However, if you plan to do this as a business, some problems arise. First of all, you have warranty issues. If you operate this business not as an official reseller, but as a reseller “under the table” without an agreement with the manufacturer, you risk voiding the warranties it gives to the first consumer, but not to the customers to whom you have resold the goods. On Etsy, you can only sell vintage, accessories, and crafts – these are things you`ve done or designed yourself and a production partner is doing for you, and it`s not Nike/Adidas, etc. @AnniebelloPaper I`m well aware of reselling brand names on Etsy. That`s why I don`t do that. What I mentioned is that the company I order from told me that I can legally sell their items that I order because I am allowed with them to add logos and designs to the clothes and then sell them. I also mentioned that I don`t sell them on Etsy. Be healthy:) If you`re an authorized seller, you can use the brand name, but not on Etsy. Resale is not allowed unless it is a classic car or a craft supply. In short, you have some tricky legal and accounting issues here. If you are determined to move forward, make sure you get sound professional advice in order to be protected. But as the redbox example shows, the legality of resale becomes darker when someone resells products as a company.

We live in a time when anyone can create an online store through Amazon or eBay, or even create their own ecommerce site. Not surprisingly, it`s becoming increasingly common for business owners to scour physical retailers for products to sell or evict and put them online through an online store. This is a practice known as “retail arbitrage” – buy low and sell high. I thought you could not sell designer clothing (para. B example, Nike, Lululemon, Adidas, etc.), but I see many of these items for sale. Does anyone know what the actual policy is in terms of selling branded products? But an unauthorized reseller – or an authorized seller who cancels or violates the license – uses protected trademarks, which in fact infringe the manufacturer`s intellectual property. You can refer to brand names when naming and describing your products – you don`t have to omit any reference to “Nike” or “Air Force 1”. But when you start using brand names and logos as part of your storefront and marketing efforts, you cross the line with trademark counterfeiting. If you are a small operation, you can fly under the radar. But the more successful you are, the more likely you are to get caught. At a high level when it comes to physical goods, the process of easy storage of goods for resale has been completely legal for many years.

Where things get complicated is where you start doing more than just stockpiling goods, and that`s where contacting a lawyer is a good idea. To find out how we can help you, contact us by phone at (916) 760-8265 or send us a message via our contact form. You must first register your business with your state and local government. This also includes giving your business a name and structure. Consider signing up as an LLC for the protection and benefits it offers you as a small business. If you do business in multiple states, you will need to register with each state. There are many companies that are authorized resellers of products. In these cases, companies enter into contracts with rights holders for the sale of “real” property. The biggest feature of a license agreement is that it allows a reseller to use the rights holder`s trademarks to promote the products. Everyone knows that it is perfectly legal to resell an item you have purchased, including cars, furniture, clothes, bells and whistles, etc. But there has been controversy when it comes to the media. For example, Disney filed a lawsuit against Redbox for reselling downloadable movie codes.

But under the first-sale doctrine, courts have long recognized the right of the general public to resell used video and music media that fall under certain licensing restrictions. Once the rights holder has made this “first sale” to the consumer, their control over the physical object ends, and the consumer can do whatever they want (as long as they don`t make copies). You can`t “enhance” any of them in any way and sell them wherever I don`t sell those brands, but I`ve been told I only have permission if I personalize. The order of the company of I inquired, since I am an approved seller of these clothes, it is allowed. I just never did because I feel like I`d be reported all the time. I am so opposed to destruction that I understand why people would assume it is not legitimate. Send a quote request or request for additional information to the branded clothing company for which you want to sell clothing. Most major brands offer licensing information to sell their clothing brands. Send your offer directly to the company or, if the company allows it, send it electronically. In general, it is not illegal to resell an item that you have purchased legally. Once you`ve bought something at retail, you can work with it at will. Manufacturers tend to have little or no control over a product that goes beyond the first customer they sell to.

In general, when selling clothes, you only need a retail license, since there is no specialized commercial license for the sale of branded products. You must obtain permission from the trademark owner to sell their products. Your business may also need to purchase a resale license, which allows you to purchase the apparel from the clothing retailer for free. People have been selling ever since. Well, the beginning of time, I guess, but for short, let`s move quickly into 2020. Savings are at their all-time high. Growing up, I wouldn`t be caught dead with good will, but now, pfft. it`s THE PLACE to be. I will come to The Goodwill 30 minutes earlier to get the first dibs. Goodwill, especially “garbage cans,” sells thousands of designer brands at a significant discount. You can even find luxury brands like Christian Louboutin, Gucci and Prada, up to 90% + discount.

Thirdly, there are VAT problems. With your current business model (retail purchase and resale), you have two levels of sales tax. You have to pay to get the goods and your buyer has to pay when you sell the goods. You can apply for approval from a reseller, but to get a reseller license, you`ll first need to file an application with your state tax department, which includes a sales tax identification number. And sales tax congestion can include penalties and interest that are imposed on you personally. You can`t hide behind your business unit when they happen. In 1998, Enesco, the maker of the “Precious Moments” line of ceramic figurines, won a lawsuit against wholesaler Costco. Enesco has gone to great lengths to control the distribution and sale of their figurines for quality control and marketing purposes. But in the late `90s, Costco began buying figurines, removing them from the packaging of its bulky rifle box, and repackaging them into clear blisters.

Retailers usually have to purchase special licenses to sell branded or branded clothing. License agreements vary by brand and company. Some brands require retailers to enter into licensing agreements that prevent them from marking or marking their products. In addition, some brands prohibit retailers from selling products made by competitors. A retailer interested in taking branded apparel with them must contact each company that meets a company`s licensing requirements directly, sign a written agreement setting out their legal obligations as an authorized retailer, and agree on a share of the profits or royalties. If you put your items up for sale, as tempting as it may be, you can`t use an archive photo. Archival photos are considered intellectual property, which can sometimes also infringe a trademark. .