A hero or a zero?

ejmaztec

I was toying with the idea of posting this in the Consumer Issues or Rip-off Ireland fora, but it doesn't seem to fit.

As far as I can see, he shouldn't have fitted out his shop to look like a Hollister store, but needing a licence to sell Abercrombie & Fitch goods in Ireland seems a bit "price-controlling" to me. If it was a licence to sell air-to-air missiles or rocket-launchers, okay, but clothing? Nah!

I don't know what he was charging for the A&F goods, so don't know whether or not he was under-cutting the sellers with licences.

Catch of the day: fisherman on hook for selling top brand

By Barry Duggan

Saturday July 14 2012

A FISHERMAN who landed almost 600 items of clothing from a Florida store has been taken to court here by an American clothing giant -- after he set up a replica shop.

Max Kulczynski has agreed to return the branded clothing -- thought to be worth at least €10,000 -- to the American brand Abercrombie & Fitch.
He had been selling the clothing from a converted shop at the back of his home in Kilkee, Co Clare, when gardai raided the premises earlier this year.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/catch-of-the-day-fisherman-on-hook-for-selling-top-brand-3167987.html

MidlandsM

is there a stupid ejit option?

My name is URL

It's illegal to sell trademarked goods from the US in Ireland without a license? Adverts.ie and the like are up **** creek in that case!

What a load of bollix it is. And what's worse is the Gardai are basically acting as a corporate enforcers in cases like this.

ejmaztec

MidlandsM wrote: »

is there a stupid ejit option?

I was trying to avoid mentioning that one

ejmaztec

My name is URL wrote: »

It's illegal to sell trademarked goods from the US in Ireland without a license? Adverts.ie and the like are up **** creek in that case!

What a load of bollix it is. And what's worse is the Gardai are basically acting as a corporate enforcers in cases like this.

It seems a bit of a joke, when there are probably millions, or even billions made in the sale of knock-off goods around the world, and some guy in Kilkee gets a knock on the door for selling the genuine article.

MidlandsM

My name is URL wrote: »

It's illegal to sell trademarked goods from the US in Ireland without a license? Adverts.ie and the like are up **** creek in that case!

What a load of bollix it is. And what's worse is the Gardai are basically acting as a corporate enforcers in cases like this.

to sell and to "retail" are 2 different things ....this guy had a whole shop, retailing the stuff. He knew well what he was at........but fair play to him........at least he was trying to make a living, its not like he was money laundering, diesel laundering or drug dealing.

From the tiny excerpt that you gave, OP, I thought he was out fishing and came across a big box full of clothing that had washed up on the beach or something (like a cartoon TNT crate or the likes).

I thought he just stumbled across them, took/stole them and sold them, and that's what the issue was.

What a terrible writer (not the OP, The journalist) What a crap way to explain something. "Fisherman lands clothing" actually means "Man (who completely unrelated, also happens to fish) imports purchased goods from another country, and sells them without relevant license".

ejmaztec

Deleted User wrote: »

From the tiny excerpt that you gave, OP, I thought he was out fishing and came across a big box full of clothing that had washed up on the beach or something (like a cartoon TNT crate or the likes).

I thought he just stumbled across them, took/stole them and sold them, and that's what the issue was.

What a terrible writer (not the OP, The journalist) What a crap way to explain something. "Fisherman lands clothing" actually means "Man (who completely unrelated, also happens to fish) imports purchased goods from another country, and sells them without relevant license".

I bet the journo thought "fisherman!", then spent 8 hours trying to come up with something good, but failed and gave us that article instead.

admiralofthefleet

My name is URL wrote: »

It's illegal to sell trademarked goods from the US in Ireland without a license? Adverts.ie and the like are up **** creek in that case!

What a load of bollix it is. And what's worse is the Gardai are basically acting as a corporate enforcers in cases like this.

my father in law calls the gardai 'government tax collectors' because thats all they are seen to be doing

ringadingding

I wonder what his mark up was? I mean to buy the items from a shop, ship them home, turn a room into a fake hollister shop and sell them.

It sounds more hassle than it's worth tbh

1ZRed

Abercrombie owns hollister. Anyway Abercrombie is very finicky about their brand and where they sell it, and what the store looks like. All their money is made an brand and image so I don't really blame them or care even tbh.
It's kind of like apple that won't let the iPhone appear in any ad along with a competing phone or they have requirements in place if you ever want to sell their products, you need to adhere to them. Notice how if you walk into currys, the iPad will (or should) have its own stand.

ejmaztec

At least the US didn't try and get him extradited like they seem to do with everybody else.

dvpower

A company invests in its brand and then wants to protect it.

This is a non story.

My name is URL

dvpower wrote: »

A company invests in its brand and then wants to protect it.

This is a non story.

How exactly was he endangering their brand? Some yokel selling a few jumpers from his kitchen in Kilkee isn't going to take down a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Besides, he legally purchased the items. Hollister aren't even looking for legal costs, which suggests that they know full well that they don't have much of a case against him. They've scared your man into returning the clothes and removing a few rails from his gaff.. their company has well and truly being saved from the brink of collapse.

How dare some fella sell on the stuff he has legally purchased. He should be paying millionaires and Chinese sweatshop owners a premium for doing so.. the scumbag.

Capt'n Midnight

dvpower wrote: »

A company invests in its brand and then wants to protect it.

This is a non story.

Blocking grey imports has more to do with protecting profits that with brands.

It's not like there are technical differences that mean the clothes operate sub optimally over here.

Unless A&F announce that the US clothes are actually inferior quality then it's just a case of fleecing Europeans to subsidise US customers.