Steph: Do you have a friend that is starting to copy a lot of your Etsy
products? You are looking on their store, whether it's on Etsy or their own website,
or even on Facebook Marketplace, and you're looking at their items and you're thinking,
"That looks familiar." Then keep watching this video.
Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel. So, today we're talking about a fun topic and
it is actually something that I am getting asked more and more. The more shops there are that are
coming on Etsy, the more people want to make a bit of extra money on the side the more this
question is being asked. And that question is this, "My friend has started copying my
products. My friend has really started to make things that are exact same things as what I make.
My friend is just blatantly taking my ideas and undercutting me on cost. How do I deal with this?
What do I say to them? And how do I stop it?" Well, these are all things that we're going
to be covering in this video. But guys, if you haven't already, please give this video a big,
big thumbs up and subscribe if you haven't already, because let's be honest, if you
have a handmade business that you're serious about you're not subscribed to this channel,
what the heck are you doing? Go subscribe. Okay. Copycat friends. Copycat friends are
friends that basically copy your products. Now these could be friends that have shown signs of
copying you in the past. Copy your haircut, copy the makeup you buy. Copy the way you walk. Yes,
this is a real thing. But when it comes to copying your products within your business that you have
come up with yourself, then this is something that starts to cross a line. And personally, it
is something that I have had to deal with in the past. Now they weren't friends per se, we're not
friends anymore just going to put that out there, but they were people that were acquaintances that
I helped out. And it kind of came back to bite me in the bum. So, I'm going to explain to you how I
dealt with it and give you some tips and tricks. So, the very first thing that you want to do,
so you've discovered that your friend is copying your items, the very first thing
you want to be doing is to just stop telling them what you're doing. Just make a point of
not to mention your business at all. Just not to mention it, don't even go there because you
want to cut off the source of their information. Now I know that you were saying to me, "Steph,
they are literally going onto my social channels and they're literally going onto my Etsy shop
and copying it from there." We're going to address that in a second, but you just want to cut off any
source of insider information that you are giving them. So, immediately stop talking about your
business to them. Just completely just say no. And if they ask you about it, you just either
politely change the conversation, say "Yes, my business is going fine, thank you." And move on.
Or you could just say, "Look, I am having some downtime. I'd rather not talk about my business
if that's okay. So, how are things with you, Mandy?" Do you know what I mean? You just want
to completely change the conversation. I'm interrupting my own video to ask you
a question. So, you're watching this because you want more Etsy sales, right? And did you
know that conversion rate is absolutely the key if you want to do that on Etsy and beyond. You
want to build a thriving business and amazing brand all on Etsy. If you want to do that,
then you need to grab this free masterclass. It's insanely valuable. It's happening today.
Secure your free spot using the link in the description box below. And I can't wait to see you
on the inside. Now let's get back to the video. The next thing you want to do is block them. Block
them, block them, block them. You do not want them going onto your socials, going on to your
Etsy shop. And yeah. I have a video on my channel showing you how to block someone. So, go and find
that, that will be around here somewhere. But you need to block that person on Etsy. It can be done.
You can do it on Instagram, Facebook, everything like that. You want to
block this person from seeing any of your posts. You literally want to cut them off
at the root of their source of information. Okay? So, that is why I'm saying, don't tell them what
you are doing and block them and cut them off. It may seem a bit harsh and I understand that. You
are angry. You are upset. You're probably just really just sad as to why you know that your good
friend or a acquaintance or a friend, whatever they are, is coming to you and copying your items.
And you're thinking, "Well, if they had just asked me, I would have been okay with it, but they're
not. They're just stealing it. And it doesn't feel good and it feels gross and a bit [inaudible]." If
it was me, I would just completely block them. And if they ask you, "Why have you blocked me?"
Then that's when you start to have the conversation which we will be going over later on.
So, the conversation. This is something that is a big step. And I know that a lot of us don't like
confrontation. Me personally, I freaking love confrontation. I don't know why. I'm just that
person that loves it. You want to be having a word with them and here's how I would structure it.
So, first of all, I would ask them how their business is. Say, "Hey,"
let me let's call her Mandy, "Hey Mandy, how are you? How's your business going?" And then
just let them talk. Just sit back, listen, let them talk. And then you want to say,
"How are you coming up with your own ideas then?" And you want to directly ask the question. And if
they stumble, if they go, "Oh, well, I just kind of think of it myself." Or they give you some
lame excuse, then you know that they are literally just going onto your Etsy shop and having a look.
If they say to you, "Well, I go onto this shop and I have a look at what they're doing and I just
basically put my own spin on it." Then you want to take a step back and have a look at that shop
and see if maybe they are copying them apart from you before you go full force. I would say get your
facts before you go full on, let's eat Mandy's face, before you go into it and launch into a
whole big thing, okay? And by the way, I just want to say, don't eat Mandy's face. Stay calm.
But you want to ask them how they come up with their product ideas.
The very next thing is you want to be saying ... And it does depend on the language that you use.
And something that I have been taught is that you want to be using ... So,
let's say for example that you're going to Mandy and you're saying, "You're copying my ideas."
Well, that's the thing, you're stating that as an absolute fact. It may be an absolute fact,
but you don't want to go into the conversation being like, "This is a fact and you're wrong."
Because that's just going to get people's backs up and it's just going to cause a massive rift.
So, what I do is that I say, "I feel like ... " Or, "The story I'm telling myself ... " Or,
"In my opinion ... " So, you could do the conversation like, "Okay, Mandy. Well,
personally, I feel like your product ideas are pretty much identical to mine which
personally I find a little bit upsetting, unnerving. It annoys me." Whatever,
you want to be diplomatic throughout this entire process. And then you want to say,
you want to compliment them which sounds bizarre but you want to compliment them. You want to say,
"I just want you to know, Mandy, that I really feel as if you're such a creative person.
And I feel as if you can make your own product ideas, you don't need to copy mine
or copy this shop or that shop. You are so creative, you can do it yourself, Mandy. Come on,
let's do this together," well rather let's not do this together, but "Let's both be creative
in our own individual ways. And let's rock this Etsy game, okay? Don't copy other people because
you're so creative you can do it yourself." And that's kind of how I would word that portion.
And then I would end it by saying, "Look, I don't want to ruin our friendship or put a downer on
things but my business is something that I'm really passionate about and I'm learning about,
and I really want this to succeed and I don't want this little tiny issue," and you want to downplay
it, "little tiny issue to ruin our friendship or really put a downer on things, etc. etc."
So, that is the conversation portion of this, okay? The very next thing I would do is I would
just at this point, let it go. You have stopped talking about your business. You have blocked
them. You've had the conversation with them. Now, nine times out of 10, this is going to stop it,
okay? This is going to nip it in the bud. If it doesn't nip it in the bud, then you really want
to start to question your friendship with this person. And also you really just want to just
stay in your own lane at this point. You can get lawyers involved. You can send a cease and
desist which will again seriously nip it in the bud. But once you do this, it is going to put a
dampener on the relationship. Make no mistake about that. So, you have to weigh it up, okay?
But here's my thing about general copycats. Copycats copy you because they don't have any
creative ideas of their own. So, in reality, I've had this happen to me a lot of times,
and I get mad about it. I get angry about it. I even have people that copy my YouTube content, but
you know what? My YouTube content and my expertise comes from my head, my brain, my creativity,
my experiences, my thoughts and feelings. It's the same as your products. Your products come from
your own thoughts and feelings, your experiences, and who you are as a person and your personality.
That is not going to happen for them because they haven't got any of those experiences,
thoughts, feelings, personalities to filter those ideas through and to create those ideas.
So, the reality is, is that personally, if it was me, you've done what you did can.
You can go down the lawyer route but that is going to be quite a stressful
experience for you and it's whether or not you want to put the energy into doing that.
If it was me, I would just continue down my own path. And I'm going to promise you this,
that if they are copying your ideas all the freaking time, that is going to
burn out for them. They will not be in business for more than a year, but you will because you're
learning what works. You're learning. You're educating yourself in handmade businesses,
business in general, handmade products, how to be creative, you're watching this channel
and you are really, really taking the bull by the horns and investing in your own financial future.
They're not doing any of that. They're riding your coattails. So, I'm just going to say this
that copycats never stay in business for very long because they run out of steam. They run
out of ideas, their audience is like, "Hang on a minute, you're copying that person." And yeah,
that is nine times out of 10 how you find that as a business later on down the line
that people are copying you because your target market will come to you and say,
"Hey, I just want to let you know that this shop is doing X, Y, Z. You might want to get on that."
So guys, it is something that is pain in the butt and I get that. Copycats are bad enough
but copycat friends are even worse. And I do get that. But when someone is copying you on Etsy,
it's not pretty, it's not amazing. It's not an amazingly great experience but you can nip it in
the bud and you can do what you can to stop it. So guys, I do hope that you enjoyed that video.
It was a little bit of a rambly one but I hope that helped you. Give this video a big, big thumbs
up if you enjoyed it. Subscribe if you haven't already to see my future stuff but for now, guys,
I shall catch you in the next video. Bye everyone.