here's to doing the right thing...
dear friends, earlier today I featured a blog/shop. all month long my heart ached. i knew deep down not to advertise this blog/shop, the products are just too similar to a good friend's products. God has been knocking, i finally snapped out of my cluelessness and hit delete.
i am not perfect, but i do have integrity - even if i have to learn it along the way.
i apologize to this month's feature for not saying "no" to begin with. and i apologize to my readers since i will no longer host this giveaway and for any confusion. i am so sorry to my friend who has a wonderful, original product that is being copied, the beauty is hard not to emulate. how could i have been so ignorant?
i stand for pure originality.
you could say, "but business is business." not for me. honesty and originality matter too much. loyalty and integrity outweigh dollar signs -always.
i am not going to tell you how to manage your advertising, i am just telling you how i should have and will be managing mine.
this month's feature has been completely refunded for the month of August.
with love,
hard decision, but good for you for going with your gut and your heart
ReplyDeleteso admirable.
ReplyDeletegina
Sadly this is more and more of an issue. I ran into the same problem as I opened up my shop to advertising. I too knew that an individual was not being unique and creative in their own right, but rather riding on the hard work of another. Thankfully I recognized this and I was able to respond kindly with an encouragement to embrace our individuality. She was very receptive and actually removed product knowing exactly who I was referencing without me ever mentioning a name. For me it's just too much to try and 'know' all the original designers to spot those that are not ... I've decided to remove advertising from my blog which lifted a burden I was beginning to feel.
ReplyDeleteAll that to say, I think you did the right thing. Whether it was the right timing or not, you followed through on what you knew was true and right. Thank you for sharing this too!!
Happy day!
Your good karma will come back to bless you. I commend you for being a virtual role model!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteyou're an amazing role model. more bloggers need to be like you!
ReplyDeletehttp://breatheandhush.blogspot.com/
Boy. It is hard to say no to money...especially in this economy. Even braver that you went back and said why.
ReplyDeleteWhile I admire your decision to pull back on the post in support of your friend, I am often saddened by how hard it is to be original in these time of global internet shopping and craft blogs, and how easily you might be accused of being a copy cat. Where a few years ago, you could have an idea and think it all your own, today you will google it and find 20 more people who are already doing the same thing. You are right, your friend's and your sponsor's items are very similar, but there are over 680 hits on Etsy alone for jewellery in the same style. I am really sorry if there is more of a back story to you withdrawing the sponsor post, but I sometimes find it can be a bit unfair to call something forgery. I am aware that I am opposing all the other opinions in these comments, this was hard to write.
ReplyDeleteAnnika, if it weren't my friend and the items weren't soooo similar I wouldn't have made such a strong move.
ReplyDeleteThere is more than one card maker, shoe maker, social network - they are all different from each other oneway or another, but the way copying is going in handmade sometimes it's the same as stealing. My husband worked for a brand recently who were copied. At first it damaged the brand and made it hard for families to put meals on the table (including our family). Then the copy cats were caught and brought to justice in court.
The other thing that is hurting my friend is that this particular blog/shop has been targeting my friend's friends blogs and shops - lots have turned away from this but not all.
Please be careful friends. Here's a good site you may want to check out: http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/blog3/?p=9683
http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/blog3/?p=4204
I think this is a tricky topic and that is partly why I hesitated in the first place.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your honesty.
xoxo,
krystina
When I read this last night, I saw the words 'integrity' 'friend' 'business' and I thought ''good for you for standing up for what you believe.'' But, this morning I realized who the sponsor was, and yes, there are similar products out there as Annika mentioned above, but I personally own many of the sponsors products and they are BEYOND lovely... as is she!! Integrity is important, and I understand your loyalty to your friend, but I keep re-reading this post and keep going back to how unfair it is to your sponsor that you didn't address these issues privately much, MUCH sooner. I am sad for all involved. I think feelings have been hurt and a trust has probably been broken. As a blogging community, we are here to support each other and cheer each other on... nobody should be brought down or made to feel like a 'copy cat' in an already very aggressive and competitive market... This was undoubtedly a very had post to write, and an even harder one to respond to. I have been seeing a lot of negativity on the blogosphere and it saddens me. I am a small fish & a beginner blogger, I don't have a 'shop' or a product so I can't relate in that area, and this is still all very new to me... and maybe I am a bit naive, but let's do what we can to support each other, if we have a beef with someone or something (which will happen, life is life, nothing is always perfect)... Let's try to keep it between those involved. I don't mean to step on any toes with this comment. I just felt I needed to say something. ♥
ReplyDeleteIt's never easy to take a stand and do what's right.
ReplyDeleteAnd it may even feel icky at first.
But, it's never wrong to do the right thing.
Bravo.
yiiikes, krystina! you did what you felt was right, and you need to stand firm in that. copying is done over and over and over, but since this is your blog you are lucky decision maker and you get to choose who you support and how. my personal philosophy that i attempt on my blog with sponsors/advertisers is that i try not to support 2 similar shops and i would never support someone who makes similar items to a dear friend of mine's, simply because i'd rather my friend get the business rather than anyone else, regardless of who is copying who.
ReplyDeleteis your friend's product that you claim is original, patented?
ReplyDeleteI agree. This is your blog. Your decisions. But seriously? Blacklisting people because they supposedly copied your friend? Come on! What is with people these days? NO idea is original! And what if she didn't get the idea from your friend in the first place? I am baffled that people are so willing to cut down the small shops on accusations of copying. It's petty really. Almost sounds like a 4 year old whining, "she copied meeee!" waaaahhh! When is it time to grow up and realize that people will ALWAYS COPY OTHERS? People will ALWAYS find inspiration from others and do with it what they will? It's only the "big" "popular" stores that get ahead while the "little" stores get the shaft? Come on! We're better than that! Every idea is an adaptation from something you've seen or heard before.You only get ideas when you're inspired by something. As stated NO ONE'S ideas are completely original! Where do you think your friend got her idea? There is enough business in this world for EVERYONE. I never understood this. You feel less loyal because you want to help someone else who's business is similar? Why? You feel like you have no integrity because you want to support and promote a smaller shop to help them get a little business? If your friend's business is big enough... WHAT DOES IT MATTER?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to vent on here, but I completely disagree with this. There is so much hurt going around in the handmade community right now that I hear about on a regular basis. So many of these woman are jumping all over other's that have a similar business because they "copied" THEM. Since when does the world center around these people that they believe this? The bigger shops in the handmade community have made me so sick to my stomach. The crap they pull, the rights they think they have. Sickening.
Unless your friend has her stuff patented, there is absolutely nothing she can do about anything except be a bully and have her friends be a bullies too, to harass those "copy cats". The way people are being treated lately is so far away from how God would want them to be treated it's not even funny.
Again, yes this is your blog obviously. Do what you want. But think hard before you agree to take on an advertiser. Then think harder before putting up a sponsor post. She must have been humiliated.
Shealynn Benner
again shey, if the advertiser wasn't going after my friend's market, it would have been a completely different situation. I was not aware of this fact until after the post and that is why it went up in the first place. I took it down and NEVER mentioned who either party was. I am humiliated at the fact that I made such a bold move. I am the one taking the flack publicly. there is nothing anywhere on her blog or in public discussing this matter. so how is it blacklisting? I wrote the advertiser a very apologetic email stating MY issue with the ad and that "I wish her the best of luck in finding her niche', that she seems like a nice girl with a great family."
ReplyDeletehow would you feel if someone made camera straps EXACTLY like yours, then advertised those straps on every single blog that you do? that in itself isn't a good choice for anyone no matter who they are.
There are tons of people that sell camera strap covers and many that look extremely similar to one another minus the fabric selections.
ReplyDeleteI did not get the idea of rosette necklaces from your friend. It was from another seller who is very supportive of my decision to sell them. In fact, we advertise on many of the same blogs because there really is room for everyone to succeed in the handmade market. People like having choices.
How do you know that this person was "going after" blogs that your friend advertises on? Seems to me that there is a lot of assumptions going on here and this person is just one of many being blamed for "targeting my friend's friends blogs and shops". And I had a TON of people copying my camera straps ALL.THE.TIME. It stung at first, but I got over it quickly. If people would *stop* focusing on others and start focusing on THEIR OWN business, this problem wouldn't happen. But what will end up happening eventually? Animosity, hate, grudges, hurt. That is what will happen if people are continually treated the way the handmade community is treating each other. The minute accusations stop and the business owner focuses solely on their business, their business will prosper more. You can continue to defend this, and I will continue to defend my side. COPYING IS INEVITABLE. Have you seen how many TV companies are out there? How many vacuum companies? They all are competing against each other without the hate. As I said - there is enough business for EVERYONE. You took the flack publicly which I don't agree with in the first place. This post should have never been posted. As I said. Humiliating.
ReplyDeleteAlso. Isn't the handmade world supposedly called a "community"? How can there be a community with all the cliques and the bad mouthing of other businesses? There can't be. The Handmade world is just like High School all over again. And high school sucked.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you haven't seen my post about all this copying nonsense but I recently wrote one as well. http://shealynnbenner.com/2011/08/life-in-a-copy-cat-world/
I never said who was who Leilani.
ReplyDeleteShey- Haters gonna hate. Lovers gonna love. I wrote "with love". Our handmade community is a passionate one, aren't we lucky so many care? I have always been supportive and positive, I think you are missing some of the facts and that's ok it really has nothing to do with you.