[djwinarick]

Hi all,

I have been reading this post and am very impressed with all the helpful answers people provide. I have some questions.

I have some unique designs printed on t shirts from American Apparel, Gilden, etc. Is it legal to sell these shirts without a resellers permit?

Basically, can you sell shirts that have another companies tag in them like AA if the design on the shirt is your own unique design? How does one get their own tag on a shirt?

Thanks.

 

[treadhead]

I don't think there is any reason you can't have your own unique design on a shirt with a label on it such as Gildan, AA, etc. It's done all the time. As far as getting your own tag inside the shirt, search the forum and you will find alot of info on this.

Good luck!

 

[Manster]

You can resell the shirts without fear from AA or any of the blank manufacturers. You need the state tax license though to sell them legally.

 

[djwinarick]

You can resell the shirts without fear from AA or any of the blank manufacturers. You need the state tax license though to sell them legally.

Thanks for your reply. Do you know how I would obtain a tax license for New York?

Thanks.

 

[COEDS]

I would check with the city's auditor and treasurer office for tax ID info. .... JB

 

[Colorfast]

Thanks for your reply. Do you know how I would obtain a tax license for New York?

Thanks.

This may be a good place to start:

Sales and use tax

 

[TripleT]

The New York State Department of Tax and Finance

Department of Taxation and Finance

 

[djwinarick]

Thanks. I have a shirt whose design is definitely questionable in terms of copy right infringement i think. It is a celebrity whose image has been altered (it is a parody shirt). From what I understand, parody and copyrights are a gray area. Does anyone have any advice about how to find out if a design is infringement a head of time? Would an intellectual property lawyer provide that service? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your time.

Cheers.

 

[COEDS]

I would contact a attorney for legal advice. They will be your best source for the right answer. ... JB

 

[Solmu]

Does anyone have any advice about how to find out if a design is infringement a head of time? Would an intellectual property lawyer provide that service?

Yup. Even they can't guarantee what will and won't get you sued, but they can give you the most informed opinion on what is likely to happen. They can also advise you on what to do if you are sued, provide representation if that happens, etc. Like business relationships in general, it's good to build one with a lawyer in advance of needing them if you can afford that.

 

[djwinarick]

Thanks man.

whats your opinion selling through fulfillment sites (cafepress or other smaller ones) as opposed to doing your own website, checkout, etc.?

 

[Solmu]

whats your opinion selling through fulfillment sites (cafepress or other smaller ones) as opposed to doing your own website, checkout, etc.?

Personally, I'm against it. Most of us need to start small, but I think there are better ways to accomplish that (like selling to your local market, or using mid-ground options like BigCartel that aren't as good as your own site or as bad as a Cafepress site).

The only fulfilment site I would use would be a multi-service one like PrintMojo that screenprints their product, or a traditional fulfilment centre where you provide the product that you source yourself. But I wouldn't use a site like Cafepress.

Plenty of people will tell you it worked for them, so it depends on what you're doing. Personally I'm trying to build a quality brand, and they don't fit with my business model.

I think there's almost nothing that works on a site like Cafepress that couldn't have worked better somewhere else (their marketplace search means that's not necessarily true 100% of the time... hence almost).

A couple of exceptions would be something very of the moment like "George Bush doesn't care about black people", which might do better on a site like Cafepress where it takes less time to populate search results. Also, really atrociously designed product - it won't sell anywhere, but it's more likely to sell on Cafepress than a standalone site no-one will ever see. Or something you only ever expect to sell a couple of (in which case I probably just wouldn't do it, but that's me).

These are low-end exceptions for dabblers and hobbyists though. Cafepress can also work for business orientated people who want to make a buck in any way possible (i.e. not designers). Great if that's what you're doing, but not otherwise.

What I'm getting at is if you just want to get a product, any product out there, use a fulfilment centre (in its favour, it will do that efficiently). If you want it to be at all finely crafted, don't.

Not everyone focuses on the things I focus on though, so not everyone will see it the same way.

 

[djwinarick]

Thanks. I agree that quality is very important and it seems clear that my own website would be the best way to go as well to use the local market. Nothing against fulfillment sites, but it seems like its better for the brand to have a free standing website.

Cheers,

D

 

[COEDS]

This way you have total control of all aspects. ..... JB