WHY THIS ETSY SELLER GOT BANNED and Lost It All (Avoid This Mistake)

The fact that she ignored the Universal Studios warning is insane dawg. 😭😭😭

As an artist myself who has to fight the countless people and companies illegally using my copyrights and trademark nonstop, often times willfully, I do not have any sympathy for this woman. "I was trying so hard to be successful on etsy." - Her words. How about trying so hard to be CREATIVE and come up with your own designs? This world is filled with people who want to make money off the success of others and when they steal someone else's copyrights and trademarks it is illegal. Period. I think most people like her know exactly what they are doing, then cry publicly when they get caught, to try to get people on their side. I will defend my copyrights and trademarks vehemently. Videos like this one you are sharing are important. Thank you for doing this video.

At the beginning of the video, She said,”I knew better” that says it all.

"Cruel Summer" doesn't make me think of TS, it makes me think of that 80's song by Bananarama.

Etsy to me feels ruined, because people are using it as full incomes, and businesses. Reselling things from stores and claiming its yours, its gone insane! Etsy was meant to be the handmade Ebay, a marketplace for crafters, not people targeting audiences, ripping off copywrites left and right, and doing anything to rip people off for a buck!

I can’t be the only person who links Cruel Summer with Bananarama

She’s lucky Universal didn’t take her to court!

I am an artist, and I really want to sell my paintings and my friend's handmade crafts on Etsy. However, I am very afraid. I see many people on Chinese social media claiming to have tens of thousands of Etsy shops. They teach others how to deceive Etsy, how to pretend they are living in the United States, and they even sell these shops for a certain amount of money. I feel really upset. Why is it that those who genuinely want to become entrepreneurs can't persevere until the end, while scammers have so many shops?

There's nothing more painful than working on a design, creating something and having it stolen and sold, no wqy.

I was just involved in a FB discussion about this last week. An Etsy seller inquired about selling licensed images printed on cards, tee shirts, coffee mugs, etc. I was appalled at how many others in the group advised her to go right ahead. When I commented that to do so is illegal and could result in her shop being shut down, I was practically "booed off the stage." "Everybody does it" was the general consensus. Yeah, maybe a lot people do it and get away with it . . . for a while. As this young lady learned to her sorrow, such actions do not usually lead to a happy ending for the seller involved. I'm an old "play by the rules or get off the court" seller, and the people I coach learn this very quickly. I feel bad for her, but she didn't play by the rules, even after being warned. It's hard to have much sympathy. It's not like they just shut her down with no warning, after all.

Im happy to hear Etsy is cleaning house. It's LONG overdue

I've had my very personal artwork intentionally stolen by another "professional" and it hurt like hell to know someone would stoop to this level. As for Etsy's "holier than thou" approach to their shops, it's hypocritical! They allow plenty of Chinese-made goods to be sold, and you have to know that they aren't individually crafted---they're made in underground sweat shops in Kowloon! I've seen them. As in all areas of merchandising in the U.S., these goods can be sold for pennies over American dollars. Etsy needs to clean their own house before going after anyone.

I got a cease & desist from Warner Bros over some Harry Potter stuff on my Etsy shop. Within seconds I took everything down that was even remotely trademarked and started again. I’ve been fine ever since. No issues. This chick was told and continued selling stuff. On Etsy you get 3 strikes and you’re out. Sounds like this girl had 10 strikes

Yet I saw a shop with 40k listings yesterday with huge revenue and they sell a ton of copyrighted trademarked images on their shop. Yet they don’t get shut down. Why? Because Etsy doesn’t want to lose that successful shops revenue. You can’t convince me that they can’t take a bot that can search Mickey Mouse or other trademarked images and shut those shops down but yet they don’t! There’s a ton of copyrighted infringement images on Etsy yet those people continue to thrive and even have a best seller badges.

As an artist, I'm REALLY happy Etsy is going after copyright infringement. I am SO tired of people who troll social media, copy something someone else created and sell it for a profit. Hey, if you don't want to put in effort to create something unique, you have no right to profit from it.

But, "Cruel Summer" is a phrase. It was a Bananarama song when I was a teenager, and I am pretty sure we used the phrase subsequently. "God Only Knows" - many, many people say it. It's also my wedding song (Beach Boys, covered by David Bowie and by Neil Diamond). If I came across a shirt with that phrase in my regular life (i.e., not searching for it), I might buy it. Is Brian Wilson going after the artist? I have respect for the copyright process. I'm asking out of curiosity and not as a challenge.

I'm actually relieved to see this. I want to start a shop where I will be selling 100% original, handmade, one-of-a-kind junk journals and cards, but I keep bumping into "horror" stories about Etsy, which makes it sound as if Etsy is at fault. This woman clearly and knowingly ripped off copyrighted material. Despite the tears, she, herself, admitted it!. It's actually kind of reassuring to learn that Etsy has standards it upholds. Legally, it would have to have suspended her.

I made this mistake when I first opened my Etsy shop with a Harry Potter design and I learned really quick to avoid anything trademarked regardless of how many other people sell it and get away with it. Sales certainly are slower for me, but it’s better than worrying about being taken down or worse getting sued.

I don't feel bad for her. She knew what she was doing wasn't right and still did it because she saw everyone else doing it.

In the 70’s McDonalds went after a multi generational mechanics garage in rural Ontario west of Kingston that was called McDonalds garage. They actually forced them to change their name which had existed long before the fast food franchise came into existence. Things have obviously gotten way out of hand since then.