funkymonkey66

Good product, proper marketing,good business sense and relationships and a little luck or one could call it divine intervention I suppose.

I was thinking about this the other day when I was going to order from Just Scent. 47.00 UPS shipping on a 50lb box from OH to NY. More than double my rate and I know I'm not getting her volume discount, but 47 was double the advertised rate on UPS without an account so:undecided.

Maybe the cart is not configured right.

I charge a flat rate and even if it's a 5.00 difference I still will NOT refund the difference. Flat rate is flat rate. When a large order costs me 60.00 to ship to CA I'm not standing there with my hand out expecting the customer to pay the additional shipping so vice versa.

You just have to ignore it. People like that are not only out for blood but they live for your response. If you post a response defending yourself and "make it right" you open a new can of worms. Everyone in the same circle will have an issue all of the sudden, and they'll all expect you to refund them or replace things at your expense knowing if they write a bad review = free. Draw your lines, stick to your policy and ignore the rejects that want to stir the pot and crusade to ruin your business. People get it and don't take them seriously. Remember you give them power when you fear cyberbully extortion. Who cares what they have to say.

I despise Facebook and I think it does more harm than good for the small business. I refuse to have a facebook page and the allot of the candle and B&B vendors are worse than the actual customers. It's cut throat and I do just fine without the BS or fake customer reviews by envious competitors trying to make a buck at your expense.

I'm sorry this is happening to you, I know it's sickening, and I've been there.

I googled her and found this http://travis.pflanz.me/2011/hot-coffee-2011/

Disturbing images. However, I'm going out on a limb and even though it was horrible what happened to this poor lady she spilled it on herself. McDonalds didn't throw it on her. And if in fact these are the real pictures of this woman, I just don't see how a liquid heated to 180 would cause that kind of damage. Those images look more like a flesh eating disease than a burn from a cup of coffee.

No he totally did. But she STILL insisted it was the tart burner that was defective. Some people are really just that stupid I guess. I think it was a con, who knows if she even has a coffee table.

Ditto. If you have to ask if it's too similar or are concerned you could be sued because it is , then you already have your answer. Respect their efforts and unique branding and hopefully people will respect yours.

God and a case a beer isn't going to help that situation lol.

Nobody wants to put in the time or research and testing. Instant gratification and a fast buck.

Anyone know of a supplier that carries a dupe of Alterna's bamboo smooth kendi oil fragrance. It's the best smell I've ever smelled.

I don't know if anyone is comfortable with sharing, but I am curious to see how much we grossed this year as compared to last on internet sales vs. craft show and brick and mortar stores.

My sales volume is up since last year but the $ amt. is down per transaction slightly.

I have mystical powers.... no I hit a 7 instead of the 4 so it was a 24lb box- sorry.:smiley2:

The big big C box? That thing is expensive to ship!! No way would I try to use that again.

Shipping within my state for 27lbs came out to 30.00... UPS was 16 and it was insured for an extra 200.00 included in that price.

Looks like Yankee is raising their prices again. $27.99 for the largest jar, and $24.99 for the Med.

No, I didn't make the tealight.

I don't think it's tort reform. I think it's all people in general need to pull their heads out of their rear ends and stop making their stupidity someone else's fault. Just own the actions and move on. If you burned your table, you go buy another one.

Sadly, so many people in the world are conditioned they deserve compensation for every little thing. Even sadder is that good people like us pay the price.

GTbags.com

Best salt bar hands down I've ever tried was from Wylde Ivy. I don't know what it is, it melts really fast maybe good for 3 uses but it's wonderful.I don't think any soap was used in hers because it doesn't foam, it's a solid salt butter and it's divine.

Your basic candle making policy should cover it. However, just the simple fact that someone can claim something like this and get paid boggles the mind.

And yes lol it's very 80's maybe even 60's. People blame everyone but themselves. This comes close to the woman that left her house with a candle burning a few years back, cat knocked it over, burned her million dollar house down and she went after the candle manufacture. God forbid she blamed herself or her cat at the very least but it was the manufacture who was at fault in her mind.

I don't know, maybe I'm odd, if I burned a hole in my table, I'd get angry at myself and put a vase or book on the table to cover my stupid mistake. Not cause a fuss and file a claim with the store that sold me the tart burner.

Long story short. Woman comes into my husbands store and wants the manufacture # for the tart burner she bought 4 years ago. Claimed it was defective and a fire hazard because it burnt her $500 coffee table. Woman admits she is an avid tart user and knows exactly what she's doing. Apparently she decided to change tarts and took the burning tealight out and placed it on the coffee table and left it sit there on her table while she was dumping out the old tart. This she claims caused a burn and it's the stores fault, the tart burners fault and now my husbands problem. LOL

So much for personal accountability.I just don't understand how someone could blame anyone but themselves for something like that.

I would call her post office and let the post master research it from here. On your end you are fine. Insurace is not going to matter if it says it was delivered. You've done everything correct.

At any point this woman could blog about it. So what. Don't respond.

Very interesting snowman. Thanks for the contribution friend, both opinion,input on the uselessness of Trademarks and free to use innovative idea to hot glue a small magnet to a candle base.

I always appreciate the other side of the coin.

Thanks for clearing that up snowman. As I said, I can't say too much at this point but I can say in my case that extensive homework was done before the decision was made : )

I agree about overseas, it's impossible unless you're a multi-million dollar company like NB which spends over 2 million a year defending their mark.

So I have to ask, did you get permission from the bottle manufacture to copy their design and if not what would you do if they sent you a C&D for making molds of their design?

Here's a negative opinion. Trademarks are a must to have if you have a product with nationwide sales potential. However, if your trademark is copied or partially copied, you got to prove it was done with intent to deprive you of sales and income. Frequently hard to do. But here is the reality check, you got to sue the copier for your damages - which is also hard to prove. How many sales did the copier deprive you of? Do you have a sales organization that would have sold to copier's customers if not for their infringement. A lot of attorneys will take any case if you got the dollars. You can usually determine the value of your claim if the attorney will take it on a contingency basis. So you get a judgment against the copier, now you have to collect your judgment. If the copier does not have a large bank account or real property you can attach, you are SOL. My opinion, trademarks are of little value unless you have the potential for sales to generate the dollars to enforce it.

However in my case which I can't go to far into detail pending all the litigation. I have proved it and the law firm I hired happens to be one of the top trademark law firms in the US. I am very confident I'll win

Your information isn't entirely correct but there's plenty of information on the internet regarding Trademarks and the law like fines and jail yada yada.

From your reality check post it sounds as if you're saying it's okay to steal as long as you're not taking too much, which is beyond comprehension. lol Not the way it works, someone can't just steal a little and it's not going unpunished. Stealing is stealing and if you've Trademarked the law is on your side.

Google and customers asking if I opened another business. She was able to tag along to my name when she used part of it in her Co. name. Must be nice, I've paid my dues for 8 years on the net trying to move up and she just chopped the name so it's similar and right to the top she went. That along with copying my logo and products etc. AND I have to thank God for facebook. I've copied more evidence off her pages and it's going to be a slam dunk for us.

Trademark infringement is some serious stuff. We're even going after the retailers she wholesales to, craft fairs she sells at etc. She had a chance to just stop and walk away after the C&D but I guess she just couldn't help from her nature of being a lazy thief hitching a free ride. Trust me, she'll pay alright And once the courts are done I'm going back to Disney for a week on her dime.

Yeah, it would be 4. But keep in mind if you're in NY and someone else is in FL with the same name it's not worth the paper it's written on if it's not Federal. Something to think about.

Well what do you make, candles or candles and B&B. Is that example for a state? I would skip state and do federal. Cover all the states instead of just one.

I'll look at my trademark certs. It has the class on there. I actually registered a few names/products to protect myself even more in multiple classes so I'll see what the paperwork says.:smiley2:

Since I've recently been infringed upon and now filed a federal lawsuit against the SOB that stole from me my attorney handles everything. Gotta love trademarks lol

Make sure to run a nationwide search before you try to trademark (even in your state). If there is something too similar your application will get denied and you will not get your money back.

uspto.gov has a section to do the basic search but the examiner will have the final say as long as no one opposes it. Good luck.

I hope it works out for you, let us know if you get it and if it clears.