I'm starting the morning off with another copyright warning.
http://needleworkcopyright.blogspot.com/2014/12/choose-where-to-spend-your-hard-earned.html
The site I linked to above is really geared towards cross stitch and other counted types of embroidery that are worked from charts but it brings up a good point--know the seller. Many legitimate shops sell needlepoint via eBay and Etsy. I know many sellers on eBay and Etsy personally who like the ease of use to reach a new audience for their designs, to get established, or to sell excess stock from their brick-and-mortar shop. There are many many legitimate sellers. There are a ton of crooks, too.
So use a little common sense. Is the seller brand new or established? Do you recognize the seller name? Is there a real shop or designer behind the sale? Is this a design based on copyrighted material (Disney, Harry Potter, etc.) that isn't normally available? Look carefully at the design. Is something off about it which might indicate a copy instead of an original painted canvas? If something is on offer for a really really really low price, why? If it is an older design, that makes sense, but a brand new canvas offered at half the normal price--well, that doesn't seem right, does it?
If something seems off to you, don't buy. Trust your instincts and walk away from a bargain that sends up alarm bells. There will always be something else wonderful to add to your stash later. For me it's not worth patronizing crooks to get a good deal that ends up costing the designers we admire. In the long run that hurts the world of needlepoint more than getting a good deal helps the individual stitcher.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright December 31, 2014 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Choose Who You Patronize Carefully
Labels:
copyright,
counted canvaswork,
counted thread,
cross stitch,
eBay,
Etsy,
problems,
shops,
XS
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3 comments:
Thanks Jane. And amen!!!
Thanks for posting this! It irritates me to no end when people steal like this! I know of a brick and mortar needlepoint shop that copies and paints canvases of other artists and sell them as such. I know of an artist (well known) who this happened to. I don't remember the whole story of why she was unable to stop them but I think a lot of it was the cost involved. It wasn't an easy process. And this shop sells online as well so I shudder to think how many people are buying fraudulent canvases without knowing.
Nancy P
It is not easy to stop copyright theft and it is expensive to boot. I can understand how a designer would find it hard to stop a shop. I bet word of mouth might put an end to it, though. If all the designers know a shop is stealing from one, they might blacklist them.
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