Should I sell this product?

[LPPC]

Hi guys,

I am considering selling my first product ever on amazon, but I don't know whether it is the right choice. Please be easy on me, as I am totally new to entrepreneurship. It is a product that is new and is invented by another company. It is about to launch in 2 months, but it is not listed on amazon yet.

There are some sellers that are already selling a copy version of it on Amazon, but they have very few reviews. So I can outcompete them by improving the products on amazon and have better pictures and copy.

But there are also other companies selling copy versions on their own website and not on amazon. The creator of the original product is suing one of these companies for copyright infringement. The court-sitting is still months or maybe years away.

Given my limited knowledge of copyright law, I probably will not be sued if I sell this product. I may get a warning and then I will probably stop. I also think that they won't be able to copyright the product, because there is also no copyright for products such as spoons.

So in short, should I sell my own version of this product with some minor tweaks on Amazon while the competition is very low? I can order 100 pieces of it from Alibaba for 2000 euro's, which is a lot of money for me. Or should I invest it in another product?

 

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[ModernAlpha]

Based on what you wrote above, and the lack of details of the actual product, I'd say talk to an amazing copyright attorney before investing a penny into the products.

My risk/reward assessment from what you mentioned looks like..

Best case scenario, I'll make XX% profit on my investment, cool.

Worst case scenario: get sued, loose my entire investment, deal with legal papers and attorneys for XXX amount of time.

For me, the worst case scenario is an unacceptable risk. But if you talk to an attorney and they can explain to you why you are 100% safe to sell this item, and the profit margin is great, and there is definitely demand for it, THEN I'd invest the money.

 

[Vigilante]

Let me see if I understand your question correctly. You are wanting to know if you should sell a product that:

• is invented by another company and is their intellectual property
• that the creator of the original product is suing one of the knockoff companies for copyright infringement already
• you have limited knowledge of copyright law
• You "probably" won't be sued if you sell this product (based purely on a non-legal opinion)
• At minimum, you anticipate a cease and desist, after which you will be left with unsellable dead inventory
• Based on your limited knowledge of copyright law, you "think" that they won't be able to copyright the product
• You are going to spend your limited funds on a product people are getting sued over, you anticipate getting a cease and desist on, and know that eventually what ever you own is going to be legally frozen

Sounds AWESOME. I'd totally do it. I'd lay it all on the line for this.

*Note that this is not intended as legal advice. Even though it sounds awesome, you likely will get sued, end up with dead inventory, and have to prostitute yourself to pay your legal bills. You'll be homeless, but at least you tried, right? I would advise you to seek the counsel of someone with a legal background, a merchandising background, knowledge in trademarks, and bankruptcy knowledge before you proceed.

 

[Vigilante]

P.S. you don't want people to go easy on you when it comes to investing your money. You want the most critical eyes in the world to tear your concepts apart and see if they can withstand the scrutiny. This one can't. Move on to the next product.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'm not going to comment EXTENSIVELY but I will say this: The folks at Fastlane are looking at building sustainable businesses, not rackets.

 

[Vigilante]

I'm not going to comment extensively but I will say this: The folks at Fastlane are looking at building sustainable businesses, not rackets.

That was a comment.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

That was a comment.

I fixed it.

 

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[LPPC]

Thank you very much guys. And you are right Vigilante, I appreciate the critical eyes and advice. It also did not feel right ethically too.