Links of London ad urges customers to shun fakes

From Profesional Jeweller:

"Jewellery brand Links of London has published a full page ‘anti-counterfeiting’ advertisement in yesterday’s Metro, the free London newspaper, the latest move in its escalating battle with fake traders."

Read more on: Professional Jeweller

Also read the interesting comments made on a related topic:
Links of London incinerates counterfeit bracelets


Source: Professional Jeweller

You know what, I don't blame them at all. This is the operative statement:
"In June this year, the company destroyed a number of fake bracelets being retailed as Links of London products, and just recently the company successfully sued 62 websites found to be selling counterfeit Links jewellery."

So why doesn't Trollbeads do the same thing? We all know there is a particular seller on ebay that blatantly sells fake beads claiming to be Authentic Trollbeads. Trollbeads chooses to ignore them and allow them to continue to sell the fake beads, while they accuse me of Trademark Infringement when I have NEVER claimed that a BeadBuddies Bead is a Trollbeads bead. Yet they can send a sworn statement to Ebay and pull my auctions for BeadBuddies and I can no longer sell them on Ebay. I would just like to find one person who bought a BeadBuddies bead from me and thought it was an authentic Trollbeads bead. I have never claimed this, so how can they morally and ethically...and legally, I might add, claim this falsehood? Seems Trollbeads would rather allow the huge counterfeiters to continue to make a profit selling actual counterfeit beads, and target a small town hobbyist bead maker who has NEVER claimed to sell authentic Trollbeads...why? Trollbeads does not have a patent on the beads designs. They have a copyright on their visual materials only (in the US). They have a Trademark for the word Trollbeads in the US. Legally in the US I am allowed to even compare my beads to Trollbeads, and this is not against the law. With all of the other huge dealers, for instance Macrows, and D4E selling artisian gemstones and glass beads, why would they outright lie to get me banned from selling BeadBuddies on Ebay? I'd love to hear comments on this. This is especially irritating to me when they first accused me of copyright infringement, stating all kinds of international copyrights they held...but when I wrote them back and stated exactly what was copyrighted, they then wrote me back and gave me instructions on how to list my beads on Ebay and be compliant. I am baffled and a bit tiffed at this action, and just cannot understand why I have been targeted when there are all sorts of auctions stating "fits, for, etc." trollbeads. I have copied them all, and even purchased beads from these auctions just to have proof. Counterfeiting is a problem. Being a Trademark Bully is also a problem. How much harm could I possibly be doing to their company when there are HUGE trollbeads dealers selling artisian stones and glass beads???????

Oh TrollDog, I am so sorry that you were pulled from EBAY. What a terrible injustice. Hope you hand heals soon I know you will always have a market for your beads here.

I too am unhappy to read this. They don't seem to have a very consistent policy. Just wondering, would the same apply if you sold on Etsy (or do you already?)

Plumbun, you have caused me to tear up. That's how I feel too, but it really makes me feel better to hear it from others. You know...I am just so humbled to have people like my beads, and so very thankful. I don't want to be huge because I want to know my customers and make friends with them. That's more important to me than making millions of dollars and treating people bad. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!! And yes, I continue to buy their beads because I do love them so much!!

dont worry trolldog, I've always known your beads were not tb even on ebay.. so I dont know why tb picked on you. They should have gone for the ones on line now.. loads of fakes online right now on ebay.

trollcat wrote:I too am unhappy to read this. They don't seem to have a very consistent policy. Just wondering, would the same apply if you sold on Etsy (or do you already?)

I have not tried Etsy yet...I am kind of waiting until I see how this with Ebay will end up. I'm really not one to succumb to threats, lies and unfair treatment very well. Of course, Ebay is no help at all. They just want to protect their butt, so they had to pull the auctions....which I only do to be able to buy more supplies and Trollbeads...I wrote to TBs several times, but they will not even reply back to me. What they did was a total untruth, and since it lowered my seller status and lost ALOT of sales, as I had good bids on all of the auctions....I also think it's defamation, and interference with a business.....can you tell I've done alot of research?

GRUMPY wrote:dont worry trolldog, I've always known your beads were not tb even on ebay.. so I dont know why tb picked on you. They should have gone for the ones on line now.. loads of fakes online right now on ebay.

I know grumpy.....hard not to know they are not BeadBuddies when I plainly explain that in my auctions....and yes...the REAL counterfeit beads are being sold every day. I watch them like a hawk. It's very hard for me to understand TBs way of thinking. Talk about diluting a brand......We even have members here who have purchased the fake beads unknowingly. Yet they are thriving very well!!

Ah, but maybe TB have a point, the scale of your operations may be small Trolldog, but your talent is great. I know I picked up a TB goldstone at my ld and considered buying it for a while, then I though, 'What an earth are you doing, you have a BB one on the way, which is far nicer and not massively overpriced' so back on the display it went.

If there is any chance of you making some blue tigers eye in the future, then I know whose I will be buying <hopeful>

I care not a jot about brands or investments, but I am a massive perfectionist and in your beads I could develop a horrible addiction, where Trolls often disappoint, (it took me a YEAR to find a good example of a tigers eye ffs).

I can understand you being royally pissed off and I think what they have done is unjust, uncalled for and doesn't endear them to me one jot, however maybe you should be just a little flattered, I think possibly in your quality, eye and talent they may well have seen a threat.

i have a few fake ones, i used them to compare.. it was the only way to learn ;-)

can i start fluttering my eyes and drool.. beadbuddies blue tiger eyes.. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah sigh!

plumbun wrote:Guess the counterfeiters are too big for them to handle, and they feel the need to go after someone.

You are so totally right ! For years now we have sent fake beads of certain sellers to TB HQ - they went after two of them and that´s it ! Since then everbody can happily sell fakes on ebay

But Trolldod, I can assure you, you´re not the only one they are after !
Right now they try to sue everybody who sells beads with the words " fit Troll" or "fit Trollbeads". They even got ebay to end ALL listings with these words.

The company Trollbeads does not understand, that fakes damage the image !
Instead they believe that artisan beads are the reason for decrease in sales

Maybe we should post links to the fake sellers on the TB Facebook page and demand that something is done to stop them.

So then, if I were dishonest, I could put my beads on Ebay, say they are authentic Trollbeads, and it would be ok in their eyes...??? They are not as business smart as I thought they were. And with the price hikes, and lower quality recently, no wonder artisian beads are selling well. Perhaps they should take a hint, and treat people well instead of just assuming we will automatically purchase a bead just because it says Trollbeads. I have some lovely dillos that I am very proud of, and they didn't cost me nearly as much as some of the TBs have sold for. Not to mention the lack of detail on some of their silver beads as compared to the older versions. I wish I did not love TBs like I do some times. I also do not believe that saying something fits something, as in describing the item, is protected by trademark. And the word "troll" cannot be copyrighted or trademarked. I would like to know of others who have had auctions removed for the same thing, so I could contact them. Especially since there are auctions on Ebay right now that say fit Trollbeads - in several languages, including some of their dealers.

Maybe we should tell them that all the 'many' sellers who zigzag backwards and forwards between selling 'Trollbeads' and 'Nintendo' games are a faker.

There are a lot of official TB retailers on ebay , mostly from Germany and Italy. And for the US sellers I wonder if ebay is allowed to just end their listings as they are all powersellers. As far as I know they have only stopped auctions from private sellers.

snowy wrote:There are a lot of official TB retailers on ebay , mostly from Germany and Italy. And for the US sellers I wonder if ebay is allowed to just end their listings as they are all powersellers. As far as I know they have only stopped auctions from private sellers.

I don't think the Powerseller rating has anything to do with it as I am one also, for what that's worth. Once you reach a certain amount of sales, and abide by Ebay's rules, you get discounts on your listings. I think that is about all the title is worth.

For the amount of Trollbeads some of these US people sell on Ebay, they have to be dealers. Where else would they get that amount of inventory? So they let them get by with this because they are selling the heck out of TBs.

Are dealers in other countries allowed to sell TBs on Ebay? They may not have the rules the US does.

I am sorry to hear that you are not allowed to sell I hope it is temporary.
I wonder if Trollbeads is after the big sellers but has to find a different route to stop the manufacture of the beads as well or they will just set up on ebay again. This is may be why it takes longer to stop them on ebay I think.

Trolldog, I've been waiting/looking for your BeadBuddies to make their way back to Ebay. I think it is criminal that they would pull your auctions when you clearly state (over and over) that they are not Trollbeads.

snails wrote:Trolldog, I've been waiting/looking for your BeadBuddies to make their way back to Ebay. I think it is criminal that they would pull your auctions when you clearly state (over and over) that they are not Trollbeads.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Sorry, I must have done something wrong the last line shouldn't be in the quote.

Trolldog, I could be wrong but I believe the reason eBay won't let sellers mention the brand Trollbeads in auctions anymore is because Pandora demanded eBay to force sellers to stop using their name, so the other competing brand names couldn't be used either. If you look at other items on ebay the same thing is still allowed. You can sell clothes as "fit Barbie" event though they aren't made by Mattel and you can sell accessories that fit ipod or ipad even though they aren't made by Apple. Ebay would rather tick off sellers than risk going to court. My sales were hurt quite a bit by the change.

mandyjw wrote:Trolldog, I could be wrong but I believe the reason eBay won't let sellers mention the brand Trollbeads in auctions anymore is because Pandora demanded eBay to force sellers to stop using their name, so the other competing brand names couldn't be used either. If you look at other items on ebay the same thing is still allowed. You can sell clothes as "fit Barbie" event though they aren't made by Mattel and you can sell accessories that fit ipod or ipad even though they aren't made by Apple. Ebay would rather tick off sellers than risk going to court. My sales were hurt quite a bit by the change.

I totally agree Mandyjw!! I still do not believe that either of them, legally, can stop you from using their name to describe your item...hang on and let me find the US code. BRB