Start a 'cottage industry'... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

picklepick

some websites that have patterns on allow you to use them to make and sell and other dont. you'd need to check the terms and conditions of each site. what sort of thing did u want to make?

picklepick

this one for example allows u to use his patterns to make and sell
http://dollmaker.nunodoll.com/

im making the cats for my sister haha. shes obsessed!

rejb68

Hi

Have seen things like fleeces which fold up into pillows and other useful stuff for kids. Not on websites, just in different shops.

Rej

Frugaldom

Copyright & using pictures, patterns & designs - you cannot print off other people's pictures, patterns or designs without having permission of the copyright holder, but an 'idea' cannot be copyrighted. Copyright is automatically assumed to beling to the creator of the original work. As an example, we make & sell various merchandise & promotional items using our own photographs (we take the photographs or produce the original artwork ourselves), however, we later discovered that some of low resolution scans had been copied from the web and were being used on commercially produced CDs for sale on eBay. Although the items were removed, eBay didn't appear interested in pursuing the matter! I no longer sell on eBay for this, among other reasons.

Copyright laws are a nightmare, hence the reason you shouldn't copy anything and reproduce it anywhere without checking first. A good example is this very site - MSE assumes copyright on anything that gets written here and can reproduce it anywhere. We, however, would be infringing on MSE copyright if we copied and pasted anything from here to elsewhere. So, be careful what you say on here of you don't want to lose the right to publish it elsewhere. Some patterns and designs can be reproduced free of charge but always make sure they can be reproduced commercially, as opposed to 'for personal use', as there is a difference. Copyright licenses can cost a fair amount of money and they are normally allocated on a 'per copy' basis.

On the flipside, I have no idea what the penalty is for anyone caught infringing copyright.

Hope everyone is doing well. My act still isn't at the 'get it together' stage, so I'm still not any richer. :rotfl:

PS: Watch out for patents and trademarks, you can't copy them either. :rolleyes: Best bet is if you come up with a really great design or product, protect it in every way you can and then earn a residual income from licensing it out for others to use.

Evie82

I cant knit or so to save my life so i resort to ebay alot for dolls clothes for my 2 daughters.
They adore the knitted, homely looking items for there baby annabels etc they really dont like the shop bought bits.

I have purchased many items such as romper suits, dresses and jackets for dolls off there and they seem to sell fast. Any item for a real baby that can be recreated for a doll sells well, such as knitted snow suits, booties and vests.
I have also bought barbie clothes off ebay that have been hand made.

For ideas for others looking to make money on ebay, from personal experience amongst friends and I, the things we go to ebay to buy are Dolls clothes ( themed are great, such as High School Musical and Hannah Montana) and ready made party bags, again themed, such as home made lollys with personal gift tags.
Also Reward charts that have been personalised.

I wish i was creative enough to make this stuff myself, instead im probably indirectly buying it off some of you talented people.

JimmyTheWig

Evie82 wrote: »

For ideas for others looking to make money on ebay, from personal experience amongst friends and I, the things we go to ebay to buy are Dolls clothes ( themed are great, such as High School Musical and Hannah Montana) and ready made party bags, again themed, such as home made lollys with personal gift tags.
Also Reward charts that have been personalised.

Thanks for the tips, Evie. It's always good to get "customer" feedback.

What are the copyright implications on doing, say, HSM stuff?

Evie82

I have no clue.

I bought some home made, marshmallow stick lollys, covered in chocolate, wrapped in cello with pretty ribbon attached and on it is a little label with a HSM picture and a message next to it saying " Thank you for coming to ******* Birthday party".

The picture on it of HSM is on the net so i guess the seller just used that.

I paid for 6 Lollys for £4.80 which i think is really reasonable and I would be more than happy to buy again. Kids havent eaten them yet but they look wonderful, im tempted to have one!

Frugaldom

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Thanks for the tips, Evie. It's always good to get "customer" feedback.

What are the copyright implications on doing, say, HSM stuff?

It is illegal - the seller is either chancing their arm, has purchased a license from the copyright holders or has express permission of the copyright holders to profit from their name, which may even be a Trademark. Also, hopefully this seller is licensed for producing foodstuffs for resale.

Evie82, perhaps it would be wise to remove the seller's name from your post, as it isn't really fair to name someone when the debate is about whether or not their items are legal.

JimmyTheWig

nykmedia wrote: »

It is illegal - the seller is either chancing their arm

That's what I thought, but thought I'd better check before accusing someone.

We got some personalised Disney placemats from eBay the other day (colour printed A4 sheets, laminated) which would have been another good moneymaker... had it been legal.

RosaThorne

Buying chocolate covered marshmallows?! I didn't realise you could.
You've bought back some memories, my Mum used to make all my dolls clothes (knitted and sewn) and made a bit selling them at school fetes - She was in the money on those as she only used scraps and offcuts

How much do you need to personalise a pattern to scrap the copyright? I'm currently using a 60 year old pattern, changed the fabric and the trimmings - It looks similar, but not the same...