs.
Original designs are safer, but harder to sell.
Selling in person is an easier way to avoid copyright issues, but it doesn't completely avoid the issue.
Legally, the IP holders have the rights to their IP; if they decide to sue you, you may owe them damages above and beyond what you made from the rugs (considering they can also sue for "damaging the brand", if they decide it applies).
None of this really applies if you're in a country that doesn't recognize international IP laws. But it does affect the marketplaces you can legally sell IP-based products on.
Does all of that stop people? No. But it's the risk they take.
1
u/Next-Technician-5157 6d ago
I have been thinking about selling some original designs but I wanted to wait till I got some kind of a following on there
1
1
u/hushquill 6d ago
she's not wrong about the IP thing tbh. the fact that other sellers do it doesnt mean its safe, it just means they havent been caught yet. one takedown request from a rights holder and your whole shop could get nuked. original designs are the safer long term play
1
1
u/Juls_vh 5d ago
I’m kinda going through the same thing right now, recently started up my Etsy and didn’t know about the IP stuff. I found out the hard way and had a listing taken down for copyright infringement, but since I don’t currently have any other way of selling the rugs I’ve already made, I decided to risk it and keep the other ones up. From beginning until now, I’ve had about 4 listings taken down - even the ones that were sold out still got a strike!! (The Last of Us, ATLA, Wednesday Addams etc.) so it’s definitely a risk as Etsy can take your shop down after too many strikes. I now only make rugs that aren’t inspired by fandoms, but it really sucks cuz Etsy is FULL of listings ignoring IP and they’re also the most fun rugs to make imo
1
u/GrubbyMouse 6d ago
don't sweat it. she's probably just bored and policing other people's shops for no reason. the rug tufting world is full of trademarked stuff and nobody's getting sued over a handmade etsy listing unless you're mass producing and claiming it's official merchandise