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How can I legally sell my clothes on Etsy and stuff?

So all these people are making shops on Etsy that I find and does anyone know how they make the shirts? Because it's obviousy not "home made" Is it a website?

Also how do they sell stuff with other people's pictures? for example this miley cyrus shirt They didnt take those pictutures how do you sell those do you need permission?

thanks:)

miley cyrus shirt:http://www.etsy.com/listing/167848520/miley-cyrus-...

3 Answers

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  • 7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    There are a number of issues at work here. While etsy started as a "hand-made or vintage only" storefront, it has expanded its definitions a bit now. For example:

    "Manufacturers can help you produce your designs.

    Sellers create their handmade items in many different ways. Partnering with an outside business is okay, but we'll require you to be honest about how your items are made. "

    So, if somebody is DESIGNING the product, someone else can make it and then the "team" can sell it on etsy. Sad, but true.

    The other issue is copyright infringement. Notice that the "team" that is selling the item you have linked is based in Turkey. Turkey probably doesn't bother about copyrights for American artists, so this becomes a grey area about legality of buying these items. If YOU are in the US, however, you are supposed to obey the copyright laws.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    I agree with Carolyn D's answer. I wasn't able to vote for some reason. I think you should do some research, but from what I've heard you are entering a market that is heavily saturated. Without a customer base, you may find it hard to start out. Etsy is a great place to sell handmade stuff, but it is also a hard place to sell if you aren't able to be seen. How Etsy works is when you make a listing your item is on top of the search. As other people post the same thing you go down in the search. So if there are lots of people selling the same thing as you are, you will get lost in the search real quickly. The only way to stay on top is to keep listing more items or relisting the same items. This can become expensive quickly. I don't want to discourage you from doing what you love, I just think you need to have some other type of marketing plan and make sure you have a superior product. Facebook, Twitter, and blogs are great places to get the word out about your products, and send people to your etsy store. If you are planning on just relying on Etsy traffic, you may be very disappointed.

  • Jake
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    Yea the miley shirt probably is a copyright violation, strictly speaking Etsy is only for hand crafted items the seller created, craft supplies or vintage items. They seem to be a bit slack in enforcing he rules, one could buy standard fashion and hand customize it Bedazel? to qualify as being hand crafted.

    Sites like cafepress and zazzle which have millions of pages of user uploaded image designs are probably loaded with copyright, trademark violations.

    The counterfeit authorities who go after fake designer hand bags do occasionally shut down sports jersey sites not paying license fees to the teams.

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